Council Factors and roof repairs

[Kasei]

Hi,

 

I'll keep this as short as possible, I currently live in an ex-council flat which I own, the flat is one of 12 in 3 conjoined blocks of 4 flat's each, prior to christmas the council, who act as the factor for the block notified me that a scottish government grant had been awarded to the block for the installation of external insulation/cladding and replacing the external rendering on the property, since this was all being covered by the grant made available by the scottish government no contribution would be required by any of the private owners in the block.

 

Soon afterwards I was invited to attend a public meeting at the council offices regarding some additional proposals with regards to the renovations, upon attending the meeting the residents of the block were informed that whilst the scaffolding was up for the works to install the cladding that they would like to replace the roof on the block, whilst not essential at this particular point in time they were keen to do it to keep the costs at a minumum, we were informed that the cost per owner for the replacement would be £3425 and that a 25% grant was available, the remaining amount could be paid up by the owners in monthly installments interest free over the next 12 months, which works out at just over £200 pcm, we were informed that there would be a ballot to determine whether the works would go ahead or not, and the additional works would only proceed if a majority voted in favour, I pointed out that it was rather unreasonable of the council to expect people to just magically have a spare £200 a month to pay for this, the council officer said that we could contact the council and if we were able to prove financial hardship then they may extend the repayment term up to a maximum or 4 years, however there was no guarantee that they would.

 

The council officer pointed out that the current roof was 56 years old, and though the factor were currently able to conduct repairs on it, that may not always be the case, and that a replacement may be come mandatory, at considerably more expense in the future.

 

After careful consideration I decided to vote no, given whilst the payment probably wouldn't push me into financial hardship, it would eat up the vast majority of my disposable income for the foreseeable future, and I probably wouldn't gain the full advantage of the repair given I'm currently saving the deposit for a house and will be looking to move in 2 to 3 years time.

 

Yesterday the letter I had been dreading arrived, the majority of owners have voted to have the roof replaced, so I now have to pony up the £200 pcm for the next year, this just seems a bit like extortion to me, not only am I unsatisfied with the repayment terms and amount I'm also of the opinion that the cost for the replacement is excessive as if each owners share is £3435 and there are 12 apartments, the total cost is just over £41,000, at no point has the council informed us that we have the option to have the works priced and carried out by a contractor other than the council.

 

Basically what I need to know is where do I go from here, is there some kind of legal procedure for objecting to not only the costs by the imposition of payment terms without proper consultation, or even objecting to the fact that we haven't been offered the opportunity to have another contractor price for the works?

 

Or is it now a case of having to just accept it and pony up the cash, or beg for better repayment terms?

 

I'm not against the works in principle just against the idea of being forced to pay through the nose for it without any right to negotiation.

[silverfox1961]

Hi

There is a builder on here that may pop in later but I have done so (very) basic research and the average cost to replace a roof up north is around £3.5k.

 

The council may use their own staff or contract it out and with such a large (ish) project, a lower price would have been negotiated.

 

I would argue that the council are not allowing you to pay over the longer period but in my opinion, a new roof will add value to the home now.

 

If I were in your position, I would accept and get it paid as soon as possible. At least it would be interest free. You could also negotiate a longer payment term irrespective of your financial circumstances.

 

You could also get an independant quotation to show the council that they could do the job cheaper (if possible)although you wouldn't be able to use the contractor.

[silverfox1961]

I will message user f16 as he is a builder and he may have the required knowledge to help more

[Kasei]

Thanks, silverfox1961, I think we are beyond the point for asking about other contractors, and I agree that the roof replacement will add value to the home, I'm mainly objectionable to the manner in which I am being told that this is to be paid for, all up front now or over 12 months, with extension only on the condition of proving hardship, which I think would be difficult in any case, as what an individual regards as hardship may not necessarily be in agreement with what the council defines as hardship.

 

I'm just more interested in finding out if there are any legal means which I can use to approach the council for a negotiation on more reasonable payment terms other than through claiming hardship and praying they agree.

[ericsbrother]

the LL should get competitive quotes for jobs such as this but problem there is that many companies like to add at least 20% to their bill for a council job as they get mucked about and have compulsory discounts applied to tenders etc. Try asking a builder/roofing co to give you a price and if it is miles different from their you have grounds for going to arbitration vis the VA (I believe)