A couple who endured squirrels rampaging in the roof and rainwater running down the walls of their leasehold flat have at last had their complaints vindicated, thanks to the intervention of Leasehold Knowledge Partnership.
Ade Bankole, 38, and his wife Otitokan Oluwo, 35, had been complaining to Peverel since October last year without success. Rivulets of water were clearly seen running down the walls of their flat, which has been damp for months. Furniture and recent decoration to the flat were completely ruined.
Now an independent surveyor has confirmed that there is a hole in the roof, as the couple had been arguing for the past six months.
The Bankoles, who are from Nigeria, could see that the roof was damaged at the 14-unit Crowthorne Lodge in Bracknell, where they own a top floor £134,000 leasehold flat.
They even produced photographs showing the water rivulets and missing tiles, and employed a contractor who reported that there was a hole in the roof.
This was flatly contradicted by local contractor TCH Roofing and Property Maintenance, employed by Peverel, who unaccountably reported on February 25:
“After my very intensive inspection, I can categorically state that none of the water staining in the two bedrooms and the main living area are in any way being caused by the external roof damage.”
It was a point the contractor was eager to emphasise:
“… Once again I can state that under no circumstances is there any damage to the roof or the external walls of the building causing these internal problems, it is all being caused by condensation and if needed I will confirm this in any way that maybe required …
“I do hope this is all that is needed at present …”
After LKP took up the Bankoles’ appalling treatment on March 26, Peverel undertook to send in an independent surveyor and a senior manager.
The report from Aedas Building Consultancy makes clear that water in the flat was due to … the hole in the roof. Squirrel droppings also were found in the loft.
“The nature and pattern of the internal staining to the internal walls is not consistent with condensation build up. It is consistent with a penetrating source of water,” says the report.
Aedas also pointed out the danger of “vermin” to electrical wiring, as squirrels have been known to start fires.
Why the Bankoles had to put up with a miserable, cold and damp winter that ruined the décor and furnishings of their flat – and who is to pay for this – are the unanswered questions.
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ARMA ends four-month farce after finally saying who its members are …
Epic leasehold battle ends with victory of freeholder in the Supreme Court
Second Christmas of misery for ‘squirrels in the roof’ leasehold owners
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This raises a major concern that the PM sector has moved so far into customer service centres and administration that the average PM simply has no ability or inclination to look at or understand basic building defect, even just a hole in the roof.
It raises a reliance on contractors inspecting and reporting, at a cost to the service charge, even before you consider the potential for abuse by contractors. For all the improvement in training from ARMA and the IRPM I am still staggered by the absence of a core element of basic building and services understanding.
We are in a similar situation. We are leasehold owners of an apartment in South Wales managed by OM Property Management. In April 2012 water started coming into the spare bedroom. Our property was let out and our estate agent got in touch with OM Property Management. No action was taken until June 2012 when we made a first stage complaint. To summarise the leak has still not been fixed. We had to employ our own surveyor to deal with it following many fix its by their contractor. The water was coming in only when it rained and our apartment was a GROUND FLOOR flat.
OM brought in their own surveyor who they subsequently dismissed. After all the fix its which have taken over a year we now have to go through a legal process in which all owners are advised in order to fix the roof where the problem lies. We have holes in our bedroom ceiling put their by their contractor because their surveyor said the water was coming from a ventilation pipe despite our tenant being adamant that water only came in when it rained. We are still have difficulty getting information on exactly when the remedial work will be carried out. Our tenant is leaving in June and we are left with an apartment that we can’t rent out and cannot sell in its current condition. If we had not employed a surveyor to deal with OM Property Managment we would not have got to this stage.