Repairs liability matrix

Repairs items can be a sensitive issue and it takes an understanding of the lease to know what really remains the responsibility of each party. Accepting repairs that really lie with the leaseholder as a service charge item is unfair on other lessees and below is a guide aimed to help you decide who should pay.

There are always emergency circumstances whereby the management or freehold company may call out a contractor but this does not prevent the item later being recharged to the lessee who bears the legal responsibility for the repair item. A common example of this would be perhaps a repair to an entryphone which turns out to be a handset fault (lessee's responsibility) rather than a system or wiring fault (management or freehold company responsibility).

This matrix is intended as a guide only to cover the most common items. Your specific lease will set out the responsibilities for your block. We are unable to give authoratitive guidance on window repairs because your lease will specifically state who has the responsibility for timbers, decorations, glass and/or sealed double glazing units.

If you notice any items missing from the repairs matrix please contact us.