Can't afford £20,000 for a new roof

[Fluffyelephant]

Hi everyone, I'm really panicking and don't know where to turn. I bought a 1910 flat with loft conversion 18 months ago with a budget of £20k to do it up, much of which has already been spent. There's been consistent problems with damp seeping in across both sides of the house since the start. I've had various people out to look at since it started (most of whom were quite dismissive it wasn't anything to worry about) and when it got much worse recently I got 5 roofers out to look in the last week. Each one has said something completely different ranging from £650 for a few small repairs to a full roof replacement for £20,000.

The roofer who says it needs to be replaced seemed very genuine. He said it had been a cowboy job and is at risk of caving in within a few years. He was the first and only roofer to actually look at the eaves and showed me how the timber was being affected by the damp. Assuming he's right, what can I do? The roof had been replaced recently before I bought it and no problems related to it was flagged when I got the survey done (the most comprehensive one). I don't have £20,000. I bought this house alone so its solely my responsibility to pay although my partner is moving in. I'm in my 30s and about to start trying for a baby but there's no way that will be financially possible if the roof really does need £20,000 of work. Does anyone have any advice? Feeling pretty devastated.

Is it worth getting surveyor in to assess it? That should give you an unbiased assessment of what needs doing.

Not ideal but can you just do the urgent repairs and save up for the full replacement.

To potentially save a few quid can you get a surveyor back just to look at the roof? That way you can get an independent persons perspective on if the roof will collapse in the next few years or not.

Did you get a survey prior to buying? If so what did that say about the roof?

You said the roof was replaced recently before you bought it- how long ago and do you have evidence of that? It shouldn't need completely replacing if only 'recently' done. We've just spent 2yrs renovating. The roof was 100yrs and definitely DID need replacing!

If the roof was replaced recently, how recently was that? Any chance there is still a guarantee on the work that was done?

Surely the roof comes under the list of repairs/maintenance done by the flat management committee? You say you're in a flat. Are other flats below? The building's maintenance is usually shared between all the flats. There should be building insurance in place too, which might just cover some of the work?

Sorry just read there was a survey. If nothing was flagged then perhaps the person suggesting a full new roof is a convincing cowboy?

Could you ask the previous owner for details of who did the roof and when that was so they can come and fix it ideally for free if it wasn't done properly first time round.

What did your level 3 survey say about the roof? Normally that would pick up issues like that unless they have happened since purchase

Did you buy share of freehold? If so there are other freeholders to help foot any bill. Who paid for the last roof to be done? All the freeholders?

I am sorry but this does not sound right...

If you have bought a flat are you a leaseholder? do you own a share of freehold?

Fixing he roof is the responsibility of the freeholder for the building, not individual flat owners, and the costs is shared between the leaseholders/everyone who hold a share of freehold.

Even if you have the top floor flat, the cost is shared by everyone.

You are paying a service charge as a leaseholder and that goes into a fund to pay for repair and maintenance.

Join the traditional and listed building advice group on Facebook and post there with further details and photos.

Damp might not be caused by the roof. I'm always wary of the provider of a solution providing the diagnosis of the problem!! (A roofer saying your roof needs replacing)

I did yes. The most expensive survey option. The Level 3 Building Survey. Nothing at all picked up in there regarding the roof or issues with how it was done.

What does that 20k for replacing a roof involve? We paid 5k to replace the roof on our 3 bed semi a couple of years ago and that including replacing the soffits and facias too.

You need proper advice. Surely roof repairs are the responsibility of everyone. I've never heard of one flat owner being solely responsible.

It's not a flat in a traditional sense. This type of housing might be more common in the area I live. It's basically a terraced street made up of lots of ground floor flats and then one flat above (first floor and sometimes attic conversion). The upper flats in the street are responsible for the roof.

Are you in England or Scotland? Is the property classed as freehold or leasehold?

It does feel a lot even for a roof replacement. It covers:

Removal of current roof, laths and membrane.
Supply and install new membrane, laths and roof tiles.
Supply and install new Dry ridge system.
Scaffolding to front and rear of house.
x2 skips to remove current roof waste.
£15640 + vat

There's other work needed on the chimney which takes it over £20k

In England. It's a Tyneside flat so Tyneside lease.

I feel like it was said somewhere when I was buying the place but I can't find any reference to it now. You can tell by just looking at it it's a new roof and the roofers don't seem to be in any doubt of that. It's more the standard that it was done to...

New to me but here's some background. Have you checked the lease?
www.lease-advice.org/article/tyneside-leases-a-brief-overview/

&bull;	&quot;Repairing responsibilities for the structure can vary. For example, the owner of the FFF may have repairing responsibility for the roof and the owner of the GFF may have responsibility for the foundations. In this situation, the criss-cross lease enables the GFF to enforce the FFF repairing <a class="break-all" href="https://www.lease-advice.org/faq/covenant/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">covenants</a> and vice versa. Enforcement extends to other obligations too.
&bull;	Alternatively, the lease can state that repairing responsibilities for the structure of the building are a joint responsibility. This would cover such parts of the building as the roof, foundations, joists and beams, shared pipes, drains, gutters, electrical wiring and any common areas. The costs of repairs to such shared facilities are usually split equally between the two flats.&quot;

If you've had a full survey you need to contact the surveyor to ask them to reassess

If they have missed something it may be you can claim on their errors and omissions insurance

Next port of call would be the guarantee on the roof

Has there been an ingress of water for the entire time you've lived at the property? It may be that there has been damage from winter storms

20k is not unreasonable for a new roof including timbers depending where you're located

I'm not paying a service charge. It's a tyneside flat so just two flats in one building - ground floor flat and then first floor / attic flat. Only the upper flat is responsible for the roof. Tyneside flats are classed as both leasehold and freehold, it's common here but possibly unusual in other parts of the UK.

If the work was substandard then it may be that either there is a guarantee that can be used to get the repairs done. Or failing that, potentially the survey should have picked it up and you can use that to get some money to help cover it.

Have you already checked the lease to see who is responsible for the roof?

£20K sounds a lot for even a listed roof, especially given your building is 1910s.

For comparison last year I paid £18k for a roof that included replacing 50% of the tiles with new handmade clay tiles.

It didn't pick up on any issues at all with the roof, which is why this is such a shock and I'm completely unprepared financially. There doesn't seem to be any suggestion from any of the roofers that these are issues that have happened since I bought it but are due to poor quality workmanship when the roof and attic conversion was done.