Roof and building repairs for landlords and agents
For landlords, letting agents, managing agents and freeholders across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. Written, itemised quotes you can pass on, and photographs of every defect.
The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Thomas Hannen prices every job himself.
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Landlords and agents
Repairs on let property, set out for the person who pays
We do the roofing and building repairs on rented houses, converted villas and blocks of flats, and we set the paperwork out for whoever is paying. That means an itemised written quote for each job, dated photographs of the defect, and access arranged with the tenant through you. The site visit and the quote are free.
If a tenant has water coming in now, ring 07435 839745 rather than using the form, and have the address, the flat number and the tenant's details to hand.
Let property around here falls into three kinds. A house on an assured shorthold tenancy, where the landlord or the letting agent handles repairs. A Victorian or Edwardian villa split into flats, with a freeholder or a residents' company behind it. Or a purpose built block with a managing agent and a service charge.
The trades are the same in all three: pitched roofs, flat roofs, fascias and gutters, chimneys and leadwork, brickwork and repointing, render and insulation. What changes is who can say yes to the work, and what they need in writing before they do.
Who instructs the work
Who can actually order a repair on a flat
On most flats the leaseholder cannot order work to the roof, the outside walls or the gutters, because those belong to the freeholder and are repaired under the lease. The instruction comes from the freeholder, a residents' management or right to manage company, or the managing agent acting for one of them.
So the person who rings us is often not the person who can instruct us. A top floor leaseholder sees the stain spreading. A tenant in the flat below tells their letting agent. The letting agent works for that flat's owner, who is a leaseholder too. None of them owns the roof.
We sort this out on the first call rather than on the doorstep. Tell us who reported the fault, who holds the freehold if you know, and who manages the block. If the right person is not involved yet, we can still look at the fault and photograph it, and the report goes to whoever needs to see it. The quote itself is addressed to the party who will instruct and pay.
Share of freehold flats are the awkward case. Every leaseholder owns part of the freehold, usually through a company they all hold shares in, so the decision is theirs together. In practice one of them does the running, and a quote with each item priced separately is what lets the others agree without a meeting on the landing.
A single let house is simpler. The landlord instructs, either directly or through a letting agent with authority to spend up to an agreed limit. Over that limit the agent needs the landlord's say-so, and a written quote with photographs is what gets it. Our Bournemouth and Westbourne pages go further into how this plays out on the converted villas and blocks there.
Leasehold blocks
Section 20 consultation, and where our quote fits
If one leaseholder's share of a set of works will come to more than £250, the landlord has to consult the leaseholders before the work goes ahead, under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. A re-roof, a full run of fascias and gutters or re-rendering one elevation of a block will usually cross that line.
The consultation is the landlord's job, not ours, and the steps are set out in the 2003 consultation regulations. In outline, there is a notice of intention that describes the works and invites observations, a chance for leaseholders to nominate a contractor, then estimates obtained and set out for the leaseholders to see before a contract is placed. Each stage carries its own period for comments, which is why a planned re-roof on a block takes weeks to get under way however soon the roofer could start.
Where we fit is the estimate. To be useful in a consultation it has to describe the same works as the notice, price the parts separately and say plainly what is provisional. We write ours that way as standard. If a leaseholder has nominated us, tell us, and we will price to the specification in your notice rather than our own, so the estimates compare like with like.
A leak does not wait for a consultation. Making a roof watertight with a temporary cover or a small repair is usually a separate and much smaller job, and we price it on its own so it does not muddle the consultation for the permanent works. Where the permanent works themselves cannot wait, the First-tier Tribunal can dispense with the consultation requirements. Whether to apply is a question for the landlord and its advisers, not for us.
Short tenancies
Repairing obligations on a let house or flat
On a tenancy of a house or flat for less than seven years, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes the landlord keep the structure and exterior in repair, including the drains, gutters and external pipes. The tenancy agreement cannot simply pass that to the tenant, so a slipped tile, a leaking gutter or cracked render is the landlord's to deal with.
Keep a record of when a tenant reports a defect and what was done about it. If a disrepair complaint ever starts, the questions are what you knew, when you knew it, and what you did next. Our photographs are dated, and the quote says what we found and where, so your file shows when the fault was looked at and what was proposed.
Water coming in is also how damp and mould get started inside, and that is a problem for the tenant's health as well as the building. Deal with the cause outside before anyone redecorates inside, or the stain comes back through the new paint. On a flat roof over a back addition or a gutter behind a parapet, the cause is often nowhere near the mark on the ceiling, which is why we trace it from outside first. Our guide to brown stains on a ceiling is a useful thing to send a tenant who has just reported one.
Quotes and photographs
A written quote an agent can pass straight on
Every job gets a free written quote, itemised so that a managing agent, a landlord or a board of directors can read it without us in the room. Scaffold, each area of work, waste and anything provisional sit on their own lines, and the quote says what we found as well as what we propose.
A quote from us sets out:
- the address, and which part of the building the work is on
- what we found, with photographs of the defect
- each item priced separately, with scaffold or other access as its own line
- anything provisional marked as provisional, with what would trigger it
- what is not included, such as internal making good or decoration
- who the quote is addressed to, so it matches whoever will instruct and pay
We photograph the defect before we touch it, during the work where it matters, and when it is finished. On a roof that is the only way anyone who has not been up the ladder can see what they are paying for. The pictures go to whoever instructed us, and you are welcome to forward them to the landlord, the other leaseholders or an insurer.
