Thoughts - repair work to chimneys/flues in a leased building

The_Conductor

Just like to get people's thoughts on this-

Damage to a flue in a managed complex.
The complex is owned by a Management Company (with the individual owners having 900 year leases).
The lease specifies that the exterior of the property- is the remit of the Management Company.
Damage has been done (by birds nesting) in some of the flues.
The management company are now saying- the flues service individual units- and its the duty of the owners of those units to repair the damage and return them to serviceable condition- and not the remit of the Management Company......

What are people's thoughts on this?

I've rang a few companies- such as the Dublin Chimney and Flue Company- who have advised that they have conducted similar repairs recently on managed property and the management company was liable on those occasions.

If you live in an apartment- and there is a flue on the roof relating to that apartment (for venting from gas heating etc)- would you expect the upkeep of the flue and roof area to be the remit of the management company- or the individual owner?

The management agent's argument is- the flue is only for a certain property- therefore- its nothing to do with the management company.

Michael D Not Higgins

Is the roof above the top apartment only for that apartment? I'd be telling them the damage was on the roof and its their remit.

Edit: however, I would say this depends on whether the damage was also caused by not maintaining the flue. What's the damage? Brickwork or blocked flue or what?

The_Conductor

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

Is the roof above the top apartment only for that apartment? I'd be telling them the damage was on the roof and its their remit.

The roof is the roof of the building. There is an apartment underneath the upper apartment. Aka- if you ripped the roof off the building- eventually you'd get water in the lower apartment (though of course the upper one would flood first). Is this what you mean?

Its shared- insofar as its part of the skin of the building.
The management agent is arguing that the flue isn't shared. Yes- its on the roof- but it only services one apartment (there is a separate flue for each apartment). Therefore- the owner should get their own team to go up on the roof and resolve the issue- as its only affecting one apartment.

The_Conductor

damage would most probably be blocked flue- possibly from a birds nest- possibly from corrosion over time etc.

Similar issues may or may not arise for other owners- many have updated the heating systems that came in the properties- to condenser boiler units- the original units would have been gas back boilers which the builder put in, and the flues would relate to these original back boilers.

Michael D Not Higgins

Just checked the MUD act, I think you're out of luck

all ducts and conduits, other than such ducts and conduits within and serving only one unit in the development

The_Conductor

A flue isn't solely internal though (though it does serve a single unit).
Its about 5 feet sticking out of the roof of the building, with a cowl on it.......
I think it has ventilation ducts etc in mind- I'm not so sure about flues and chimneys.......?

I'm going to have a bit of a battle getting this done- come what may. It needs to be done- first and foremost- and I'll argue who pays for it later.

ABajaninCork

What does your lease say?

The_Conductor

ABajaninCork wrote: »

What does your lease say?

My 900 year lease forbids me to conduct any work on the exterior of the building or to modify the exterior in any manner, save with the prior approval of the Management Company.