Consultation over major works

[Donkin]

I read the Service Charges, Ground Rent & forfeiture notice on the Lease-Advice.Org website and under Consultation it lists various requirements. How do I stand if the Leases on my Property have different requirements?

We do not have a Service Charge, repairs etc are paid direct to the Contractor.
The Lease states that the Leaseholders pay 25% and 50%
The Lease only requires a two week notice period.
I only have to supply a single estimate for any work.
The Leaseholder has no right of Veto over works but has to go to arbitration (which I organise with a Solicitor) if the estimate is unreasonable.

Work was carried out as a result of one of the Leaseholders Solicitor writing to me and claiming I was in Breach of his Clients Lease if I did not have the work done immediately?

Another point is what happens if the Leaseholder given two months notice does not respond at all, either verbally or in writing?

[SteveP]

We do not have a Service Charge, repairs etc are paid direct to the Contractor.

It is very unlikely that such a term is in your lease. I have never seen a lease in which the landlord is not responsible for keeping external and communal parts in good repair and which contain covenants enabling him to recover the costs from the leaseholders. If you do have such a lease then you need advice from a solicitor.

So far as consultation etc is concerned it does not matter what the leases say, statute overides anything in the lease.

[Poppy]

Are you as the freeholder obligated to have the works done?

Is the leaseholder obligated to pay for their share of the cost of the works?

If you can answer “yes” to both questions by identifying their provision in the lease, then everything else will fall into place.

What I mean by everything else is:

- You must carry out the works, otherwise you are in breach of the lease.
- They must pay for the works (whether specified as in advance, in arrears, into a sinking fund, direct to the contractor), otherwise they are in breach of the lease.

Further, you must be sure whether the works are rated as a renewal, repair, maintenance or improvement. Be especially wary of carrying out works which may be classed as an improvement - many many leases do not permit the recovery of improvement costs through the service charge.

In the end, always go by the conditions in the lease.

[Donkin]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear.
yes I am obligated to have the any work carried out on the communal areas. But we do not have a Sink Fund. If I decide I want work done the lease states I must give each Leasee two weeks notice. And they pay their share direct to the Contractor.

Now I have given plenty of notice, and did the whole thing with estimates and further estimates. However as there were no comments first time around I did not state this the second time. Does it matter? I got about 95% of it right. How particular will any LVT be if the Leasee wants to get snotty.

Second Point
The Lease states


including the painting decorating lighting cleaning renewal and renovation of any such matters subject to the Lessee paying and contributing to any costs and expenses incurred by the Landlord

How would you differentiate Renovation and Improvement.

We are taking taking the concrete up in the yard and laying paving stones.

[SteveP]

How would you differentiate Renovation and Improvement.

Well, in some respects that is what I get paid to do as a Chartered Building Surveyor and it would be impossible to share everything I know with you and the law and practice in relation to disrepair. Unless you have got 20 odd years spare.

The simple answer would be...

1) If you provide something that is not already provided that is improvement.
2) If you replace something that can be repaired then that is an improvement.
3) If you replace something that must be replaced with something that is "better" then the item it replaces then, unless you can show you have done so to meet a statutory obligation (for example you could not replace single glazed windows like for like today as the building regulations would prohibit it) then that is an improvement.

I must caveat this by saying that exactly what you can recover the cost of will depend upon what the lease says and that the lease needs to be understood in the light of both statute and case law. If in doubt engage a chartered building surveyor (not me, I have a policy of not working for people who I offer advice to on here just in case people think I am drumming up business).

In my view taking up concrete to lay paving stones is very likely to be improvement and if so the costs would not be recoverable from the lessees.

The LVT won't get snotty, they will simply apply the law. If you have not done what statute and your lease (in that order) requires you to do you will be unable to recover any costs at all.

I must ask why do this yourself? The lease almost certainly provides for your recovering the costs of professional services. Get a professional to deal with it. Remember this is not about what you want to do it is about what you are obliged to do, which is to keep certain parts in repair. A surveyor can tell you what needs repair, how best to repair it and how best to ensure that you recover the cost of repairs.