To retaliate against my neighbours

[Hocuspoc]

We have a leak in my child's bedroom and the source is a very old bathroom in the flat above, no tiles on the floor, no appropriate insulation etc...
We all share freehold in this building but they just refuse to fix things properly. To be specific - they pretend they are forthcoming and 'react' immediately but their fixes are in fact patches and the water just finds another way to come to the lowest point below their bathroom.
Now, I understand that redoing a bathroom is currently extortionate in terms of costs, and that they simply may not have money to tile and insulate it properly (although they don't say that they just keep pretending they fixed it properly 'this time around').
We have repainted the ceiling 3 times in the past 9 months - and yet again the wet patch and separation of the plaster boards is emerging :(((

At this point all I can think of is being petty and essentially start to retaliate against their property - I have a couple of ideas but I am aware that would be really petty childish etc...

OP you are being ridiculous. Just deal with this as per the note above, I don’t really understand why you would not.

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Standard leasehold property conditions outline the responsibilities and restrictions placed on both the leaseholder and the landlord in a leasehold agreement. These conditions typically cover maintenance, service charges, alterations, subletting, and noise levels, and are documented in the lease agreement.

Key Leaseholder Responsibilities:
Maintenance:
Leaseholders are usually responsible for maintaining the interior of their property in a good state of repair, including ensuring any necessary repairs are carried out promptly.

Financial Obligations:
Leaseholders must pay service charges and ground rent (if applicable) on time and in full, as outlined in the lease.

Behavior:
Leaseholders must behave in a way that does not cause a nuisance to neighbors and maintain a peaceful environment.

Alterations:
Leaseholders generally need to obtain landlord consent before making structural alterations or any significant changes to the property.

Subletting:
Subletting may require landlord consent, and some leases may prohibit subletting entirely or only allow subletting of a whole flat, not just a portion of it.

Landlord Responsibilities:
Maintenance and Management:
Landlords are typically responsible for maintaining the structure and common areas of the building, including exterior repairs, insurance, and accounting.
Service Charge Collection:
Landlords are responsible for collecting service charges from all leaseholders to cover maintenance and management costs.
Compliance:
Landlords must ensure they comply with all relevant legislation and regulations regarding leasehold property.

Other Important Considerations:
Lease Length:
Leasehold properties have a fixed lease term, with ownership reverting to the landlord at the end of the lease.

Lease Renewal:
Leaseholders may have the right to extend their lease, but the cost and conditions of renewal can vary depending on the lease and remaining term.

Service Charges:
Leaseholders have the right to be consulted about service charge budgets and to challenge charges they believe are unreasonable.

Ground Rent:
New residential leases are restricted from charging ground rent, with a maximum permitted charge being a peppercorn rent.

So..........

As leaaseholders the people in the flat above MUST keep their property in a good state of repair which isnt happening , so

You and the other two freeholders have the power to ENFORCED the repairing liabilities.

This could end up with the offending leaseholder losing their flat

As outlined here

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/home_ownership/leasehold_and_commonhold/repossession_of_leasehold_property

The last paragraph in particular may be of interest

Preventing forfeiture
In many cases, if a mortgage company has given a loan secured on a leasehold property which is subject to or at risk of forfeiture proceedings, the mortgage company may appoint receivers to pay monies owed on the lease in order to prevent forfeiture and protect its security.[23] The amount paid will be added onto the mortgage.

I think you can take them to small claims court going forward for each leak resulting in damage to your property.

As they already know it is a continual problem and they haven't fixed it sufficiently, you can make a successful claim.

Keep any emails, letters or texts confirming you have previously informed them of the problems.

If you go through your insurers, they will put up the premiums.

I'd talk to my insurers and see what they say, and talk to the neighbours/joint freeholders about the leaks and the potential damage to the structure, which is everyone's problem.
I'd have this second discussion with all the neighbours including the ones causing the leaks, on a joint freeholders' message group or however you communicate, so you can't be accused of going behind their backs or ganging up on them. Make clear that structural damage will have financial ramifications for them as well as the rest of the freeholders.

That's all very well for leaseholders, but is there an equivalent for shared freeholders? In my experience, it is a nightmare.