UK Apartment damaged

C

coppers

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I own an apartment in the UK that has been water damaged by leaking pipes. Numerous apartments are suffering as water leaks from top floors down. Many faulty pipes rather than just one apartment seems to be the issue.

These are new apartments.

Does anyone know how liability works in this situation?

Are the apartments above me liable for the damage to my place?

If it transpires that my pipes have caused damage below will I be liable for that?

Does the original builder have any liability?

If anyone has any similar experiences and/or any suggestions on how to approach solving this I would be very grateful.
 
coppers said:
Does anyone know how liability works in this situation?
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I would expect that normally block insurance would cover this sort of thing in an apartment development assuming that the damage is not excluded due to negligence etc.
 
First port of call is the management company (the one who sends you invoices for the service charges and ground rent). As Clubman says, they are the ones who have the building insured under block insurance.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I've been a bit neglectful of this property just going to see it for the first time this weekend, hence trying to get as much info as I can before I go.

Currently trying to track down the management company(as suggested), apparently original one has gone into liquidation, taken over by another. Just wonderful.

Worryingly I have never received any invoices from either of them.

I hadn't heard of block insurance before but hopefully this will alll be in order.
 
coppers said:
Currently trying to track down the management company(as suggested)
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Normally property owners are members/shareholders of the management company. Was this the case here? Or do you mean the management agent that was employed by the management company?
apparently original one has gone into liquidation, taken over by another. Just wonderful.
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If the management company is gone then you could be in a sticky situation regarding ongoing management, maintenance (including block insurance) and this could also make it difficult to resell!
 
if there is a management company in place which i would imagine there is then you will be getting a big bill ! of at least a couple of thousand service charges plus ground rent no doubt.
in fact, if a management co does exist, you might find yourself in a lot of trouble. as it appears you haven't been paying your serv. charges, who do you think pays for the buildings insurance !!!!!!!!!!!
i have seen here in london where the management company refuses to deal with you until you settle all outstanding charges and rightly so. you cant blame the mgmt co for not sending you invoices, it is up to you to let them know your contact address. if they have been sending the invoices to your rented property address then at this stage they might have handed the debt over to bailiffs.
either way, i think you may get a sharp wake up call. if there is no management company in place then you are also stuffed as you wont be able to sell the flat and also it would mean the building is not been maintained properly.
 
Thanks again for replies.

I agree I'm definetly in for a sharp wake up call.

It appears virtually all the other aparments apprx 30 in total are owned by one individual. So from what Clubman has said it seems that "he" is the management company with I expect little obligation to me(no service fees etc).

From Lorna's reply it would seem that moving forward I have to ensure I am part of this company(Is this a legal entitlement?).
Pay any outstanding service fees.
Pray I am covered under the hopefully existing insurance policy.
Anything else I should be aware of?
 
coppers said:
It appears virtually all the other aparments apprx 30 in total are owned by one individual. So from what Clubman has said it seems that "he" is the management company with I expect little obligation to me(no service fees etc).
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I would not jump to conclusions here without more information.
Did your solicitor at the time of the purchase not explain the ins and outs of the mangement company setup and your rights/obligations in this regard?
 
I had no dealings with solicitors at the time.

Everything was originally organised via my accountant who at a later date recommended a sell to all his clients who owned an apartment in this complex.
At the time this would have represented a small loss so I decided to hold on to it(bad decision).
I knew I was to be soley responsible(he continues to look after other property investments quite effectivley) for it there after.
At the time it was renting well and didn't seem to require any attention. Since then, various problems with renting out, tried to sell & failed despite dropping the price 25K.
I am only recently getting the full picture on this leaking/water damage, it was only after changing letting agent that I found a problem existed which was resulting in the rent/sale problems.
 
coppers, did u buy this apartment for coppers !! - sorry couldn't help myself.
anyway, you will need to get to the bottom of this and go through whatever paperwork you received at the time of purchase.
is the property leasehold, if it is then who is the freeholder. u can find out who the freeholder is by looking on the land registry for a fee of £3. god forbid but have you checked that you are indeed the registered owner ! - all sounds a bit fishy not using a solicitor.
what part of the country is this property in ? it musn't be london because you can almost sell anything in london.
i bet its manchester ?!
 
Obviously a solicitor was used though just not met by me. I'm sure my signature is on all the relevant but unread documents.

Unfortunately not London. Not manchester either...think robin hood.

Not sure about leasehold. I have a UK mortgage so I assume the bank was more on top of things than I was and I am indeed the registered owner
How does knowing the freeholder help me?
 
because the freeholder should really have a management company in place to run things and sometimes they collect the ground rent. if the property is leasehold which i assume it is - usually flats are - and if you wanted to extend the lease at any time then you would need to do this through the freeholder.
how many years is left on the lease for this property in question.
and as for robin hood (Nottingham ?)
 
coppers said:
Obviously a solicitor was used though just not met by me. I'm sure my signature is on all the relevant but unread documents.
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Probably time to get a solicitor on the case to check the whole situation out regardless of the water damage issue!
 


If its an apartment block there will be a block insurance policy. If you are having trouble tracking meanegemtn co as you said go direct to insurance co. If you took a mortgage out on the aprtment to buy it they would have required a copy of this insurance policy.
 
Good thinking, will contact bank and see what they have.
Thanks again for replies.
 
Went over at the weekend to find there was actually no damage!!!!!!!

It was the apartment next door that had the extensive damage and the underlying problem with the building was in all likelihood fixed.

Dodgy to say the least.

Is there any means of checking if an apartment has been let in the past?
Had a problem with the previous agent whereby I was left holding for rent for a few months to then be told the apartment hadn't beent let.

Moved a step closer to ensuring a proper management company will look after the building. £1200 will be charged for this service and then 250 + 10% of annual rent for the letting company. Do these charges sound ok for a two bedroom apartment value 130K annual rent 6K?
 
coppers said:
Is there any means of checking if an apartment has been let in the past?
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You mean your apartment or somebody else's?
Had a problem with the previous agent whereby I was left holding for rent for a few months to then be told the apartment hadn't beent let.
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Why don't you switch to another letting agent who provides a better service?
I don't understand what letting agent charges have to do with the management company that should (?) be in place separately to mange the complex?
 
coppers, you have lost me here !
looks like you think the flat was actually let and the agent has pocketed the money ? and that would not surprise me.
i guess you could contact the council to see who has been paying the council tax or contact the water supplier maybe.
who is paying the council tax ? - if this flat is empty then you are responsible. do you not worry about this property ? - i can't understand your approach to this investment. the picture so far looks like, no rent, dont know who's paying for services, dont know if any mgmt co. and i guess you dont know whether the flat is really insured or not as you haven't been paying maintenance charges, your dealing with rip off agents and what about the Inland Revenue ? i am glad i don't live or own a flat in this block ! suggest you flog it and be done with it and probably do everyone else a favour in the block. i am not keen on absentee landlords to say the least.
 
I agree with lorna - seems like this situation is all over the place at this stage!
 
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