To think that no normal person gets work done then bill their neighbours for it

[Lamu]

It's a long story and I don't want to bore you all. We share a private very long drive with 4 other houses. DH is the secretary of the residents management company which oversees works to the drive.

Last year we had the drive upgraded cost were 23k so not cheap Before the work took place neighbour added some extras in to the tune of 8.5k. DH challenged him and said he should get approval from all neighbours first, he said "he would deal with it". DH was then sidelined from further negotiations with the contractor and that was that. The works took place and we were all charged for the extra bits. Needless to say I was livid. We paid up like everyone else, even though at the time things were fairly tight it took us 3 months to pay in instalments. I told DH back then that he needed to be confronted because it would happen again. Lots of other bits and pieces have since been done without approval.

So this afternoon we get an email to say driveway will be closed as of 8.30am in the morning. The contractors are back to make repairs to a sunken area which they will do free of charge, as you would expect. But there also a few other issues that need dealing with that will be done "for a small fee". No quote attached and of course no indication as to what is being done and where. Just a heads up that a bill will be winging its way to us at some point in the next week.

Which fecking planet does this idiot live on! As a basic common courtesy, he should be requesting our approval because we are equally liable for the cost.

Confused
Ive been inyiur DH role
No one could override a no from me on their own
They either had to have two other officials override it, or all the other freeholders

Don't pay for legal advice, just look through all your documents and it will tell you how the money should be agreed

You won't get back what you paid but no way do you have to pay any more. That is a huge amount of money. no matter how busy people are, they are not usually given to spending loads without consent. Has this neighbour got the majority on side somehow?

How about arranging for some nice double yellow lines to be painted on the drive, but only on the bit that runs beside N1's house - and then bill him for the tin of paint!

Op a driveway that needs such regular maintaining is not fit for purpose. I would point this out to neighbour and contractor and state it either gets fixed so that the kerbs are not able to get damaged so easily or neighbour pays for maintaining it.

I think you all need to get something legally drawn up here, you are in the middle of a big money pit.

Read what was sent to you when you purchased the road. I'm sure the maintenance responsibilities would have been clearly set out to you at that time by your conveyancer.
That you own the freehold of the road jointly with all the other neighbours is unusual. Usually either the management company own the road and you are all members, or one neighbour owns it and you have rights to use it.

I totally agree that you need to seek legal advice. I live in an unadopted road with a little less than 30 houses. We all give £50 a year to the upkeep of the road and were once asked for £100. It is repaired every year, or two, pot holes filled and the surface good enough. The kerb stones are in place already and have never needed maintenance or rebedding and people on adjacent streets use our road so it does receive more traffic than just out vehicles and so it's important to keep it in good working order. It sounds like this guy is expecting you to put ground diamonds on the road surface. That's upgrade not maintenance. The legal advice may end up costing £1k but it will be money well spent. The other neighbours may be ok with spending loads more but perhaps they're not in your financial situation. Some people have bags of cash lying around.

Just seen mannerys post. That is correct for us as well. A neighbourly person on our road manages it for us and we are very grateful.

OP you have my sympathies. This thread is exactly why I would never buy a house with a shared driveway!

I don't think you need legal advice. I think you need to separate the legal from the practical and social, which is really what matters.
Re consultation on spend over £250 that doesn't apply here because you have essentially made your own management company to manage the leasehold part of your property. It's up to you how you manage it. The most sensible think would be to be paying into sinking funds held in a protected bank account to pay for planned works, not this ad hoc throwing money about that has happened so far.

This is a classic problem- he wants the drive in a better condition than the rest of you. He is willing to pay more and doesn't care whether the rest of you are.

Don't worry about whether you're legally obliged to pay. Unless he intends to take you to court that isn't really an issue at the moment. What you need, as PP have said, is to get together all of you and have an open and honest conversation about what you expect and what you can afford, and how it will be paid for. Write into the management company that all work has to be agreed in advance (this is absolutely standard) if he wants more he pays for it and also pays for its maintenance

The stones needs reset twice a year? Sorry but someone is having a laugh at your expense - If that's genuinely the case the work which was originally carried out is substandard in some way - it may be the wrong stone has been used or the way the contractor has created the drive but whatever it is your having your pants pulled down.

Surely, if you have a residents management company, all repairs have to be taken to & approved by them/the other residents, minuted, and then quote sought out & one should be approved & minuted?

Surely it isn't up one man to make decisions like this that affect you all & leave you hugely out of pocket?.

As apparently the contract is with N1. He's not concerned if other neighbours haven't agreed to the works as N1 has approved it. Then, as you are not in a contract with the contractor, & your neighbour is, your neighbour is liable for the costs.

This man is spending your money & is setting a precedent. You have to make him stop.

I wouldn't be giving a penny to a contractor who dismissed my inquiry when it concerns something that I own! That's shocking.

Who else is on this committee, op?

As secretary, I would be telling neighbour that as I was not consulted, have not agreed to repairs, and the contractor refused to acknowledge my concerns over what needed to be doing & acknowledged that his contract was with neighbour, that the neighbour bares all and any costs for any repairs in this instance.

I would tell the other neighbours not to part with a penny either. If they then decide to do so, that is up to them.

I would further tell him that no one will be paying maintenance charges until you know exactly what they are for, and to cease from acting out on his own accord & not consulting the management company wrt repairs/upkeep.

Add to this, that any repairs/maintenance that HE thinks needs doing need to be taken to the committee, approved and minuted. It is then up to each household (should they wish) to get quotes & a further discussion had on which one to go for, get that minuted & approved.

This screams tax dodge.
Get some legal advice!

a driveway that needs such regular maintaining is not fit for purpose

You beat me to it, Jux - also the drive having been "laid badly in winter" would be a huge red flag for me. I'd say why not wait for spring, but perhaps Ni/contractor needed some back pocket cash straight away?

Unfortunately, Lamu, your "hating owing money" and DH feeling you ought to pay is putting you firmly in this chancer's sights. Time to stop rolling over for him, perhaps?

As secretary, i had to consult with the other freeholders to spend more than £250 but that's all embedded in the legal set up.

I realised after I posted - I hope the OP has paperwork and the RMC isn't just informal or something? We had a limited company, had to submit accounts to Companies House etc, had legal liability if we took an official position.

I must admit, when I moved, I said I wouldn't do share of freehold again - we were all right because we mostly agreed with each other but I live in a bigger block now and it would be a nightmare to sort. I think if I had a house, half the point would be the exclusive ownership of the freehold! Sharing is a pain.

I have lived in a similar situation with a neighbour who made very free with the other neighbours' money. Like your DH, we put up with it for a quiet life, but it did just give her leave to do it again and again. Eventually it ended up in a very unpleasant scene at a residents meeting. One thing I learnt from the experience is that if I am ever in a similar situation again, I will take the confrontation early and get it over and done with before it becomes more serious.

Contact the contractor, and explain that all households concerned have to give approval, and none have been consulted yet, therefore no money will be forthcoming until it is agreed. I doubt if he will start the work. Then organise a meeting.