Landlord not communicating

[Flatownerconfusion]

Sorry for the long post but please help us as we just don't know what to do! We have bought a flat which is situated above a shop. We our leasehold tenants and the landlord rents the shop to a chain (think small newsagent type place)
As part of our peppercorn lease, it states that we are both responsible for any building repairs. Last year our roof began to leak so we contacted the landlord and got some quotes-a whole new roof is needed and it unfortunately has asbestos tiles so an expensive job. We sent the quotes to the landlord back in February and had no response. I then messaged and emailed repeatedly on email, WhatsApp and tried to phone eventually receiving and answer trhouhh WhatsApp in April saying that he was currently away but had some unexpected family debt and he would be in contact soon. I thanked him for replying and said would look forward to hearing from him. Since then we have heard nothing. I've tried emailing again several times and messaged him a few times but no response. I just don't know what to doo next. We can't afford the full cost of the repairs ourselves and if we hired a solicitor it would mean we would struggle to afford to pay for our part of the repairs. What can I do??? Any advice?

Who is the freeholder? The freeholder should be sorting this out for you all and then charging the costs to you both.

@OhhhhhhhhBiscuits yes the freeholder is the landlord and that's the OPs point - no communication!
This is incredibly frustrating and I have similar issues except with the managing agents. There has been external work that has needed to be done since I bought the place but it's never addressed. It's like banging my head against a brick wall. We haven't gone down the legal route yet but we (myself and the other flat owner) are contemplating it - basically getting a letter written up saying these are the issues that have been reported repeatedly and by law you must do xyz....

Yeap the landlord of the shop is the one who owns the freehold. I just don't know where we would even stand legally. Does anyone know if there would there be a way to claim the solicitor costs if we went down that route?

You can do this without a solicitor if you feel confident enough. There's a gov website with template letters etc. You may be able to get support from your house insurance as well

www.lease-advice.org/faq/there-is-damage-to-our-building-that-needs-to-be-repaired-what-can-i-do-to-get-it-fixed/

Thank you for the link. There's some good advice on here.