This notice is used to protect the building fabric and is for work which is necessary to bring or keep a house up to a reasonable state of repair.
When used
This notice can be served by your council and is used for work which is necessary to bring or keep a house up to a reasonable state of repair, including:
- meeting the Tolerable Standard
- other repairs to make property safe and secure
- other repairs to prevent damage to other people’s property
It can be served on commercial properties within blocks of flats. Try speaking to your council’s Private Sector Housing team or Environmental Health Services to see if they are able to help.
Where common repairs are concerned, the notice is served on ALL owners in the building and anyone who receives rent directly or indirectly.
The notice will give owners a deadline for completing repairs but the council may also give you an interim deadline for getting repairs set up. The council should give you 21 days to appeal the notice.
If owners do nothing, the council can step in and arrange the work required. If owners do not pay the bill when the council sends it, the council can register a Repayment Charge with the title deeds.
Drawbacks
- this notice can impact on your property value as any entry in the Building Standards Register should be flagged up in local authority searches obtained during a property sale – your mortgage lender will also have a copy of the order served on them
- if the council steps in to carry out work, there are potential additional costs due to the use of a higher specification than owners might choose of their own accord – there will also be an additional admin charge and consultant fees
- work is also more likely to be done all at once rather than in more manageable stages that might better suit owners’ budgets
- the order can be amended if additional work becomes necessary which could not have been reasonably foreseen
- you will need to ask for the notice to be revoked once the work is completed or it will stay on your title deeds and could affect the sale of your property
