Help & Advice for Owners
Out of Hours Emergency
For assistance with issues involving sewage, leaks into your flat and dangerous incidents in the communal areas outside of office hours please call 01322 949087
Major building works in your flat
You should not alter, change or remove any walls or parts of any walls within your flat without first getting permission from the freeholder. If permission is granted this will also be conditional on you getting a structural surveyors report to show that the proposed work has no impact upon the building's integrity and fire risk. If you do work without permission you will be in breach of the lease and potentially open to very large costs should the building structure fail or a fire spread more easily.
Flooring
Some leases have clauses specifically prohibiting wood/laminate type flooring in living areas other than bathroom and kitchen. Some leases may not specifically state this but will have clauses about disturbance. It is the flat owners responsibility to check a lease before removing underlay and carpet and replacing it with hard flooring.
Empty Properties
If your property is empty for example because you are selling it or it is between lets, please ensure it is checked on a regular basis. We would also recommend water is turned off at the stopcock and this is normally an insurance requirement between October and March. If you are leaving the property empty for any other reason for more than two weeks we would also recommend you follow this guidance.
Insurance Claims
Overflows
Individual owners remain responsible for damage caused by their overflow leaking. Where these are allowed to run for a few weeks, the building can be damaged and white residue stains can be left. The cost of removing this can be hundreds of pounds and this can be charged to the flat causing the leak, you should check your overflows on a regular basis.
Home Improvements
If you are having work done in your flat it is your responsibility to ensure contractors protect the hallway floors when moving items in and out. You will be responsible for the costs of cleaning if the contractors drop plaster, debris etc on the floor. Please ensure they treat the hallways with the same respect as they would stairs and hallways in an individual's house.
In the event of damage occurring to your flat, it is your responsibility to initiate an insurance claim. Please note that buildings insurance may not always cover floorings in your flat so you should ensure your flat has contents insurance for this possibility. To help reduce losses you should ensure you know how to turn off water in your flat by locating and checking the stopcock is working.
Items in Communal Hallways
In order to comply with fire and lease regulations no items can be kept in the hallways or cupboards in the hallways by residents. Any items in these areas may be taken without warning or recompense and the flat owner concerned will be charged for the breach of lease or removal. If you let your property please reinforce this message. You can find further information on this under the Fire Safety & Health & Safety pages on our website.
Rubbish
Please ensure that all rubbish is placed into the bins and not left on the bin enclosure floor. The additional costs in removing such items will be charged to the block, which is a drain on reserves. If you see anyone dumping items please let us know in confidence as we will endeavour to charge the perpetrators for the costs of clearance. You can find more information on this under our Bulky Waste Collections and Flytipping page on our website
Drains
Please ensure that fats, sanitary products, wet wipes, even flushable wipes etc are never put down the sink or toilet. Before washing up, all fats should be wiped out of pans and put in the bin. Drain blockage can lead to sewage overflowing into flats.
If you/your tenants begin to experience water draining slowly, water coming up through the sink/bath plug holes or very high water level in your toilet and nothing will flush down then please contact Flatcare. If this is outside of our normal opening hours, then please contact our out of hours emergency helpline on 01322 949 087.