Buying a flat in a local authority high rise

[IwishIdidntlikesugar]

Have you ever done or considered this (as a new buyer, not buying your council property from them)? Thank you. Ps I am aware of issues around anti social behaviour etc so not really looking for thoughts from this perspective.

There was a documentary on this a few years ago (I think C4). It was a nightmare, when works need to be carried out you're tied to the council contractors, was costing people tens of thousands.

Yes, thank you. I will look for it. I have a feeling I might have watched it.

I used to work in the marketing team for our local council housing department. Do not do this. You could get a property dirt cheap but the “communal repairs” might be horrendous - eg a lift goes or the roof of the building needs work and it is split between residents equally (with the LA covering their tenants’ share of course). Many of the properties here were declared not suitable for mortgages for this reason but that might not be the same across the board.

Don't buy leasehold

Don't buy unless you are desperate, you are never free from the council & can get landed with massive bills when they do any building repairs.

Thank you. Yes, these were my worries. I asked an estate agent of he knew of recent or upcoming work but he just kept repeating that anything would be covered in the service charge even when I said Im sure that isnt the case. I also asked why i see some as cash only and again he didnt really give me a sensible answer (he said maybe the others had concrete/cladding issues). Are owners responsible for joint costs across all the buildings in the estate or only their building?
to the person who said dont buy leasehold, almost all flats are leasehold so how can you ever buy otherwise?

I think, unlike private leasehold, councils don't keep sinking funds so you are more likely to be levied.

High risers can also have larger costs due to lifts, communal services like heat and hot water and the amount of scaffolding needed for external works.

However not all ex local authority is bad, you can get a bargain and the flats themselves tend to be be better built and more spacious.

Mr Monkey owned an ex council flat in a low rise estate (mix of terraced houses and small three stoey blocks) and he was fine, I think he got levied £3000 in the 20 years he owned it and that was for replacement windows.

I have an ex LA flat, but in a 4-storey block. I would agree with the others: don’t buy in a high rise. You could get billed £50k if they re-do the lifts. Something low level is fine though imo. Yes you do have the risk of major works - i had a bill for £13k when the roof was fixed. But on the other hand i’ve owned the flat for 20 years+.

Bear in mind you will have service charges, which may be eg £150 a month, as well as council tax. And there may be rules around eg Air Bnbing your flat.

So it’s so-able but look carefully at the details - when major works were last done, any plans to do them in the near future (windows and roofs in particular), what the service charge is. Amd get a feel for what the block is like.

Some people may look down their noses at ex LA, but mine is 5 mins from Hampstead Heath - no way could i have bought around there otherwise.

As far as I know, but could be out of date info, Building Societies are reluctant to lend above 4 stories.

Thanks all. I feel more hope with the low rise in Hampstead story. This flat was the 15th floor , i think 22 ish floors hence my reluctance. Yes, it is lovely inside but the possibility of expensive costs plus lifts breaking are stressful.

Yes, it's the problem with a lack of reserves that I would say is the negative side. Whereas the council has a works budget to pull from, you will just have to stump up your proportion of it, often on quite short notice - it's not like a fully private block where the majority of leaseholders are on the same page about having reserve fund savings and not wanting a £20k bill for lift and roof works at once!

The most cost effective flats to buy are low rise (4 or fewer storeys, ideally 3), no lift, no electric gate, small blocks. They're the cheapest to maintain, have the fewest requirements under the building safety act and don't go wrong spectacularly. Although they're very ugly, small 80s/early 90s blocks fit that bill quite well.

Yep, and I think @Beebumble2 is right about building societies being unlikely to lend above a few floors, though I thought it was perhaps 5 or 6. And as other people mentioned, check for dodgy cladding. My block wouldn't win any prizes for looks, but at least it doesn't have that. Good luck in your search!

Just adding to my previous post, I can remember there were issues around cleaning/maintenance of communal areas when I worked for our council but I can't think of the specifics of them. I do remember that the Council upgraded a load of multis for energy efficiency purposes at one point and the tenants all had to be decanted into other properties for quite a long period of time - but the Council did not re-house owner-occupiers so they were prettty stuck. I'm in Scotland so it might be different elsewhere.

Also echoing PP that we had some delightful four in a blocks that were split between owners and tenants - I would snap up one of those happily myself so absolutely not dissing LA housing stock or areas.

The cladding issue is working its way through - some lenders will provide mortgages in the basis of a letter of comfort from the developer and a lot of the hold up due to external wall reviews has been resolved now.

It is tricky where there is problematic cladding, but it really depends on whether the developer has undertaken to remediate whether I'd be concerned or not.

We owned in a low rise council block, and never had any issues. It was 70s so no cladding issues. No lift, no gates, so that keeps potential costs down. Our friends who owned in private blocks had far worse problems. Ignore the ignorant comments about not buying leasehold; for many there’s no option. You’ll just have to ensure you have some savings in case of major work. Your solicitor can enquire with the council about planned major work, so you know in advance

I own ex council leasehold flat and it’s largely fine. Yes sometimes you have large bills but only in the same way as if you had to fix your own house, but obvs you’re less in control of them.

However I would not buy in a block with a lift, purely because so much money is spent on fixing them.

My ex council flat (in a four storey block) was gorgeous (inside!), spacious, really well designed and laid out, and a really solid 1950s build. The neighbours were lovely (mostly still council tenants with a smattering of owners / private renters). A lovely community. BUT. In less than 5 years, despite no works in the line when I bought, I had to fork out more than £16k for works to the lift and windows, and yes, it was leasehold. There were 88 years left on the lease and it was going to cost £12k to extend. I moved instead as the costs were too much and I had no control over when massive bills would hit.

Lift.

Even if you buy in a private block maintaining a lift costs loads of money.

Also make sure the block and/or the grounds around it aren't listed. There is a development near me were the gardens are listed. Yes they look lovely but they are costly to maintain.

Oh and if you buy leasehold always investigate the freeholder. Some freeholders - councils and private companies - are so notorious bad so a google will easily reveal information about them.

(I did a role where I was contacted by tenants complaining about a private landlord. A google revealed landlord was also the freeholder of the block and they had leaseholders complaining about them as well. It explained why there were always flats for sale and rent.)

Thank you very much everyone for your advice. You have mostly confirmed what I suspected and have given me good pointers. I wish I could find the channel 4 documentary but no luck yet. I have reread the suggestions given a number of times, and will be looking for lower rise blocks without a lift. Im also really hoping that sound doesn’t travel too much in these buildings, there’s a lot to be said about a quiet life.

Well he would say that wouldn't he

I have seen otherwise very desirable ex LA flats described as ‘cash only’ - apparently because of the type of construction, IIRC in slabs - there was a notorious collapse some decades ago.

Grenfell OP. And the service charges.

I wouldn't want to live in a high rise let alone buy one

Can't you look a few train stops away

My block of flats is mid-60s, concrete and pretty well soundproofed - a lot better than many flats converted from houses in my experience. You also get those ex-LA purpose-built flats that are Victorian redbrick, not sure what those might be like in terms of noise.

By the way, if you start the process of buying somewhere, make sure your solicitor looks carefully at regeneration plans in the area. At one point the local council were considering knocking my block down, just because it was in an awkward place for their grand scheme - ridiculous, as it's in good condition. Came to nothing thankfully!