Buying Flat- Fire Risk Ass

[Chloe]

Hello

 

im trying to buy a flat. The management company will not provide the full fire assemenr. They only give 3 pages which don’t clearly link to the block where the flat I’m buying is.

 

my soloitor will not proceed with the sale as she says she needs the full fire report to ensure the insurance is valid . However the seller management company will not give the full report. Is there anything I can obtain to get the full fire report or even a certificate which states fire safety ect 

I’m at my wits ends nobody can help me I tried calling the people who did the report and they won’t give me it either!

Tom Sutton -  you look to be really knowledgable - do you have any advice ? 

 

Thanks

[Tom Sutton]

As the buyer I do not think you can do anything and the seller, if they are freeholders, then they are part owners of the building.

As part owners they are a Responsible Person and have duty to conduct a FRA, however in this case they and the other RP's have employed a management company to take over the RP duties. As part owner and employer the management company I would have thought they could get a copy of the FRA if a written record is required which would depend on the numbers of employees the management company has.

If the flat is leasehold then then there is little you can do other than to rely on the goodwill of the management company.

I am only a barrack room lawyer and you need professional advice from a solicitor dealing with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005  like http://www.safetylawyers.co.uk/fire-safety/ 

[Guest JAN]

My Fire Risk Assessment made reference to the fact that I could not demonstrate that the wallpaper in the common way was fire resistant. It was only put up a couple of years ago when dividing our Victorian house into 2 flats.  There is a small common entrance hall.  This was not an aspect I even considered at the time. 

Do I have to remove and replace the wallpaper?  No mention was made about painted areas.  What have others done in this respect?

[AnthonyB]

If it's that recent you can get the flammability rating from the manufacturer and check it's OK - you may not need to remove it. It should have been addressed during the Building Control process for the conversion (assuming it was a legitimate conversion and went through a BCO or AI) as well and thus there should be a paper trail (no pun intended) for this too.

The wrong paint or indeed areas with several layers of paint applied over years can be an issue too.

[Guest Charlotte]

Hi all, 

 

I am currently having the opposite problem to Chloe - I am trying to sell my property but my management company will not supply a copy to either myself or the buyer's solicitors. I am worried if they will not supply this I may lose my buyers. 

 

Should I, as a resident, of the property be able to see a copy of this?

Any advice would be great!

 

[Tom Sutton]

I think the first thing to consider is, the FRA is not always recorded, it depends on the number of persons employed by the Responsible Person and if it is recorded I cannot find anywhere, the RP is required to make it available to anybody except an inspecting officer. So as far as I can see it is up to the Responsible Person (RP) who he provides with a copy of the FRA, (if there is one) other than the inspecting officer. 

Check out The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.