4 in a block roof access?

[SlickShoes]

Hi, looking for a bit of advice about a house i am looking to buy here in glasgow.

I have an offer in on it and my solicitor is trying to get a full roof report from the selling agents. The house is a lower flat of a 4 in a block type house. The upstairs part has i think a council tenant in it.

The selling agents are saying they cannot let us have roof access and that the upstairs neighbor is not contact able. Am i right in saying that the person with the attic and access to the roof when they buy or rent such a property agree to provide roof access should the person in the lower flat need it? Much like how you let others move through your garden to take out the bins etc.

It seems a bit iffy to me that its so difficult to get a look at the roof, the home report stated that a few ridge tiles need replaced and a the chimney needs some rendering, as far as i am aware these are not big jobs but dont understand why the sellers would be denying us access to see the roof.

Cheers!

[s.a.m]

No expert advice to offer, I'm afraid, but you will have joint responsibility for the maintenance of the roof, should you buy the flat. I'm pretty sure you should have the right to check it first, since you would be taking on 1/4 ownership of it. And I'm pretty sure that the upstairs tenant(or their land-lord) would become contactable if dirty water was dripping through their ceiling, and the roof needed fixed and paid for by the other three flat-owners.

[easty]

Hi, looking for a bit of advice about a house i am looking to buy here in glasgow.

I have an offer in on it and my solicitor is trying to get a full roof report from the selling agents. The house is a lower flat of a 4 in a block type house. The upstairs part has i think a council tenant in it.

The selling agents are saying they cannot let us have roof access and that the upstairs neighbor is not contact able. Am i right in saying that the person with the attic and access to the roof when they buy or rent such a property agree to provide roof access should the person in the lower flat need it? Much like how you let others move through your garden to take out the bins etc.

It seems a bit iffy to me that its so difficult to get a look at the roof, the home report stated that a few ridge tiles need replaced and a the chimney needs some rendering, as far as i am aware these are not big jobs but dont understand why the sellers would be denying us access to see the roof.

Cheers!

I dont think thats correct. Good neighbourly perhaps, but not anything official.

[discman]

Hi, looking for a bit of advice about a house i am looking to buy here in glasgow.

I have an offer in on it and my solicitor is trying to get a full roof report from the selling agents. The house is a lower flat of a 4 in a block type house. The upstairs part has i think a council tenant in it.

The selling agents are saying they cannot let us have roof access and that the upstairs neighbor is not contact able. Am i right in saying that the person with the attic and access to the roof when they buy or rent such a property agree to provide roof access should the person in the lower flat need it? Much like how you let others move through your garden to take out the bins etc.

It seems a bit iffy to me that its so difficult to get a look at the roof, the home report stated that a few ridge tiles need replaced and a the chimney needs some rendering, as far as i am aware these are not big jobs but dont understand why the sellers would be denying us access to see the roof.

Cheers!



That would ring alarm bells, try and contact them yourself at random times to chat to them,"if not there may be troubles ahead" :greengrin

[Alec Splode]

Your solicitor should be able to advise if the roof + attic space is shared responsibility (per the title deeds).
If it is, you're entitled to access.

[ballengeich]

Your solicitor should be able to advise if the roof + attic space is shared responsibility (per the title deeds).
If it is, you're entitled to access.

I'd add that even if the space isn't shared responsibility, remember that gravity brings problems down. I'd expect my solicitor to be putting pressure on the selling agent ro arrange access.

[--------]

I'd add that even if the space isn't shared responsibility, remember that gravity brings problems down. I'd expect my solicitor to be putting pressure on the selling agent ro arrange access.


Yup. I would want to know a little bit at least about the people living above me.

I would also have thought that you're entitled to a thorough, complete survey report on all aspects of the state of the building, including the state of the roof.

[Pete]

Hi, looking for a bit of advice about a house i am looking to buy here in glasgow.

I have an offer in on it and my solicitor is trying to get a full roof report from the selling agents. The house is a lower flat of a 4 in a block type house. The upstairs part has i think a council tenant in it.

The selling agents are saying they cannot let us have roof access and that the upstairs neighbor is not contact able. Am i right in saying that the person with the attic and access to the roof when they buy or rent such a property agree to provide roof access should the person in the lower flat need it? Much like how you let others move through your garden to take out the bins etc.

It seems a bit iffy to me that its so difficult to get a look at the roof, the home report stated that a few ridge tiles need replaced and a the chimney needs some rendering, as far as i am aware these are not big jobs but dont understand why the sellers would be denying us access to see the roof.

Cheers!

There are always slight differences depending on the area/type of house but I think the principles of roof access in four in a blocks are fairly constant.

The external roofing such as tiles, guttering and chimeny stacks are joint responsibility and any repair bill is split four ways regardless of where the fault is.
The internal structure and attic space is different. You have to find out if there is a dividing wall between the properties and if the attic space is shared or the single responsibility of the house below it. If it's the responsibility of the neighbours below then you shouldn't need a full report that studies the attic space. Things like internal water damage etc are their problem.
However, if it's shared between the four of you there HAS to be provision for you to inspect it...regardless of how inconvenient it is for other people.

This is where you should tell your solicitor to earn his money and find out about this by talking to the other party about the title deeds. If it does turn out that the internal space is shared responsibility then I'd be wary as they've obviously been trying to hide something by making access hard for you. Don't think selling agents wouldn't do something like that because they do.

When I was in the process of offering on my house I noticed the selling agent tried to sell it with absolutey no guarantees on anything whatsoever...which was quite odd. They normally only do this if their selling a repossession, not a part exchange which my house was. My solicititor twigged and got them to eventually give the normal guarantees. I found out the day I got my keys that my waste-venting system was non-compliant with building regulations. The selling agents were acting on behalf of Millar homes who were selling it as a part -ex and it just so happened they had built the home too. There had been a court case going on about this for a while between Millar and my similarly affected neighbours and what they basically did was try to shaft me by taking out all the guarantees...I would walk into the house, get told about the problem but could do nothing because I signed on their terms. Fat chance.

What I'm saying is get your solicitor to do his work and make sure he covers your backside. If he's worth his salt he'll sniff funny business from a mile off.

[SlickShoes]

Cheers for all the posts! Solicitor is currently harassing the selling agents and surveyor and has been for some time, this is the only outstanding issue so nothing is going ahead until hes happy with the roof, everything else is in order though so hopefully everything else goes fine. I think that the attic space is split so its not one massive shared attic so it may be the case like you say that the upstairs person is responsible for their own attic! I will pass that info on anyway so thanks again!