Shared Freeholders Deny Shared Responsibility

Landlord Discussion Legal
1

Hi ,

Can anyone please kindly advise on this scenario:

The roof terrace repair was concluded as a shared responsibility by the leasehold advisory council, I have passed on the information to the rest of the shared freeholders (4 of us in the building), however the rest of the shared freeholders are not accepting this and instead wanted to hire a building surveyor to attend my property which has the terrace where the flat below claimed the leak came from and then decide on whose responsibility it is. They also asked me to repair/replace the entire roof decking which forms a part of the structural part of the roof foundation with mould growing over it claimed by the flat below. What does this lead to so called shared responsibility as stated in lease if every time such challenges are raised? Surely they have no authority to decide on such repair responsibility given it is concluded by lease review that it is shared responsibility? Will this go to court if they do not accept such responsibility ? And who will pay for legal cost? I assume the basement flat where the leaks came into will have to bring this to the court if the other freeholders do not accept it? Or in a very worrying scenario, they will team up to bring this to court together against me the flat sitting above the basement flat? They (the 3 of them )are already having board meeting excluding me requesting me to grant them having a building surveyor to attend.

Thanks.

2

If you are confident about the advice youve been given then you could just decline to pay and see if the try to sue you.

3

The latest update from the basement flat is that they have also received legal advice from their solicitor and the advice aligns with what I have received from the leasehold advisory council which concludes the roof terrace repair is a shared responsibility. However the building management agent has refused to get involved and claimed this is ground floor owner maintenance issue followed by the contractor visit who commented the tiles on my terrace cracked and water puddles created when it rains and suggested putting down new water proof membrane and installing new tiles. To my best knowledge, it goes back to the old question - the shared freeholders refuse the shared responsibility, and regardless of the building survey , none of them have the legal position to conclude the repair responsibility against the legal advices received , and this looks it can only go to a ruling authority to make them take up such shared responsibility.

4

It may then be up to the affected leaseholder to serve legal papers on the other joint freeholders to force them to make the repairs.

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