Work Delayed on Derelict Flat
Got an e-mail from the managing agent of Flat 17 saying that the matter had once again reached his desk following our telephone conversation of last month.
He advised that the official notification to the HSE for the refurbishment project for flat 17 advises a 14 week contract period from 20th July 2011 but work has yet to begin.
This is because of an on-going leak from the flat immediately above that has destroyed part of the ceiling and will clearly prevent its replacement until stopped.
He went on to ask me to liaise with the owner of the flat above and their property manager (not the one who wanted to tell me to ‘f**k off) to stop the water ingress. He also advised that the previous property manager had made contact with the owner of the flat above but no repair work was attempted.
I got back to him and advised that this was incorrect. The leak had been repaired shortly after it had been brought to the owners attention at the start of the year. During a meeting I attended with the managing agent, the owner of the flat above and the works foreman this month, we were shown that the ceiling joists have rotted through. This would indicate that the floorboards had not been removed in order to repair the leak as the owner thought he had fixed it.The issue is further compounded by the fact that Flat 17 continued to be neglected months after the repair had been carried out.
Drawing On Our Reserves
Andy has authorised the use of the reserve funds for all work relating to drains so I requested a new quote for a full camera survey, the replacement of all drain covers and the two manhole covers at the front of the property.
A Bit More Of The Roof Still To Do
I’ve requested that the area over Flat 22 be covered with roofing felt as per the other areas but it will need clearing of moss first. There’s also a small area between Flats 21 and 22 to do.
The guttering requires cleaning above Flat 8 and we also have one more water tank that needs re-housing.
RMC Directors Seek Help From A Solicitor
Due to the concerns we have raised a number of times regarding leaseholders who remain in serious arrears, I authorised our managing agent to provide any information on these leaseholders to a firm of solicitors. We were then told that there was no money in the service charge account and the expenditure was not budgeted for. They suggested we refrain from instructing the sending of a number of ‘Letters Before Action’ and as we are getting towards the end of the financial year, we make provision in next year’s budget for additional legal costs.
No More Site Visits!
We have had a new property manager (our third) for over 6 months now and not a single site visit. On enquiring about this a number of times, it appears that they have been reviewing and seeking advice with regard to the management of asbestos on the property. They have now considered that sending anyone to site outside of contractors is in breach of their staff safety policy. Since when??
In my reply I had to say that I didn’t fully understand this as firstly we were under the impression that our asbestos wasn’t dangerous unless disturbed and I couldn’t see where a visit from our property manager would lead to such a disturbance. I also asked why was it OK for contractors to attend when the risk of then disturbing it was much higher.I also had to wonder why it took over 6 months for us to obtain such a reason for no visits, and why were we only now being made aware of staff safety on the issue? Was this a new policy because her predecessor made hardly any visits either!
I was advised that all contractors attending our development are given a copy of the asbestos survey and they make a judgement based on that. Chainbow have decided that as they cannot monitor it daily, the risks are too great for them to endanger staff.
This does of course raise the issue that if we were not continually in arrears we could afford to remove it. In any event we won’t get any more site visits until it’s cleared!