If we find something extra once the roof is open, work on that part stops, we photograph it and price it, and it goes ahead only when the person who instructed us agrees. On a block that can mean the agent checking with the freeholder first, so we keep the roof watertight while you do.
Send us what you already hold. If the block has an asbestos register for the common parts, an earlier roof report or a fire strategy, include it with the instruction. A landlord or agent commissioning work as a business is not a domestic client under CDM 2015, and passing on the information you have is part of that.
Tenants and access
Access arranged with the tenant, through you
We arrange access through whoever instructs us. Give us the tenant's details and your permission to contact them, and we agree a time directly, or we work to a time you have set. The outside of most houses and blocks can be looked at without going in, but a leak usually means a look in the loft or the room below.
The landlord's right to go in and view the condition of the property comes from the same section 11: at reasonable times of day, and with 24 hours' notice in writing to the occupier. That notice is yours to give. We will not turn up at a tenant's door unannounced.
On the day we keep to the plan. Nothing left open overnight, the site swept, and the waste leaves with us. If the tenant asks about the work, we answer. Questions about rent, the tenancy or who pays go back to you. For an empty property between tenancies, tell us where to collect and return the keys, and we photograph the finished work so you can see it without a trip out.
What we do not do
Gas and electrical safety checks are not our trade
We do not do gas safety checks, electrical installation condition reports, energy performance certificates or fire risk assessments. A landlord needs a Gas Safe registered engineer for the annual gas check and a qualified electrician for the electrical report. We do the roof and the fabric of the building, and we say so plainly so nobody assumes otherwise.
Where our work touches theirs, we flag it. A light fitting under a leak, cables in a loft we are insulating, a flue through a roof we are stripping. You get it in writing so the right trade can look at it before anything is covered up.
We also do not put a response time on this page. Ring 07435 839745 and you get a straight answer about when we can be there, which depends on the weather and what is already booked. Scheduled work runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Reviews
What customers said
Two reviews written by customers after the job, word for word: a resin driveway, patio and decking in BH13 and a new roof. They show how a job is run and kept informed, which is what an agent reporting back to a landlord needs.
Bournemouth Roofing and Building completed a beautiful resin driveway, patio, and decking area for us. The job was quite complex and far from straightforward, but they handled everything with professionalism and skill…
I am really pleased with our new roof. The team were friendly and professional and kept up good communication with us through the week. We had no issues and I'd definitely recommend to anyone. Thank you!
Free quote
How does a landlord or agent get a quote?
Send the address, what was reported and who instructs the work, or ring 07435 839745. Thomas Hannen looks at the fault, photographs it and puts an itemised written quote in front of whoever pays, and neither the visit nor the quote costs anything.
Questions
Questions for landlords and agents
Can a leaseholder instruct you to repair the roof over their flat?
Usually not on their own: the roof and outside walls of a block normally belong to the freeholder and are repaired under the lease, so the instruction comes from the freeholder, the residents' company or the managing agent. A leaseholder can still ring us, and we will look at the fault, photograph it and put it in writing for whoever needs to see it.
Will your quote work for a Section 20 consultation?
It will if it prices the same works as the notice. Every quote is itemised with anything provisional marked as provisional, and on request we price to the specification in your notice of intention so the estimates compare like with like. Running the consultation itself is the landlord's or the agent's job.
Do you deal with the tenant directly?
Only with your permission: give us the tenant's details and we agree a time with them, or we work to a time you have already set. Questions about the tenancy, the rent or who pays for what go back to you.
Do you do landlord gas safety or electrical certificates?
No, you need a Gas Safe registered engineer for the gas safety check and a qualified electrician for the electrical report. We do roofs, walls, gutters, render, brickwork and insulation, and we tell you in writing about anything we notice that belongs to another trade.
What should I do if a tenant reports a leak today?
Ring 07435 839745 rather than using the form, with the address, the flat number and the tenant's details to hand. Ask the tenant to put a bowl under the drip and keep clear of any wet light fitting. We make the roof watertight first, then put the permanent repair in a written quote.
Who do you send the invoice to?
Whoever instructed the work, as named on the quote. If a managing agent instructs on behalf of a freeholder, tell us at the start which of you the invoice should be addressed to, and that is who the quote is addressed to as well.
Where we work
Landlord and agent work across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch
Let houses and blocks run right across our area, from the converted villas of Boscombe and Westbourne to the purpose built blocks around Poole and Christchurch. The pages below cover the housing, the ownership questions and the local planning points for each place in more detail.
- Bournemouth: converted villas and post-war blocks, and who owns the outside
- Westbourne: a suburb that is mostly flats, with managing agents behind most of them
- Boscombe: Victorian and Edwardian villas split into flats, near our base
- Southbourne: converted houses and cliff top apartment blocks
- Canford Cliffs: blocks of flats among the pines
- Poole: harbour exposure, and what salt air does to fixings
- Christchurch: conservation areas and the materials they call for
Free quote
Send us the address and what was reported
Tell us who instructs, who we should contact for access, and who the quote should be addressed to. We will look at the fault, photograph it and put an itemised written quote in front of you.