Who's responsible for roof repairs?

[ScentsyIndConsultant]

My son and his girlfriend are buying their first property together. The survey on girlfriends flat shows that the roof needs work - some felt has degraded and the ventilation isn't up to standard, so new vents need to be installed. She has the top flat, so has use of the loft. Is this their sole responsibility to fund this? Or should it be shared between the other tenants ? The freehold is owned by the council.

I thought that the fabric of the building and roof would be the councils responsibility. The legal info says she's responsible for inside the flat, but she thinks that includes the loft as she's got use of that.

What's the usual protocol for this please?

She needs to check her deeds-it’s the only way to find out for sure

You have not said but I presume your daughter is a Leasehold tenant living in an ex local authority flat which she wants to sell?

In the past I have owned a leasehold ex local authority flat. The council did all the repairs required to maintain the fabric of the building as part of the maintenance and services costs I paid into every month.

Landlords are responsible for the fabric of their building so if the council own the bricks and mortar of the building it’s for them to fix it.

Im still a landlord of a freehold property now. Recently the ridge tiles failed on that house.
I fixed them because the property belongs to me and the law expects me to maintain and repair my investment. No probs.

Tell your daughter to ring Shelter for advice. She can also ring the Estates Manager at the council for advice.

Think that's the problem. It doesn't spell out that the loft is her responsibility, but because it's a space that she uses, she's assuming (to a certain extent) that it's hers to fix... I think it states that inside the flat is hers, the building is the 'landlords'

Check the lease or contact here for advice https://www.lease-advice.org/

Typically the roof belongs to the leaseholder not the freeholder, same with windows, doors and foundations as they're part of the demised property. The freeholder generally only has responsibility for the bricks and mortar.

If she has a peppercorn lease then the leaseholders are responsible for the costs of everything.

Lease should state this. In our first flat (small block of 2 stories) we were top floor and were solely responsible for the roof. The ground floor flat was solely responsible for the drains.

I would assume @PashaMinaMio is right.