Lease responsibility

[psmk2]

I have a house with a shop attached....we own the cellar space directly underneath the shop......today I found that the floor joists are crawling with wood boring beetles......the shop used to have a leaking toilet that soaked the joists directly under it.....this is the worse affected area and most probably the epicenter of the infestation....can anyone tell me if I could be held liable for the costs of rentokil etc or would it be the shop owner as it's their floor

Thanks
Pete

 

[EFLImpudence]

Shop owner's insurance ???

Doesn't matter whose floor, they caused the damage.

 

[^woody^]

Clear as mud.

You "have" the house, but does that mean own, lease or rent?
You "own" the cellar?
Who owns the shop?
Who owns the building?
Who is the landlord?
Who are the tenants?

 

[psmk2]

The house was a doctors surgery and the previous owners sold off part of it to be a shop.....the shop is on the front street we are at the back....we own the cellar under the shop as they only bought the shop and nothing else...there is a side lane that provides access to the cellar from the street but again we own the lane and they need to ask us for the key if they need access to have their side windows washed etc....we own the house not a landlord

I

 

[JohnD]

This is not a problem that I have heard mentioned before. You need someone familiar with Scots property law.

 

[dom_k]

It will also be a party structure so may be in joint ownership

 

[endecotp]

The deeds should say. As the subdivision was relatively modern they should be clear about it. If for some reason the deeds don't say, then the Tennemants (Scotland) Act probably applies and defines who owns and is responsible for what. (I say "probably" because one part being commercial premises may change something.)

 

[big-all]

was the damage caused before you purchased the cellar

 

[^woody^]

So, there is no lease involved as per the thread title?

It seems to be a straightforward case of the person who caused the damage being responsible for the costs of putting it right and any consequential losses.

 

[psmk2]

This whole thing is a mess

We own the whole cellar which is directly under the shop....when that part was sold as a shop the buyers got the shop but not the cellar as that remained with the house......i spoke to the owner tonight and she reckons the joists holding up her floor are our responsibility. Surely we can't be responsible for what is essentially her floor

 

[dom_k]

Regardless of who pays a party structure notice needs to be served to undertake any work. You could serve the notice and ask them to share costs.

 

[endecotp]

Regardless of who pays a party structure notice needs to be served

That sounds a bit English to me!

 

[endecotp]

This whole thing is a mess

I think you need to focus on the difference between (a) who is responsible for maintaining the floor, and (b) who caused the damage.

If (a) is you and (b) is them, then you have to fix the floor - but you can send them the bill (which hopefully their insurance will pay).

But first you need to know who is responsible for that floor. Do you have your deeds?

P.S. fix your . key.

 

[KenGMac]

psmk2, good evening

Is there a lease agreement as to who will be responsible for repairs of various types?

Some Commercial agreements make the Tennant, the Commercial operator Liable for repairs to the building, others do not, check the leasing agreement

As for the "Tenement Act Scotland" this refers to the actual owner of the Property, NOT the tenant!

So find your lease and read it??

If you "own" the cellar and are leasing the Shop then unless the lease confirms that the Shop owner is in some way Liable, you may? have to fund the repair + possibly a claim for loss of profit from the Commercial property? it comes down to the Lease agreement

As for an Insurance claim, really sorry here but there are specific exclusions in almost all Insurance policies as regards wood boring insects, again you will need to have a look at your policy Wording [Fine print gets you in the end]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I see this sort of situation regularly when I deal with Insurance claims.

As for "Serving a Notice" no such provision in Scotland, sorry about that.

Ken.

 

[psmk2]

Thanks guys.....Had a read of the deeds and from what i can gather looks like a half share.....not 100%sure.....going to speak to solicitor tomorrow....