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Leasehold & Damp problems


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Its a bit confusing.

 

If it was leaking from upstairs then the freeholder could be responsible as the freeholder but also he could be respoonsible as the induividual tenant/owner of the flat.

 

Alas there is not an easy answer, a survey might point the blame but there could be cost for this, if as part of the court process it maybe possible to recover this cost but it depends if you are successful.

 

Freeholder/owner of the other flat isnt best scenario, I wouldnt want to live next to my FH as he clearly dislikes me as I keep beating him in court action.

 

Did the freeholder charge you for the damp works that have been done as part of the service/maintanence charge ?

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The FH says there was a small leak upstairs which he rents out that he says was fixed. They had to replace the bath but said his plumber checked and everything was dry.

The 3 plumbers I've had round say that the leak is definitely looks as though there is a pipe in the wall coming from upstairs as my bathroom is completely dry also. Without knocking half the wall down in my lounge/diner we will never know.

My argument is the contractor he has telling him this are the ones who keep doing the damp course, put on an air vent upside down outside and told me for 9 years I simply had condensation when it is very clearly damp.

I'm asking him to let me claim on the buildings insurance for my living/dining room and claim from the contractors as I've had to keep paying out to have redecoration as the damp course was never done properly which the owner of the contractor company has admitted. He is refusing to let me claim on insurance and ignoring the request about his contractors.

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Have a look at my my post 8. This might be a good opportunity to use the new management agent redress service.

 

Does your Fh employ a mangement agent ?, if so, ask him which Redress Scheme he is a member of (by law he should have joined by October 1st), if the FH doesnt employ MA but does work himself, its a bit more complicated and same position as me), I believe if the FH does management work himself then HE should have joined a redress scheme, although the law isnt clear, but ask him anyway.

 

I believe the redress scheme is free and they have been set up to resolve disputes.

 

Heres a feature about it > http://www.lease-advice.org/news/story/?item=197

Edited by Conniff
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Did these 3 plumbers you had around give your their opinions on paper ??????

 

Unfortunately no but I have had 1 quote for repair to the damp problem caused by the insufficient damp course and the leak from upstairs or my bathroom shower whichever it was. Also 1 of the plumbers spoke to the FH on the phone and told him point blank it was not a leak from in my flat.

 

 

The FH later replied to an email to me stating that his contractor had asked to speak to my plumber yet I had refused, this didn't happen!

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Have a look at my my post 8. This might be a good oppurtunity to use the new management agent redress service.

 

Does your Fh employ a mangement agent ?, if so, ask him which Redress Scheme he is a member of (by law he should of joined by October 1st), if the FH doesnt employ MA but does work himself, its a bit more complicated and same poistion as me), I believe if the FH does management work himself then HE should of joined a redress scheme, although the law isnt clear, but ask him anyway.

 

I believe the redress scheme is free and they have been set up to resolve disputes.

 

Heres a feature about it > http://www.lease-advice.org/news/story/?item=197

 

 

Not that I know of. The FH is a local estate agent.

I will email him today and ask him.

 

 

I've also spoken to a solicitor this morning who has said that as the FH he IS responsible for the works carried out to the exterior walls therefore I should be able to claim compensation for works done to my sons room from the contractors and if they wont pay, then him himself. I'm to email him asking him again and pointing out the clause in the lease stating he is responsible (I've already done this) I'm to say I am giving him 14 days to respond, if he doesn't respond I'm to email again giving him another 48 hours and then if still no joy I can claim on Money Claim Online...?

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I have compiled an email to him

 

 

Am I being polite enough??

 

 

Hi

Again I am enquiring whether or not we can claim for reimbursement for the redecoration to my sons room from your contractors.

I have spoke to a solicitor this morning who has read through the lease.

As in clause 6.1 it states that you as the landlord are responsible for the main structure of the building including the exterior walls. You had instructed the contractors to carry out yet another damp course as under guarantee yet the expenses I incurred because they were incompetent should not come out of my pocket. It is neither your fault personally nor mine but as you are responsible I am to request that a claim is made on my behalf to them.

He has asked whether you employ a management agent which I stated I didn't think you did as you managed the property yourself. He then said if you do not, as of October 1st 2014 you must be a member of a Redress Scheme and has asked me for the name of them please.

