Who should pay for repair to communal area?

[spezzo72]

Would be grateful if anyone could provide some guidance on the following:-
I live in a flat owned by one of the large housing associations. There are 14 flats in total.
The vehicle entrance gate is on the brink of falling off the wall. It has been hung on the garden wall belonging to the property next door which was a pub but has now been snapped up by a developer. The flats were built in 1994 but the housing association did not apply for permission to hang the gate on their wall. The new developer has half demolished the wall which supports the gate causing it to drop and now can not be closed and it is only a matter of time before it drops completely. A new gate is in teh region of £2000

The housing assoc wants the residents to pay for it from our service charge.
We feel we shouldn't pay as 1. it was damaged by the developer who owns the wall and 2. Southern Housing were negligent in not acquiring the necessary permission when constructing the flats in 1994. Where do I/We stand?
Shouldn't the housing association pay for this themselves or maybe via our building insurance or their own policy?

Many Thanks

[buildersmate]

Well remembered. Knew we'd heard the sad story once before but couldn't remember when, or the outcome.

[spezzo72]

My apologies
I suppose the question this time is
Is the housing association responsible for this as they did not seek permission in th first place and therefore shouldn't they pay for it rather than us?
Thanks again

[buildersmate]

You are surely going to have to take a look in the service charge agreement to see what it covers (and I don't mean 'gates' - it won't be that specific).
Service charges typically cover the direct maintenance charges, incurred year-in year-out, as well as a 'sinking fund' (or some other such wording) that is intended to cover the costs of occasional capital replacement/refurbishment.
The HA presumably wants to try and tag it on that. I think they may succeed in being able to do that.
Let's give you another scenario: if an uninsured driver hit the gates, would the HA expect to fork out to replace the damage, or would it expect to fund it from the general service charge pot? The general pot surely? I think it is a similar situation, except that you feel that the HA has caused the issue by recklessness (or whatever). I think you'd have to challenge that in court to win.

[bednobs]

bm makes sense - if you pay a service charge it usually covers maintenance of communal areas (when i lived in a flat it did) However, who oversees the service charge? is there a management agency? What are the "books" like at the moment? Is there any money in the pot so to speak? do you (the residents) have any say over themoney? are the resdents reresented to the management company?

[PWA]

My property managment company does bugger all.

I pay them a nice 4 figure sum a year.