Bridges Wharf Residents Association

Bridges Wharf Residents' Association is raising a small pot of money for a building report and potentially initial legal advice to get to the bottom of the ongoing overheating, water leakage and boiler breakdown issues we have all been experiencing in some form or other.

We anticipate this costing approx 2K which between all of us will mean only a small contribution each and we will of course be seeking the cheapest options available.

We require a building report from a qualified individual to confirm what the cause of these issues is and to begin making a claim if there is some liability on the part of the developers/freeholder/insurers.

The suspected cause is the lack of lagging on the water pipes but we need to confirm this to be the case. We have some initial advice that suggests such an issue could lead to:

1. Overheating in the hallways (and thus flats) leading to inhabitable conditions
2. Failure of the pipes and connections leading to the increasingly common leaks affecting multiple flats at a time.
3. Boiler system working excessively leading to repeated breakdowns.

These issues are alarming for a property barely 10 years old and we need to find out if we have some kind of claim to make to get them resolved for the benefit of everyone. If you are yet to experience a leak (or the effects there-of) for example you may well be next...

Around this issue specifically the insurance excess has now increased to £5,000 and will continue to climb if the problems persist.

The money will be spent on:

(1) Building inspection report by a reputable qualified professional to confirm the cause of the issues and ensure all building standards and regs were met.
(2) Once report has been completed, to seek legal advice if we have any grounds for the developer/freeholder/insurer to fix the problems.

Any surplus funds left in the account can be retained in a pot to fund any future Resident Association financial needs.

We may or may not have any grounds for a claim, but we must act now since our 10 years warranty is coming to an end in a couple of months. After 10 years, outside the warranty period, even if we had some grounds to claim they don't have any obligation to deal with any of our concerns. We're entering a critical stage.

This report/legal advice will benefit all of us and at least give us peace of mind that we went down every available avenue to get these problems sorted.

Please feel free to contact me or Vin with any questions.

Thank you
Tracey