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Terry Said:

Does a Leaseholder have the right to demand a breakdown of the Buildings Insurance in a block of 6 flats?

We Answered:

Contact your Citizens Advice Bureau - they should be able to tell you what your Rights are. I have also found these links which might help:

http://www.lease-advice.org/
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice…


Try talking to one of your neighbours to find out if theirs has increased.
Insurances have gone up alot recently because of the flooding and stuff. Prices are hiked up and everyone has to bear the increase.

Maria Said:

how bad is dry rot?

We Answered:

Although it's called Dry Rot, it is a fungal condition caused by damp, so whatever you do you must find out where the damp is coming from and cure that problem first.
Next you need to remove all rotted wood, cutting back into sound timber to make sure all traces of the fungus has been removed.
It is doubtful whether this work would be covered by your house insurance, but you can always ask.
The cost, of course, will depend on the extent of the damage and what will need to be done to prevent the egress of further moisture.

Ron Said:

I am a leaseholder - Can I claim for accidental damage to a built-in hob under my contents insurance?

We Answered:

I'm no claims expert, but if you own the leasehold (not renting) this sounds very harsh to me.

Most UK contents policies cover 'fixed glass and bathroom fittings' (might want to check yours) a hob seems to at least arguably fit the definition of 'fixed glass'. Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) rules in the UK are very strong a company has to do the 'right' thing.... they can't hide behind iffy definitions !

I think this has to be worth an argue. I have a horrible feeling that any accidental cover on the 'buildings' cover will probably only relate to common areas.

Best advice I can give is to re-post this in the UK insurance section, there are a couple of cracking experts there.... might even be worth drawing your question to the attention of a certain 'vestonpants'... you can find him in the Insurance top answerer's list.

He's a claims expert and a bloody nice bloke to boot, though obviously he only does this out of the goodness of his heart... it's not his job to answer.

I think you're being given the run-around... if you get really stuck... drop me a line and I'll ask around professionally for you to get a better idea.

Neil Said:

UK Buildings insurance question?

We Answered:

Better to have more than you need to cover costs which fluctuate - it doesn't usually make any difference to the quote if they give you unlimited cover because they will still only be paying out the actual amount of a rebuild should the worst happen, and obviously they know that, so saying 'unlimited' , makes it sound like you're getting more for your money - it is a marketing ploy. If you insure for the ractual rebuild cost today, it may have increased in 6 months leaving a shortfall it the worst happened - go for the 'unlimited' amount. No it doesn;t include nest door - why would it?

Amanda Said:

Buildings Insurance - do I have a right to ask for a breakdown?

We Answered:

Most people in leasehold flats form their own Management Agency to take over the administration of the buildings

They do this because the Builders own 'Management Agency' typically RIP YOU OFF for everything from (un)necessary repairs, to grass (non)cutting to insurance ..... they are EXACTLY like Local (and central) Government - unaccountable bodies who extract money (Tax) and squander it in anyway that takes their fancy ... (you know why Local Councils lost multi-millions in Icelandic banks ??? because they had extracted so much unnecessary Council Tax that they could hold millions of ££'s of their ratepayers money 'in Reserve' = a habit that a lot of Management Agencies also have ..)

Unfortunately, it's a fact of life == either you manage your own financial affairs OR you get ripped off big time .. if the other Leaseholders are not interested, you had better start looking to move (& next time avoid Leasehold like the plague it is)

Tammy Said:

Asbestos found during insurance repair, what is the impact to me ?

We Answered:

The thing is, asbestos when left alone isn't really all that bad. People just love to freak out over everything. If it is in a concealed location where it isn't being disturbed by the inhabitants, it shouldn't be a problem.

If you look back at actual documentation, the people that got asbestosis were mainly people who worked in asbestos (cutters, installers, etc). I've never heard of a schoolteacher who worked in a school that had asbestos ceiling tiles getting asbestosis or anything like that.

Many of the older commercial buildings you walk through every day STILL contain asbestos. It's really not a big deal.

As far as selling the flat, the biggest problem is that people are ignorant to the facts. They hear all this horrid stuff on the news and ASSUME that the worst of it is true, and a lot of times, it is not. It's like all these idiots that spent billions on Y2K, thinking all of their computers were going to break down, and all of the power plants would shut down, etc etc. People were out stocking up on food, fuel, water, etc. Some people were just d*mned near histerics. It was just a bunch of crap blown out of context by the media.

Knowledge is power. Get yourself informed about asbestos and you'll figure out what many others of us did a long time ago.... its no big deal.... With the right paperwork in hand, so you can properly inform a potential buyer about the truth of asbestos, I don't see a problem reselling it. Hell, I'd buy a house with asbestos in it......

And no, as long as the asbestos is properly concealed, I don't see you having any comeback on the guy that remodeled the place in 1995, providing that all the asbestos was properly concealed. If there was something which contained, or was covered with, asbestos that you could come in contact with on a daily basis, then you'd prolly have a leg to stand on.. But if it's concealed behind plaster and/or sheetrock, naw, I don't see where there is any liability on anyone's part because it isn't a problem.