Know your responsibilities
The law governing your flat comes from contract obligations in your title deeds that you signed-up to when you bought your flat and from various Acts passed by Parliament.
This is how these two sources of law can help you keep your building well-managed and maintained:
Clarifying who should pay for what:
- what are common, mutual or individual repairs
- what is your share of repair costs
- what is meant by 'maintenance'
How you and others should do things:
- how you and your co-owners should take decisions
- how your property factor/manager should act
- what happens to repairs when someone sells the flat
Flat owner's obligations:
- the Duty to Maintain
- requirement to carry common insurance
- restrictions on altering the flat
- when you must allow others to access your flat
- private landlord's obligations
Help and protection:
- the Home Owner Housing Panel to deal with complaints about property factors/managers
- how to enforce repairs
- how to change your title deeds
Owners can take legal action against their co-owners if they do not keep to their obligations and the council also has powers to help.