Major works gone bad – Decisions?

Major works gone bad – Decisions?

11:48 AM, 17th January 2022, About 2 years ago 5

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Following a couple of years of ‘major works’ costing so far £1m in a block – it has as expected by the leaseholders gone very badly wrong! Covid didn’t help, but the major issue was with the works to the 1930’s critical windows.

We were not consulted on the works, and many leaseholders including myself asked for replacements and would pay for them (we own the windows) as scaffolding was up around the whole block.

The decision by the Freeholder and surveyor was to ‘refurb’ original steel single glazed from 1930 windows and of course, it’s been an absolute disaster with many now having gaps and draughts that they didn’t have before, all the old paint was removed (no lead protection, but that is now in the past) and repainted with rust proofing, undercoat and topcoat, done very badly and having to be redone.

The first issue was that they are charging us for the overspend on getting this done and redone and then remedial works and broken glass and now of course we still have old and leaky windows that will not make it to an EPC C certificate – the windows were/are the only way we can really improve the energy efficiency in the individual flats that are mainly D and E. Heating is communal and dare I say managed by opening a window.

The obvious question is – is there any action we can take for not improving but worsening our energy efficiency and making it impossible without secondary glazing to reach a C?

Of course, the other question is who in their right mind refurbs original windows that have not had any works done (apart from a lick of paint) since they were in installed?

We are in the process of buying the Freehold, but it is happening too late to take on these works (there is more to come) – the Freeholder is delaying the process due to the massive overspend, and liability.

Harlequin Garden


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Comments

TheMaluka

15:49 PM, 17th January 2022, About 2 years ago

Form a Right to Manage company and take the maintenance into your own hands.

Harlequin

18:52 PM, 17th January 2022, About 2 years ago

We are taking over the Freehold in a month or so - just waiting for a completion date, it has been held up by this fiasco so the future is in hand - what is not is the damage done to the flats by this decision (by the Freeholder's surveyor) to refurbish the windows and not replace

TheMaluka

19:10 PM, 17th January 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Harlequin Garden at 17/01/2022 - 18:52
It will probably take more time and effort, not to mention cash, than it is worth to take the managing agent to task. Best to lick your wounds and just get on with rectifying the situation. A section 20 should probably have been issued but to rectify the situation retrospectively is just too expensive to be worthwhile. Justice is only for the rich.

Harlequin

22:32 PM, 17th January 2022, About 2 years ago

The situation/rectification is removing the windows of 120 flats and replacing them. Hardly an easy or inexpensive task, my question was really if anyone has come across poor decisions made by the Freeholder (it is not the managing agents who caused this, they have done their best with the useless contractors) it was the Freeholder's surveyor who made this decision based on inspection of around 5/6 flats out of all of them.
A section 20 was issued of course, this is part of major works and still ongoing but the rest will be done under our watch.

Freda Blogs

20:50 PM, 19th January 2022, About 2 years ago

Presumably the Freeholder's surveyor has Professional Indemnity Insurance? Can that be claimed against - by you or the freeholder?

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