Upstairs neighbour wants us to pay half for work on roof while selling our property

[SunriseMoon]

Advice please! We've just put our flat (ground floor in a converted terrace of 2 flats) on the market. The upstairs neighbour moved in a few months ago and wants to have some work done on the gutters and roof, she's got a quote and wants us to pay half, either now or once the sale goes through. It's hard to tell how urgent the roof stuff is, but she wants to do both at once so as to only pay for one lot of scaffolding.

We're not confident we'll have enough left over from the sale after all the fees involved, and we're wondering where we stand in terms of whether we need to pay or if it's OK to offer her a lower proportion of the cost? WWYD?

Is it shared freehold or leasehold, depends what the paperwork says.

You’ll need to declare it to any buyers. Definitely let your agent/solicitor know what’s happening. Rubbish timing on your neighbours part but now that you know you’ll have to disclose it.

Does the work actually need done or does she just want to do it? If it's something that would come up in a survey as imminently important and affect the selling of the house then I would be inclined to spend the money to fix it but if it's not and is just a 'at some point in the future this will need done' then I wouldn't be.

It's leasehold

It’s got nothing to do with the sale and everything to do with what the work is, who is liable to pay (share of freehold etc) and whether you’ve all mutually agreed to the works.

Either way, your prospective buyers will need to know about the works - if it is a shared cost they’ll expect you to pay or lower your price, and you’ll need to declare the expected building works as scaffolding outside will impact them.

If it’s leasehold, who is the leaseholder? As they are responsible for building works, usually.

Who owns the freehold?
Who do you pay your service charges to?
What are the arrangements for repairs and maintenance as per your lease?

You will find it difficult to sell a leasehold property that needs major work to the communal areas. The latter includes the roof and guttering.

www.lease-advice.org/faq/am-i-liable-to-pay-for-the-renewal-of-the-roof-on-a-block-in-which-i-own-a-flat/

WWYD?
I'd read the terms of my lease agreement.

What does your lease say? Is the work urgent? Can she prove it needs doing? I'd get this issue sorted before your sale in case it flags up later and you scare potential buyers off.

Thanks all! Helped me work out what I needed to ask - I have more info now and can sort it.