Council demanding new front doors

[funkydoryjewellery]

I know a lot of people are probably in this position but I wondered if anyone knew legally where I stand.

I am sick to death of the local council last year they made all the leaseholders buy a new roof to the tune of £3,500 each have no reason as to why & there was no problems with it in fact when they did change it they flooded the top floor flats doing it !

Anyway since then this year they’ve dropped it on us we all need fire doors according to new legislation which again I can understand but 5 years ago they pulled that one & flats had doors changed & my door was advised to be a really good fire door & just needed amendments to bring it Into line such as an arm on the door & a new letterbox which we paid to have done.
Now they are saying hey have had a fire risk assessment & all doors need changing ( they haven’t had any access to any property so how they could have done it I don’t know ) but my argument to it is I have a fire door already & so should everyone else as the council did it & when I advised of this they want a document to show who fitted the door (which I don’t have as it was so long ago) they have said if I don’t provide it they are charging me £1,800 for a new door & will break in & fit it without consent & give me the legal bill it’s just absolutely disgusting & ive just about had enough where am I suppose to find nearly £6000 in two years do they think we are made of money

That sounds very unfair on the face of it. What exactly are they saying the new requirement is? Bear in mind that not all "fire doors" are equal - some are designed to withstand a fire for 30 minutes, some for 60 minutes etc. Is it possible this new fire assessment has identified a need for a longer period of fire resistance?

The fire door situation is likely coming out after the grenfell situation where there were multiple failings by multiple parties and they’re doing a blanket change to ensure their liability is reduced going forward. Is there no way of finding out the information about who fit your door?

Same thing happened here, 2017 exterior works costing £33k per leaseholder, new front doors £2.500 per door and last month communal boiler repairs £13k per leaseholder. Meanwhile, the lifts break every other day, sometimes simultaneously. It’s a fucking nightmare.

I think after Grenfell councils are getting hot on fire safety. A friend has just had something similar there were some improvements the the communal areas including putting sprinklers in and also sprinklers in the flats. I believe they changed one of the indoor doors as well.

You can request the plans and the assessment documents, you are entitled to them via data protection legislation.

Once you have the plan you can challenge the council.

The council should have a scheme for you to pay over time, my friend hasn't started paying yet but they are going to spread it over something like 10 years interest free.

Sorry, I don’t live in a flat so don’t understand.

Are your homes ex council but not privately owned and the council still owns the freehold or are you renting?

Either way, what happens if you don’t have the money.

• ex council AND now privately owned

Our freehold is owned by the council as we're leaseholders in a ex-council house and we've had none of this. Check your lease very carefully as the freeholder is not entitled to do much in our property. And I emailed them and told them so after yet another request for a gas safety certificate!

I’ve refused to take one of their front doors, I’ll get my own but this is a large tower block, not a house, so all the other works they are entitled to do- within reason.

SpeakingFranglais

When you buy a flat you buy the flat but not the building so although you no longer pay rent you do have to pay for services whether you use them or not.

Eg my friend's flat is in a block with a laundry on the ground floor, a lift, intercom, lighting in communal areas, fire alarms etc. He doesn't own any of them so pays a monthly fee and has to contribute to major repairs / renovations.

This is the trouble with ex LA properties, the council don't look for best value contractors, builders know this and heavily inflate their prices when tendering for these contracts.

@RLOU30

Same thing happened here, 2017 exterior works costing £33k per leaseholder, new front doors £2.500 per door and last month communal boiler repairs £13k per leaseholder. Meanwhile, the lifts break every other day, sometimes simultaneously. It’s a fucking nightmare.

£33k. That’s madness. Who has that kind of money?

@funkydoryjewellery, with fire doors, in addition to the fire rating and letter box, the quality of the fitting process REALLY matters. If the joiner cuts off too much around the sides, then the smoke seal doesn't work and flames and smoke get through just as with a normal door.
I guess that you might be able to have a suitable expert come and verify that your door and its fitting is adequate if that is cheaper than getting the new door?
This is a nasty situation for all of us leaseholders. I know it doesn't help you to hear, but it would have been a whole lot worse for you if your block had required replacement cladding and fire stopping, as is the case for so many unfortunate leaseholders.

I had to pay exterior work charges of £22,000 back in the ‘90s. It was a huge sum. You have no choice. The freeholder, council, says the work needs doing. The flat owners have to pay. I know people who have been given bills of nearly £70,000.

But this is my exact argument the person who fitted the letter box was employed by council to make it fireproof now they are telling us the work done wasn’t sufficient 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

@funkydoryjewellery

But this is my exact argument the person who fitted the letter box was employed by council to make it fireproof now they are telling us the work done wasn’t sufficient 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

It's crap but maybe new safety regulations ?