Claiming on insurance?

If the lessee/tenant is obdurate and difficult and the owner is unwilling to confront him, then the thing to do is to sell the property, probably not for very much with a sitting tenant/lessee. The kind of people who buy properties like that would soon deal with him.

There is no way of solving this problem that will not cause this lady pain and distress. She has to decide which pain is easier to bear; dealing with the problem or living with the misery.

From what gilly says, her sister is a soft touch, maybe she doesn't even submit the bill for the ground rent and I understand that it doesn't have to be paid unless asked for!

Also, we have no idea of the details of the lease and whether there is a contingency fund for repairs, etc. She really needs to take legal advice.

He does sound like hard work.

But leases can be terminated and the property returned to the freeholder if the leaseholder breaches the terms of the lease. Failure to pay ground rent is generally a term that can lead to the lease being terminated and he has clearly not being paying this.

Leaseholders never own any part of the premises. They have possession of them for the term of the lease and can, usually, sell that lease on to someone else. If the lease is terminated for valid reasons they can be forced to vacate the premises.

I think there's confusion here with some posters - if the man is paying a 'peppercorn rent' that is another term for ground rent, usually a nominal £50 pa, and he is a leaseholder not a tenant! So he owns his part of the house.

The problem is likely in the lease, or the lack of reinforcement of the rules in the lease.

The solution to this lady's problem is in her own hands, with family support. She grasps the nettle and evicts him, or raises the rent and makes him pay and sets up a proper rental agreement etc
or she just grins and bears it. There are no other solutions.

Personally I would choose to evict him and take him to the small claims court over the money.

Not that easy these days though. And if he's only paying a peppercorn rent he'd soon find it if he were threatened with eviction for non-payment.

What an awful mess your sister's in, gillybob, I do hope a solution can be found, it seems so unfair.

I agree with Tanith he should be out in the street at the earliest opportunity.

My goodness what a tale , I don't understand why your sister puts up with it, he isn't even paying his rent surely she can give him notice and get a more amicable tenant? Why wouldn't she no one should have to put up with that.

gilly see what the CAB says - they have lawyers.

We are only a tiny family jollyg Me and DH (we have no money) my dad (ditto) , my sister and my 2 children and grandchildren.

I suppose DH and I, my dad and sister will end of going thirds. one step forwards and another 25 back. (only just emoticon)

The old sod has her over a barrel, and knows it. Maybe there is no formal paperwork.

CAB might help, but without a legal stance, it might not be able to offer real help, which is what is needed here.

Any other family who could help , Gilly, or is there a local for hire heavy mob!

Personally I would not know where to look for such assistance.

I presume a legal letter too would be ignored.

What a mess, wish all well.

Exactly Elegran I am thinking of starting a small admin business called "Gilly'll fix it" but not sure if the name will catch on.

How about the CAB? Time to read the lease very carefully and find out who is responsible for what and whether she can get him to pay anything. Even the £500 excess would help.

Crafty old git. I assume he HAS a valid lease, and is not living there rent-free with no paperwork at all? That might be relevant.

If the plumbing work has not been done then it will all happen again as soon as he gets the tank refilled. If your sister turns out to be responsible for everything, she needs to get someone in there to fix that and to fix the damage in his part of the house (more expense!). As a landlord she has a right of reasonable entry for herself, or for tradesmen to make essential repairs.

Gilly I can see you taking on some more admin here!

No way ninathenana she is as soft as they come. Feels guilty for even having to bother him. It gets worse. Turns out that the emergency plumber didn't come out at all (this via the window cleaner) and that the only reason the water has stopped pouring in is that whatever it was is now empty which means that this will all no doubt happen again soon. My DH said as a last attempt to confront him we could block his car into my sisters yard that she allows him to use as a goodwill gesture. Then he will be forced to knock. To be honest I don't know if that would be a good idea/illegal but my sister is past herself.

Unfortunately, I think as the freeholder your sister is responsible for arranging the appropriate insurance.

She needs to re-read the lease - there must be reference to who pays what percentage for repairs, such as roof, guttering, insurance, etc.

The fact that he is uncooperative is a real pain and I do feel sorry for her.

There can often be problems with flats in houses that have been converted because there are only a few people involved - far better to be in a block which is managed, and there is 'safety in numbers'.

I feel so sorry for your sister.

If he is her tenant and is behind with the rent then this is the last straw. Would she evict him ? or raise his pepper corn rent to cover the costs.
Doesn't solve the £500 but would be very satisfying

My sister is the freeholder Riverwalk he pays (or rather doesn't) a peppercorn rent to her. The flats are a very old house converted many moons ago. She has the tiny ground floor flat (one bedroom) he has a vast 5 bedroom "house" with turret room etc.

I have rang the police this morning Elegran and they say it is not a police matter now that they know he is safe and well and they are not able to advise. We have taken photos (it is pretty bad). My sisters insurance company say he should cover it (well we knew that) but they will cover it under my sisters insurance with the hefty excess. My personal opinion (having had dealings with him in the past) is that he is a crafty old s*d who knows that he should be dealing with it and plays the "I can't hear" "I am old" card all the time. I am in the process of writing a strongly worded letter that I am going to put through his letterbox tonight but my guess is that he will just ignore it.

My poor sister is at her wits end.

Can nthe police who answered tha call give any advice? They must know the legal situation.

i would say that he is responsible for paying for all the damage, whether he has insurance or not, but I don't know how you force him to.

She should take photos and record it while it looks its worst, whatever.

Is your sister's flat in a house that's been converted, and the upstairs person the freeholder?

Normally a block of flats or a converted house have one building insurance policy the cost of which is covered by the service charge.

Therefore any excess should come out of the 'sinking fund' (money set aside to cover such events).

All depends on her lease.