Q&A - Correctional Work

QUESTION
Dear Sir
I am a director of a residents company of a block of flats in Kingston upon Thames. Our flats are located on 3 floors above a ground floor commercial property. Three flat balconies on the first floor overlap the office and appear to be leaking water through to their premises. Surveyors suggest when the patio doors onto this balcony had replaced the original French windows, the work was done incorrectly possibly causing the ingress of water. The contractor quoting to renew the asphalt on these balconies will not give a guarantee unless the suspect windows are replaced. The leaseholders of 2 flats do not wish to fund the replacement windows explaining the previous owners had the work done and deny responsibility suggesting the Residents Company is liable. Having checked the board minutes, the leaseholders are responsible for this replacement. Can the Managing Agents enforce this correctional work?
Name Withheld

ANSWER
In order to ascertain repairing and replacement obligations of landlords and tenants of long leases, the starting point must be the lease itself as it is the Lease which will set out the parties’ respective obligations.

Queries are often raised with regard to whether a lessee or lessor has the repairing and/or replacement obligation for windows. Leases are sometimes ambiguous and unclear.

However, as a general rule, it is important to review the Lease to ascertain the following:-
Whether the windows are demised to the lessee under the Lease;
Who has the repairing obligation for the windows - in particular, whether there is a shared obligation (i.e. does the lessee have an obligation to repair the interior and the lessor/management company the obligation to repair the exterior ?);
Is responsibility for the glass and frames of the windows divided (i.e. is the lessee responsible for the glass and the lessor responsible for the frames ?)
Who has the replacement obligation for the windows (if there is shared responsibility for repair the lessor/management company may have the replacement obligation).