The challenge
A residential development in Cheshire required external redecoration works. Within the terms of a lease, there is an obligation on the landlord to ensure regular maintenance is carried out, but work had been delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
The issue was compounded by additional complexities.
- Rising costs and additional building wear and tear had significantly increased the contractor’s initial quote.
- An unusual clause within the lease stipulated that each apartment owner was responsible for arranging their individual window and door repairs before any work could take place. The development consists of around 100 apartments across four residential blocks.
- The roof also required repairing, and the development’s property manager had separately sourced a quotation for this work.
Innovus Surveying Manager Tony Mathews says: “The owners were already frustrated about the delays and the prospect of increased costs and follow on disruption for the additional roof work would only create further issues for them.”
The solution
Innovus carried out a full retender process and a new contractor was instructed to manage the roof work and window repairs via a separate contract between the contractor and each resident. Tony also advised the property management team to work with our legal team to amend the lease to mitigate future issues regarding the apartment owners’ responsibilities.
Tony adds: “While the lease clause placed direct responsibility on the apartment owners, this would have resulted in multiple contractors on site at the same time carrying out individual repairs to each window. This would also mean very limited control over work quality, and more importantly, health and safety standards.”
The result
With a clear strategy, and diligent project management, involving regular communications and site visits with the contractor, the project was completed within programme – and under budget.
Tony says: “It was vital that the entire works were carefully framed and sourced. While the lease stipulated individual responsibility on the apartment owners, we needed to fulfil our duty of care for health and safety across the site for suppliers and residents. As well as surveying, I also have around 30 years’ project management experience so I am very process oriented and able to identify the correct strategic approach to ensure the entire project was successful.”