I have had no response with regard to when I can expect air bricks/grills to be replaced (as we were informed by your contractors that these would need replacing as were beyond repair)

He has also told me to allow you 14 days in which to respond. I therefore look forward to hearing from you by the end of this month.

Kind regards

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The trouble is that even if the lease says the landlord is responsible for the main structure of the building, any money he spends he can recover from you via the service charge (either individually or from all the leaseholder divided by how many there are).

 

Its not clear why he should re-imburse you unless he is at fault somewhere and by his actions he has caused you a loss, or the work he did was of poor quality.

 

The letter is too polite, no point asking kindly for him to give you money..he wont !

 

Dont send it yet, let me re-read this thread and try to get my head around it.

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Lets concentrate on the bedroom first of all, the dining room is another issue.

 

Really all of this perhaps could of been spotted when you bought the property, I had a survey done and it identified some problems which were then fixed. By the then owner, it was a buyers market then so they we told them, fix it or we walk away.

 

1. So have all the problems began in the last 9 years ?, or the survey didnt pick them up ?

 

2. Who has paid for the damp proof course ?, I asume the managing agent has paid and recovered the cost from you via the service charge ?

 

3. What are you hoping to achieve by this ?. Any work the managing agent does, you will have to pay for, unless you believe he is to blame ?

 

4. Or are you claiming the damp proofing wasnt done properally ?

 

5. Now if the problem remains and the managing agent/landlord doesnt do anything thenyou could sue him for loss of using the room/redecorating (But it appears he has done damp proof works so you would have to prove that they were not good enough).

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1. We only had a mortgage survey done when we bought the property, we stupidly listened to the mortgage man who said that would be sufficient and would pick anything structural up. It didn't.

 

 

2. The damp course was done in Jan 2002 by the FH's brother (who was the FH at the time) we bought the place in Nov 2005. It has a 30 year guarantee

 

 

3. I would like to be reimbursed for having my bedroom redecorated again for the 2nd time in a year. This time it has cost me just under £1000 as I had to have the room stripped again, damp seal painted on, foil backed hardboard and batoning then re wall papered and painted. Every time before has just been walls treated and repapered, this time it has cost me a lot more

 

 

4. Yes, by words of the contractors, the original damp course and every one after (until the most recent) had only gone in 3 inches, we have 12 inch thick solid brick walls and the holes were never filled. They have now gone in 8 inches and all holes have been filled

 

 

5. I was originally asking him for reimbursement but then realised it wasn't actually his fault personally and emailed him to this effect. I stated it was the contractors who were to blame and have asked him to claim from them

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I haven't sent that email yet as waiting for guidance. The previous email I sent asked him about the air bricks the contractors had stated needed renewing, the FH told me they said they had been replaced, they haven't which is what I told him.

This I have just had from th FH

 

"I need to get this sorted out once and for all – I will await the file from Sheen’s and then speak to my solicitor to see exactly what I am responsible for and what I am not.

 

I am trying to run a business and seem to be spending hour after hour typing these e-mails so I will be in touch once I know what I need to do and don’t need to do."

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So you havnt had to pay for the damp proofing course ?. (Through the service charge).

 

If you had you could apply to the FTT to determine if the works were reasonable and they could order you be refunded some or all of the amount you paid.

 

BUT if you havnt paid anything, then you want damages from the landlord as ultimately it is his responmsibilty (ebven id he did employ contractors), but a good understanding of the lease is required to find out whose is resonsible for dampness, generally you would be responsible for inside the proerty and the landlord responsible for the outside and structure.

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But I was under the impression that the landlord organised the repair ?. You perosnally dont have a contract with the contractors, if you went through the landlord then the contract is with him and the damages would come from him, he in turn could sue the contractors if needs be.

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But why should your LL do this ?.

 

There is no legal basis to 'claim on your behalf', for legal action to be successful there needs to be a clear contract between you and the contractor, there isnt.

 

Maybe the LL could sue the contractor, but if he did, why would he hand the money over to you ?

 

You need to re-think this or come at it from another angle. You havnt answered if the LL has billed you for any of this work via the service charge ?

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He hasn't told me if he's charged me as I have no idea what I pay maintenance for. In the lease it states he is responsible for buildings insurance yet he has told me I pay towards that (even though he refuses to let me claim for something else)

I have asked hi for a breakdown of what I have paid over the years and what has been paid out for maintenance, as far as I can recall, it's only been £400 for guttering.

