leaseholder in a council freehold property ~ repairs

[got2bequackers]

I am a leaseholder in a very small block of flats which is a council freehold property. Most of the other residents of the block are council tennants.

For the last 3 weeks we have had problems with our communal lighting. There are 3 floors and as yet only the lighting on the ground floor has been fixed. This leaves the 1st and 2nd floor corridoors in pitch darkness at night. The lights on the stairwell are also out leaving them very dark and dangerous. There is no emergency lighting and the stairwell is our only means of escape that doesnt involve jumping out of the window.

I have contacted the council on numerous occasions and thus far the only person who has responded is not in a department who has any direct knowledge or control. We have not even been told what the problem is or why its taking so long.

So, the question is, where do i go and what do i do from here. The situation is not just inconvenient it is dangerous!

Thanks

Try contacting your local councillor. IME council staff tend to take more notice of issues raised by the elected councillors than those raised by members of the public.

Thanks sparks that's what my mum said too. Although I work for a different local authority and if I or any other member of my team behaved like this we would have our backsides kicked! Especially with regards to safety matters and vulnerable people (there are several elderly and infirm residents)

cntact environmental health - look up fire safety rules in communal buildings - very strict these days - they can serve a notice on themselves to carry out the necessary work (onlyproblem is that you will of course be paying for it)

Oh hadnt thought of the eh team. We are going to be paying our share of it one way or another anyway. I would rather it sorted sooner rather than later. Its like living with a curfew ~ cant go out after dark!

How strange I had this identical problem - I own the leasehold of a flat in a council building ( terraced house spilt into flats). Periodically the fuse for the landing light blows and as it is located in the basement flat the council finds it difficult to access. Each time I have to send emails referencing Right to Repair - which means the council have to compensate you if they don't fix things in a reasonable time - and the fact that it is a major safety hazard which it is the council's responsibility to rectify.

Saying thesse things usually gets things moving but before I discovered the right triggers the light was brown for 6 months a one point.

Look up Right to Repair - it has lots of useful info

Broken not brown...