Upstairs Flat Leaking Into Mine

[MuleneNex]

I am the freeholder of my flat and the one above. 
 

the owner upstairs is dodgy as anything and has rented out but doesn't have a buy to let mortgage.

hes also skipped the country and used my addresss for various things including for the tax office.

his flat has leaked repeatedly into mine over the years.  Guttering is poorly maintained etc and in 2019 I replaced the gutters (despite it being his responsibility to do so).  
 

he's rented it out to tons of people mostly transient travelling or students and his girlfriends cousin runs the show.

4 months ago I noticed water running down the back wall in my toilet.  I asked them to urgently resolve it.  The cousin wasn't there the woman renting had just moved in and the owner has been ignoring me for 3 years.

i finally after much arguments got hold of the owner by email only.  
 

he said he would fix it.  A month on nothing was done.  Finally 1 December he said he got a company to come fix all the leaks.  They didn't - there is still water running down my walls both from outside (I assume) poorly maintained gutters and inside every time they shower.

hes stopped replying to emails again and doesn't care as he's sunning himself in South Africa.

I called his lender to inform them and they werent interested at all.

Ive been out of work a lot the last 2 years, I can't afford to fix the guttering again myself and I'm also now disabled.  This is causing me ill health, stress and anxiety and he continues to get away with anything he likes.

How can I force them to fix this? It's causing huge damage to my property and my health. 

please can you help?

[newmodarmy]

I'm not sure how you can own the freehold of a property someone else owns but, putting that aside for now, I'd advise you to get a solicitor involved or simply to claim on your insurance and leave them to reclaim from the other owner.

[davebro3]

My friend is the freeholder of a property where the top flat is "owned" (long lease) by someone else.

It should stipulate in the lease who is responsible for doing/paying for what repairs and mantenance.

If someone is breaking the terms of the lease the only recourse may be a legal one.

[MuleneNex]

@newmodarmy quite easily - lots of people own freeholds to property owned by others (they are freeholders and property owners traditionally had a 99 year lease - now it's more commonly 125 year lease and is usually renewed on sale).  

I bought in 1996 and the freehold came with it.   Back then it was perfectly normal for that to happen and the people who owned upstairs at the time weren't interested in it. 

Many flats are leasehold, so *someone* owns the freehold.

My insurer is unlikely to allow me to claim and then they reclaim given neither of us have access to repair the leaks.  How would my insurer payout and what would they payout for? Repairs to my walls? That will then be immediately damaged again? 

[Redhelen72]

I think you need to see the terms of the leasehold and then based on that seek legal advice

How did you get the details of his mortgage company?

[MuleneNex]

@redhelen72 land registry say who the lender is apparently. I did manage to get his insurance documents out of him about 4 years ago as he is meant to show them annually as part of the lease - it's an old fashioned lease (no chickens allowed on the land and no livestock to cross the front threshold!) it's their responsibility to ensure they have buildings insurance (unusual I know).  It's not a landlords buildings insurance.  He had another property in another part of town I discovered by accident.  

He sent me the wrong building insurance (for the other property).  I have asked for landlords insurance documents and he repeatedly promises to produce but fails to do so.  Same now with buildings insurance.

I spent 3 years chasing his peppercorn ground rent and it wasn't until I said I would contact his lender about it that suddenly he paid that.  He has never paid it on time or taken his responsibility seriously.

He's been evasive for years, gets aggressive and just doesn't respond - hence me sorting the guttering out in 2019.

They used my address for the tax office, and I kept passing the documents to their tenants as I had no idea where they were.  In the end I contacted the tax office to say they had the wrong address, that it was upstairs but that they had rented it out.  Tax office finally stopped sending letters.

He tried to buy my flat when I put it up for sale about 10 years ago after my mum died, he delayed and delayed and my deadline to sell (so I could try to buy my mums place) ended up passing.  In the end he said they couldn't get a mortgage due to building regulations.  I'm guessing they wanted to turn it into one property which wouldn't work with 2 mortgages.  Again at the time he also mentioned his lenders name.

 

 

 

[ladybirder]

You could try contacting Citizen's Advice, they may be able to help you.  Good luck it sounds a nightmare situation you are in.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/finding-free-or-affordable-legal-help/

 

[The Builder]

I can't help with the legal implications, except to say that our present laws regarding leasehold/freehold tenure are so outmoded they do demand proper legal advice. Otherwise, you'll go round in circles forever.

As for the practicalities, 'running' water is not a guttering problem... except in extreme circumstances. And I say this mainly because you are not the top floor immediately behind the gutter.

Most likely  shower tray/junction with the tiling. A very common problem.

By all means look for help from Citizens' Advice; Environmental Health (local council); Age UK, if appropriate.

But it will come down to legal advice in the end. There's a wealth of good legal opinion on this site, but your concerns have been going on for so long, it means dealing with this in depth. Someone needs to go through this in detail by thoroughly examining all the legal agreements and their conditions.

 

[MuleneNex]

Thank you@thebuilder.  I'm just worried about legal costs mainly :( being out of work for so long really stung me hard financially.

 

I've written to him again today giving 7 days to address all the issues of leaks.  I guess then I try to get some legal advice.

 

i had a Quick Look at the lease he does have obligation to keep it in good repair or I can legally enter and have it inspected by a suitable person - who that would be I'm not sure.  Surveyors or some kind of builder.  
 

I'd like to put a notice on land registry for his failure to meet lease requirements but that won't fix my issues with the running water

[The Builder]

A surveyor would be fine, especially if he puts his assessment in writing to you. That would add to the costs though.

A builder could easily advise you. In fact. anyone who could be classed as a 'competent person.' It would certainly make it easier for a solicitor to comment.

Thanks for BA.  Good luck to you.