The damp course was and still is under guarantee so he hasn't had to pay either.

 

I'm still waiting for new air bricks the contractors said I needed. They've told the LL that they've replaced them and they haven't. I'm just sick and tired of having to pay out money whilst his contractors do shoddy work and keep getting away with it

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  • 1 month later...

Since the beginning of October I have emailed the LL with the following questions

 

 

the name of his redress scheme

where it states in the lease that our 'maintenance charge' is for half of the buildings insurance

where it states in the lease that we are to pay £200 pa management fee

for a breakdown of maintenance payments made and maintenance carried out over the 9 years we have been here

 

 

He has refused to answer all of the above.

 

 

He states we are to pay half toward the buildings insurance yet the lease clearly states he is responsible.

He has stated he wouldn't have any repointing done until the maintenance charge was increased to enable a 'sink fund' to be set up and there be enough in the to cover half of the quote for the work and he would then pay the other half.

I have ended up having repointing done myself.

 

 

I've now sent a claim through the small claims court for costs to redecorate my sons room and have emailed the Property Ombudsman.

 

 

Do I have a leg to stand on??

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Hiya.

 

So..

 

I'm not sure if he is under an obligation to actually tell you if and who is a member of what redress scheme, although you can visit the websites of all three and search for him.

 

BUT he MUST join one of them, failure to do so is now a criminal offence although local authorities are showing they are a bit ignorant of the law and slow to prosecute (this was in many newspapers recently).

 

He doesnt have to reply to you by law BUT it would look bad for him in legal action if he didnt plus he SHOULD comply with the RICS Code.

 

"He states we are to pay half toward the buildings insurance yet the lease clearly states he is responsible. ", Are you sure about this ?, most leases will say yes he is responsible for arranging insuyrance but that you must pay, or occasionally its left to the leaseholders to arrange and pay but this is rare.

 

Can you scan and post up your lease ? (removing any personal details).

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Finally sussed how to add a pdf.

 

 

Attached is my lease

 

All I can see is that the landlord is responsible for buildings insurance. He tells me the maintenance money we pay every month goes towards half of this payment.

I've been contacted by the property ombudsman who says this company is no longer with them even though they are still displaying their logo on their website. They cannot help me and will arrange for the company to remove their logo.

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Sorry..You posted the lease before.

 

Its a standard lease, the landlord must insure and you must pay, it allows him to employ a management agent and recoup the cost from you, £200 would be considered a reasonable amount these days, so there is no point arguing about these issues unless you beliebve that he didnt insure or that there was very poor management.

 

You do though have a right under S21 to request summry of amounts spent, and further rights under S22 to visit and inspoect the paperwork, write to him pointing out these provisions, also see here > http://www.lease-advice.org/information/faqs/print_faq.asp?section=16, also ask for a copy of the insurance.

 

Visit all three Redress Schemes and search for the name of the Management Agent, if he doesnt appear you can inform the local authority that he is breaking the law.

 

None of these issues thougjh are directly relating to the original damp problem and the situation is quite confusing, what does your small court claim say ?

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This is all I got from him when I requested a breakdown

 

"I’ve had some figures from Mark.

 

Buildings Insurance is £275 PA – On a 50-50 Basis that is £137.50

 

Management fees are £200 P.A – Another £100

 

You pay £273.96 PA which leaves a surplus of £36.46 P.A.

 

I’ve had a quote from Newlife (attached) on all the work that has been done and is going to be done which is £1008.

 

You have lived at the property 9 years (ish) 9 x £36.46 = £328.14 . Therefore I am £175.86 in credit

 

I am quite happy to get a quote to paint the outside of the house but will have to increase yearly payments to put into a ‘Sinking or Maintenance fund (Clause 16)’ as is within my right, to cover this cost. Once the fund covers 50% of the quote I will put in my 50% and get the work done.

 

Do you want to let me know how much per annum extra you would like to pay?"

 

The quote for work he speaks of was for 3 air vents when we only actually had 2 plus repointing that we haven't had done as I paid for it to be done myself.

The small claim asked for reimbursement for redecoration costs due to the incompetence of his contractors.

He has still not answered any emails.

Tired of fighting now :o(

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