NEGLIGENT FEEHOLDER OF BLOCK OF FLATS WONT PAY FOR REPAIRS

[HAMMEROFTHOR]

I am a flat leaseholder in a block of private flats in south London and lived here 28 years.
The block has 25 flats and also shops. The block is in a serious state of disrepair both internally in the common parts, (damp under landing windows, which has caused the wall inside to rot, damage to the ceiling of the block, cracks in the stairwell walls etc);- and externally,- with a smashed front brick wall, (which has been left in the same unreconstructed state for 32 YEARS); concrete falling away from the balcony walkways, a very unsafe rusty fire escape at the rear of the building and a lift in one of the parts of the block which is not working (there are four floors). We residents have approached the landlords managing agent many times about the disrepair, and asked for the work to be done but there has been no action on the part of the freeholder and managing agent for many years to remedy the terrible state of the building. Some of us residents have even offered to pay for repairs to our side of the building with our own money (THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE SERVICE MAINTENANCE CHARGES WE REGULARLY PAY TO THE MANAGING AGENT, MY WIFE AND I HAVE NEVER MISSED A PAYMENT OR ONCE BEEN IN ARREARS FOR THE 28 YEARS WE HAVE LIVED HERE) but to no avail.
THE FREEHOLDER WILL NOT EVEN GIVE US WRITTEN PERMISSION TO SPEND OUR OWN MONEY TO MAKE REPAIRS! AND WE DONT WANT TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT HIS WRITTEN CONSENT. To say he has been very obstructive in this matter is an understatement. All we want to do is improve our living conditions! It seems we keep paying maintenance charges which disappear into a black hole and the freeholder keeps telling us that 'He has no money, and cant afford to pay for the repairs'. we have also been informed that two leaseholders are in arrears with maintenance payments; however this brings into focus that 23 resident leaseholders out of 25, plus the shop leasholders HAVE PAID REGULARLY, and this money is being held in the coffers of the freeholder/managing agent. Surely they could use this money to effect repairs?
Because of the state of the block, the property values on the flats are falling, one flat had 30 viewings and the price was dropped by £35,000.... this because the people viewing the flat all said the same thing- that the block generally was in dire need of major repairs. We residents are now at our wits end, I have taken many photographs of the damage and disrepair for future reference. Can anyone advise me as to a satisfactory course of action that would ensure repairs were made by the freeholder and his agent? Many thanks if some kind person can advise us, We are desperate here and dont know what to do or who to turn to!

[Mary-Christmas]

I do feel for you, as a leaseholder I too have had problems in my block. The first thing I suggest is a residents meeting. Get everyone on board and then agree to consult a solicitor. Set up another meeting to include the solicitor, perhaps have a whip round to pay for his services for an hour or two. If he/she is any good then they should take on your case. As tempting as it is don't withhold your maintenance charge whatever you do. They are in the wrong and know it. You will have to go down the legal route and perhaps a solicitor in south London will read this and get in touch. Good luck.

[sandyRoe]

http://www.direct.gov...dproperties/DG_193049

Might this help?

[The Builder]

Buy the freehold, Thor....... you may well qualify for the right

[HAMMEROFTHOR]

The Title of the above post should of course read ;- 'Negligent *Freeholder* of block of flats won't pay for repairs'.... mis-spelt word unintentional!

[HAMMEROFTHOR]

Thankyou very much for your responses Mary-Christmas, SandyRoe, and The Builder, you have given some very useful information and advice.

This freeholder of our block is just sitting on our money and not fulfilling his obligations to maintain the property.

Thanks again to you all for your comments anyway.

[Graham-W]

The Freeholder or his agent must supply you with a breakdown of where the service charge money is being spent.

"You are entitled to a written breakdown of your service charges to check whether the costs are reasonable. Your freeholder is entitled to add a small management charge but cannot make a profit. You have the right to inspect and take copies of accounts, receipts and any other relevant documents. If the freeholder doesn't provide this information it's a criminal offence and the council can prosecute her/him. Get advice from a solicitor if you are in this situation."

I'd start there. The Freeholder may have a "sink fund" to pay for major and emergency repairs. Enquire about this too.
Make a list of all the repairs that need doing, in your opinion. If there is still no response or if the freeholder disagrees or refuses to do anything to improve the situation, a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) can decide whether or not the services you receive are reasonable and make suggestions for improvement to your sevices.

[HAMMEROFTHOR]

Thank you Graham-W, very useful!

[themas]

An alternative (perhaps cheaper) to buying the freehold might be to get the right to manage:

http://www.direct.gov...dproperties/DG_193051

Also, it is worth contacting the Leasehold Advisory Service (link in the above article) for advice - partly because you must get hold of proper accounts to show what has happened to the service charge money you have been paying.

More importantly, you should also ask them how the 25% commercial rule is calculated. Is it based on the number of units (i.e. the number of shops compared with the number of flats) or is it based on the square footage in total of the shops compared with the square footage in total of the flats? You must do this at an early stage because you might find that you do not qualify for the right to buy the freehold or the management. If that is the case, you need to ask them what steps can be taken to make the freeholder accept his responsibilities & carry them out.

Whatever you do is going to involve a cost, & the cost of the major repairs that are needed is almost certainly going to have to be met by the leaseholders. This may cause you problems as some of them may genuinely be unable to afford it.

[HAMMEROFTHOR]

Thanks Themas for your advice!