Surgery Guidance Directory


Findanagent


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Timefor change


Who is liable?


The flat is now in good repair


QUESTION Iliveinatopfloorflatin asmall blockwhichisownedand managedbyanRMC.Eachlessee isamemberandadirectorof the company.Ihavebeenindispute with thecompanyoverroof leaks, defectivewindows(whichare commonpartsnotdemisedto me),servicechargesandother mattersformanyyears.There hasbeenmuchlitigationbetween us,mostofwhichIhavelostand overtheyearsithascostmemore than£100,000in feesandcosts. I would liketoputitbehindmeand findabetterrelationship,Iknow itwillbedifficult,butallInow getfromthemanagingagentare letterswrittenin straight talking professional language,referring to thepast, judgingmyfuture actionsonwhathashappenedin thepast,warningmethatwhen thenextpaymentbecomesdue recoveryactionwill takeplace withoutanydelayandrequiring twoorthreeinspectionseach yeartocheckwhoislivingthere andthestate ofrepair.Thelease allowsthat. Iwant topayontime; theflatnowis ingoodrepairand it is onlymewholivesthere,butI donotwanttobetheonlyperson whochangestheir attitudeforthe future;Iwantsomechangein the managingagent’sattitude.What canIdo?


ANSWERWhat youdescribeisvery sad. Youhaveacknowledgedabad relationship in thepastand your contribution to it.Whateverthe issueswere, yousay that youhave correctedthemsofar as they are your responsibilities.Whoever themanagingagent is,itisnever


Flat Living Issue 14, Spring


goingtobeeasytopersuade them that youhavechanged andwill cooperateinthe future.Lessees are notofferedtraininginmatters like communicationand cooperation. Managing agents,through their professional andtrade bodiesare offered such training. However, they will have experience of some lesseeswho saytheywillchange anddonot, aswell as somelessees whosay they will changeand do. Thereisthatold cliché that it takes twopeopletohaveand continue a dispute. Managing agents do have to


cope with somedisruptive lessees butyet anotherold cliché comes to mind of theManaging agent whohas neverstarted adispute in hiswhole career, but has a large number of disruptive lessees on his books! He doesn’t recognise that he is thecommonfactor.If youcannotachieve changewith themanaging agent, it might be appropriate to trytoapproach oneormoreofyourco-directors andtry andcourteously persuade themthat you genuinely do want to have acooperative relationship in thefutureand wouldappreciate somereciprocation.Withoutme knowing a lot more detail about the circumstances of the case, there is little moreadviceIcan offer but, yes, youmust comply with the terms of your lease, just as your landlord companymustcomply with theirtermsof thelease.Even if you have to wait sometimefor themto be persuadedthatyou will comply in the future for the long term, then relationships ought to settledowntosomething better for the future.


QUESTIONAbout twomonths ago, our block hadthe commonwaterservice tested underHealth&Safetyregulations and individualflatswere checked for any signs of legionnairesorganismsin kitchensand bathrooms.Afewflats areowned by people whospend long periods of timeabroad andsomesignswerefound in their shower heads.Advicewas given to run the hot waterthrough their taps andshowersonce aweek. Theporterhappenedtohave keys so he started to do that.Unfortunately, on one occasion,the showerwas somehow notturnedoff.When the porter returned the followingweek, theflathad terrible condensation affectingdecorations, furniture,carpetsand curtainsand alot of damage to personal possessions.Who is liable?


ANSWER Icannotgiveyou specificlegal advice on thefacts of this case-thatisone forthe lawyers-but this issue of portersholding keys forindividual flats cangiverisetonasty allegations and huge problems. The story youdescribeisanextremeanddistressing example ofwhat occasionally happens.When somethingunexpectedlygoesseriously wrong(aburst pipemaybe) it’s good that accessisavailable:when thepersonhaving accesscausesdamageorloss, it’s bad. Each person involved hastoassessthe risksand choosewhichset of riskstotake. Somelessees appear to have an unfortunatehabit of giving aset of keys to theporterontrust without any written agreement about responsibilities accepted or disclaimed. Someportershaveanunfortunate habitof


agreeing to hold keys ‘asafavourorservice’ withoutinforming thelandlord ormanaging agentand withoutgivingareceipt stating thetermsonwhichthe keys areheldand the purposes forwhich they can be used. Somemanaging agents have an unfortunate habitofnot insistingonaproper record systemandsecuritycupboardfor thekeys, or clarificationofdutiesfor newortemporary porters. SomelandlordsorRTMCoshavean unfortunatehabit of regardingthisproblem as aprivate arrangementbetween theporter andthe lessee concerned, andofnoconcern of theirs. Someblocks have astrictlyenforcedpolicy


that theporterdoesnot hold flatkeys, and does notgointoindividual flats unless there is agenuineemergency. It’s writtenintotheir contract.Someblocksdohaveaservice for porterstoholdkeys,whichmustbesigned in andout,withawritten agreementasto disclaimer of responsibility andother terms, andaproperrecord systemwhichthe property managerchecksonregular visits.Ihopethis answer gives you a useful guide to the range of problemswhich can result and someof the ways inwhichtodealwiththem.●


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