First Tier Tribunal - would you spend £300 to save £40,000?

Introduction

This is the story of a quality residential development in South London comprising 32 units. It was only 10 years old and the managing agent had been 'managing' the Property since the start.

In 2014 the directors of the resident management company asked the managing agent to investigate an indentation in the common road way. Every day that is rained the indentation seemed to grow, the directors continued to request an investigation. The managing agent did nothing.

Taking action

In the summer of 2021 ALLRES completed a multi-disciplinary survey and found the root cause. There were several large cutaways in sections of the original steelwork.

Because of the that, the directors of the resident management company employed a structural engineer. ALLRES reviewed the lease document which suggested that the responsibility to fix the problem lay with the Landlord. The directors wrote to the Landlord, who put the matter in the hands of the solicitor. The solicitors sought to delay and divert for several months.

In October 2022, ALLRES helped the residents to submit an application to the First Tier Tribunal. This application made the Landlord's solicitors take notice.

Until finally, two days before Christmas in 2022, the Landlord accepted responsibility for the repair, which had an estimated cost of c£40,000.