Your new shared ownership flat has a leak from the roof above. Some of the light fittings in the bedroom are loose. Who is responsible for doing these repairs?
The first place to look is your lease. If you don't have a copy, you can get one from the Land Registry. There are also model leases on the gov.uk website which housing associations use. This blog assumes that the model lease is being used. The model lease divides responsibility for repairs between the landlord (housing association) and the tenant (flat owner). The landlord will be responsible for external and structural issues and the tenant for internal issues.
The landlord under the lease is responsible for the external fabric of the building including things like the roof and external walls. They are also responsible for pipes, wires etc which serve the building as a whole rather than your individual flat, as well as maintaining, lighting and cleaning the common parts.
As leaseholder, you are responsible for anything inside the flat including plaster, flooring pipes and fixtures and fittings that just serve the flat. You are also responsible for the windows including the frames.
There are some exceptions to this as follows:
- If internal damage is covered by insurance, they may pay.
- If damage to the common parts is caused by you, you may have to pay.
If the landlord carries out repairs, they can include the cost in the service charge unless:
- You are in a newly built building. There is likely to be a building warranty. This would cover the cost of structural repairs in the first 10 or 12 years.
- Some shared ownership leases have an initial repair period [usually 10 years] where the landlord is responsible for the cost of repairs and cannot recover the cost through service charge. If the initial repair period applies, a leaseholder can also claim up to £500 a year from the landlord to recover the cost of repairing some fixtures in your flat such as pipework and radiators.
So, to go back to the question at the top, the landlord will probably be responsible for fixing the leak in the roof, and you will have to fix the light fittings.
What can you do if the landlord is not keeping to their side of the bargain? I will answer that question in a future blog.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
