ARMA
ARMA SURGERY ASK THE PROFESSIONALS
BruceMAunder TAylor, a chartered surveyor andmember ofARMA’s council provides answers to readers’ questions
CLAIMFORWATER DAMAGE QUESTION Iliveonthe secondfloor of ourblock of flats andmywashingmachineoverflowedwhileIwas at work causingdamagetothe
flatbelow.Aninsurance claim hasbeenmadebythemanagingagentbut I have beentoldthat thereisa£1,000 excess andIwill have to paythe lessee of the flatbelowthatamount as it is onlythe sumoverand above thatwhichwillbe paid by theinsurancecompany. Idon’t have that sort ofmoneyand it’s goingtocausemegreat hardship. What can I do?
ANSWER Thebuildingsinsurance policy on ablock of flats normallycoverswater damage subjecttothe insured party (usually the landlord or themanagement company) paying thefirstamount of anyclaim,called the excess, and the insurance company paying only for theamountofdamagewhich is morethanthe excess. Waterdamageclaimsare probablythemost persistent claimsfromwhichinsurance companiessufferwhen insuring blocks of flats (see also page23). I have not seen a copy of your lease but, assuming it
has relatively standard terms, then it is theobligation of your landlord ormanagement company to insure thebuilding. It is unlikelythatthe leasehas anyclause aboutthatobligation beingsubject to an excess, orwho pays theexcesswhenone
arises.There is probably a landlord ormanagement company obligation to re- instatethe damage with themoney received fromthe insurancecompany.Ifthatmoney received is less than thecost of theworks therewillbeadeficiency,and it is likelytobeabout £1,000. Thequestioniswho pays?The landlord’srepairing
obligation is probably limited to the structure, exterior andcommonparts/common
services.Itistherefore unlikely that remedy of the damage falls to them. The repairing obligation of each lessee is probably to repair theirownplasterwork, flooring, decorative finishes etc. Your downstairs flattherefore has therepairing obligation forthe damage within
theirflat.There is unlikelytobeaclausewhich obligesyou to paytowards thecost of repairingthe downstairs flat. It is unlikely that themanaging agent or the landlord (orRMC/ RTMCo) canobligeyou to compensate thedownstairs flatunlessyou have someunusualclauseinyourlease to that effect. Thedownstairsflat mighttry to claim themoney
fromyou in aSmall Claims Court, or might try to use what is called themutualenforcement clausetoinsist that the landlord (orRMCo) takes action against you.
If thereispersistentleakage then action can certainly be takenagainst youunder thenormal nuisance clause, butifthisisaone off eventand youproperlyremedywhateverfault occurred with your washingmachine then thereisno continuing nuisance overwhich action can be taken. Formost leases this is averydifficult problem
forwhich fewmodernleasesmake adequate provision. Oldleases generallymakenoprovision at allfor such problems.Whenyou have two owner occupierswho recognise that they have
Waterdamage claimsare
probablythe
most persistent claimsfrom
whichinsurance companies suffer when insuring blocks of flats
The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA)isatradeassociationfor firms thatmanageprivateresidential leaseholdblocks of flats in England&
Wales.ARMApromoteshighstandardsof leaseholdmanagement by providingadvice, trainingandguidanceto itsmember firmsofmanaging
agents.ARMAalsoproducesguidancematerials for leaseholdersandResidentsManagementCompanies.With over 270firms inmembership,ARMA alsocampaigns forimprovements in thelegislationgoverningtheleaseholdsector.
36 Summer 2012 Flat Living
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