Leak from flat above, owner being very problematic!
Hello there,
I had a leak from the flat above, which as it turned out was from the flat above that. The leak was fixed by a qualified plumber and I escorted them personally as it is rented by friends of mine. The landlord has admitted responsibility, however as the building is grade two listed the quotes for repair are around 3,500 GBP in addition to this my wardrobe from heals was damaged which origionally cost 1,800 GBP. I have sent the landlord a quote for the two amount incuding in my mail the quote from the builder. The landlord is insisting on inspection of the damage, photos and states that the quote is very large and they will most likely want their own guys to undertake the work. On previous experiance and the current state of the properties that the land lord owns the quality of work is going to be VERY poor. There was no reference to the damage to my wardrobe in the reply. I know this "gentleman" very well and he has been refer by LEASE as a litgating landlord and I have been to court with him before no less than 5 times in the last year. (He has currently filed for an injunction against me to try and make my whole flat into a right of way fire exit so he can obtain an alcohol licence for is restaurant). I also understand that he doesn't have any insureance inplace. Can some one tell me what my rights are in the leak situation. what information I have to provide before I can move to a small claim court as I am pretty sure this will have to resolved through this manor.
As a last thought he is the owner of the tope flat where the leak originated, the free holder of the building and the self appointed managing agent to the building.
Many thanks
regards
Omar
Hi Omar, This does sound like
Hi Omar,
This does sound like a very difficult situation. If the owner of the top flat is also the freeholder of the building and the person who is responsible for managing the block he is effectively the only person that you can contact to discuss the leak. Obviously if he is not proving to be responsive the only way forward may be to issue a small claim against him.
You should by writing a "letter before action" to him, setting out the problem, the chronology of events and state that if he does not rectify the problem in the next 7 - 14 days you will start court proceedings.
You will need extensive evidence to prove your claim. This evidence should include any paperwork you have relating to the damage caused by the leak i.e. quotes for repairs etc. You will also need copies of any correspondence between you and the freeholder and this should be submitted with your claim.
With regard to your wardrobe you will need to produce a copy of the receipt showing the original purchase price when you bought the wardrobe. If this is not available you should produce the credit card or debit card transaction history which should show the original purchase price. If it has been damaged and needs to be repaired you will also need to include a quote for its repair.
Once you have compiled all of the evidence you can start your claim. You can use moneyclaimonline to issue your claim:
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome
I hope that this helps.
I am a Legal Advisor employed by Sarginsons Law and specialise in Civil Litigation matters. I deal with disputes between individuals and businesses including Landlord and Tenant issues, debt recovery and property disputes.
Telephone 02476 553181
reply to Leak from flat above, owner being very problematic!
Thanks for the rely,
So in this instance I need to furnish the owner of the flat with the three quotes as well as an estimate for the replacement of the wardrobe ie there is no legal requirement for me to allow him access to my flat, or obtain his own contractor quotes, or provide photos of the damage (I am certain he will argue the damage only requires repainting)?
In this correspondence I should state that full settlement is expected within 7 - 14 days or I will start proceedings. All send recored delivery?
If you could confirm that is all I need to do that would be fantastic!
Best
Omar
Omar
Hi Omar, If you are to start
Hi Omar,
If you are to start court proceedings you must furnish the court with all evidence that you intend to rely upon. Your evidence must be as comprehensive as possible and therefore it may beneficial to your case to include photographs of the damage that has been caused to your property.
You must remeber that a Judge will be considering your case purely on the evidence that is presented to him and the verbal accounts of the claimant and defendant on the day. As you would be the claimaint it for you to prove your case and the only way to do this is by providing extensive evidence.
You do not have to allow him access to the property unless there is a contrary provision in your Lease and he cannot force you to use his contractors to repair the damage. However a Judge, after considering all of the evidence, may state that the Landlord can use his own contractors to repair the damage provided they follow a specific schedule of works agreed by both you and the Landlord.
Before starting court proceedings you should write the letter before action to the Landlord and include all of the evidence that you intend to rely upon in court.
I am a Legal Advisor employed by Sarginsons Law and specialise in Civil Litigation matters. I deal with disputes between individuals and businesses including Landlord and Tenant issues, debt recovery and property disputes.
Telephone 02476 553181
On the assumption that you
On the assumption that you own your flat you will no doubt be a tenant under a long lease.
In that Lease almost certainly there will be covenants by which the Freeholder promises:
1. To provide quiet and peaceable possession.
2. To insure the structure.
3. To maintain the structure on payment of a service charge.
If the freeholder has failed to insure then this is a serious situation since it would put you in breach of your mortgage covenants, assuming you have a mortgage. You should rectify the situation immediately by insuring yourself or forcing the Freeholder to do it.
The Freeholder is liable to you in this situation in Contract (the terms of the Lease) and probably also in negligence.
He can be forced to repair the building to a proper standard and compensate you for your personal losses arising out of the breach of contract/negligence. If you have doubts about the standard of the work you might involve your own Surveyor or possibly Building Control at the Council since this is a listed building.
As to maintenance charges generally please see my comments on the forum elsewhere.
http://www.thelawforum.co.uk/service-charges-flats