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Hi there
I am a leaseholder/occupier of my flat in a modern block of 66 flats, build completed in 2010. We had a change of freeholder some 2-3 years ago and alas we lost an application for the Right To Manage just before that change. We have long term managing agents in place with a Residents Association to discuss issues that affect us all.
I have a neighbour who has ingress of water in his flat ( he is not near me ) in two rooms that are bordered by walls in three different elevations and this is causing obvious damp on three separate walls and floors with constant mould occurring around a balcony door. This has been going on for several months and the managing agents have arranged various visit and 'fixes' but the problems persist and are frankly getting worse.
My neighbour is eastern European and admits his English in not good and has asked me to help him with penning appropriate letters of complaint to commence upgrading this complaint. The flat has also been on the market for most of the past year and I have told him that with the present unresolved problems, the flat is effectively unsellable and I am surprised that the selling agent, who also does the property management here, has not told him that. My neighbour also believes that the NHBC runs ten years after he bought the property as a new build in 2014.
The questions I would like to ask are as follows and all help will be very much appreciated!
1. The problem clearly need much more exploratory work that has been done to date and it seems that the managing agents are keeping a low profile on the problem. We also have no idea if the Freeholder is aware. If the ingress is due to a construction defect, who is ultimately responsible to do something about it? Do we approach the managing agents and/or the freeholder? What is the legal framework that we can quote to ensure that the problem is immediately investigated?
2. If there is no local knowledge to refer to, how do we find the name of the Freeholder, it's address for correspondence ( I'm assuming a limited company ) and who do we address it to specifically?
3. It seems that the selling agent will only do viewings on an unaccompanied basis, i.e. when my neighbour is out. That suggests that they do not wish to complicate the potential sale with discussions regarding the water ingress which is obvious anyway. My neighbour seems to think that the water ingress is not an important issue to reveal when selling but I have told him that to my mind the flat remains unsellable and he has a legal duty to declare the problem in any precontract paperwork. Is that correct and how do we legally describe that duty?
4. I have been here for four years and there has been lots of discussion among the residents about the poor build now becoming obvious, mostly in internal works but we are all wondering if the property structure/framework also has hidden problems. Only time will tell I guess. If it is found that substantial repairs are required to the property shell, are we, as leaseholders, totally responsible for that?
Clearly my neighbour is being affected, not only by the sheer inconvenience of perpetual damp walls and floors, but also with the inability to sell the property. He can also not rent it in it's current condition.
As said, all help will be greatly appreciated and any points needing clarification, please ask! Looking ahead, I suspect that this problem is going to manifest itself in other flats. which makes it all the more important to press forward with the liability issues etc.
******** Update : Just sourced the Freeholder's name and address ( it's a private limited company ) as it's stated on the Ground Rent Demands, and further sourced the name of the Secretary/Director of the company through Companies House on line.
I am a leaseholder/occupier of my flat in a modern block of 66 flats, build completed in 2010. We had a change of freeholder some 2-3 years ago and alas we lost an application for the Right To Manage just before that change. We have long term managing agents in place with a Residents Association to discuss issues that affect us all.
I have a neighbour who has ingress of water in his flat ( he is not near me ) in two rooms that are bordered by walls in three different elevations and this is causing obvious damp on three separate walls and floors with constant mould occurring around a balcony door. This has been going on for several months and the managing agents have arranged various visit and 'fixes' but the problems persist and are frankly getting worse.
My neighbour is eastern European and admits his English in not good and has asked me to help him with penning appropriate letters of complaint to commence upgrading this complaint. The flat has also been on the market for most of the past year and I have told him that with the present unresolved problems, the flat is effectively unsellable and I am surprised that the selling agent, who also does the property management here, has not told him that. My neighbour also believes that the NHBC runs ten years after he bought the property as a new build in 2014.
The questions I would like to ask are as follows and all help will be very much appreciated!
1. The problem clearly need much more exploratory work that has been done to date and it seems that the managing agents are keeping a low profile on the problem. We also have no idea if the Freeholder is aware. If the ingress is due to a construction defect, who is ultimately responsible to do something about it? Do we approach the managing agents and/or the freeholder? What is the legal framework that we can quote to ensure that the problem is immediately investigated?
2. If there is no local knowledge to refer to, how do we find the name of the Freeholder, it's address for correspondence ( I'm assuming a limited company ) and who do we address it to specifically?
3. It seems that the selling agent will only do viewings on an unaccompanied basis, i.e. when my neighbour is out. That suggests that they do not wish to complicate the potential sale with discussions regarding the water ingress which is obvious anyway. My neighbour seems to think that the water ingress is not an important issue to reveal when selling but I have told him that to my mind the flat remains unsellable and he has a legal duty to declare the problem in any precontract paperwork. Is that correct and how do we legally describe that duty?
4. I have been here for four years and there has been lots of discussion among the residents about the poor build now becoming obvious, mostly in internal works but we are all wondering if the property structure/framework also has hidden problems. Only time will tell I guess. If it is found that substantial repairs are required to the property shell, are we, as leaseholders, totally responsible for that?
Clearly my neighbour is being affected, not only by the sheer inconvenience of perpetual damp walls and floors, but also with the inability to sell the property. He can also not rent it in it's current condition.
As said, all help will be greatly appreciated and any points needing clarification, please ask! Looking ahead, I suspect that this problem is going to manifest itself in other flats. which makes it all the more important to press forward with the liability issues etc.
******** Update : Just sourced the Freeholder's name and address ( it's a private limited company ) as it's stated on the Ground Rent Demands, and further sourced the name of the Secretary/Director of the company through Companies House on line.
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