Commercial Property Asbestos Roof Bad Landlord

[rmsux]

Hi,

I could really use some advice please

 

Last summer I signed a five year lease on a commercial property.

My own stipulation was that it didn't leak or flood

after being in two weeks it did leak, feel conned, but that's not the worst of it.

 

The leak was due to a crack in what looked like old corrugated asbestos sheets,

I asked my landlord if they were asbestos & he said no they definitely weren't & that if I got a handyman to fix them he'd pay.

 

I used the guy who had just moved me into the shop.

I asked him if he thought they were concrete or asbestos & he said its just concrete, I went online to look at pictures but I couldn't tell the difference.

later that week he replaced the broken panels using a circular saw amongst other tools.

 

Fast farward to Dec 2017 & the other leak on the roof was still leaking

the landlord got a roofer in for a quote, it was £450 which I thought was a lot for an afternoons work.

Silly me trusting people..

 

It wasn't until the second roofer came & quoted the landlord £250 that the penny dropped,

I asked the roofer why it was so expensive & he told me its because its asbestos.

 

The landlord then came in to tell me he was going to have the work done that Thursday, while I'm open to the public,

 

I wouldn't allow it,

I said it was asbestos!

it had to be sorted out in line with government guidlines etc.

 

I contacted HSE who said they would write to him & remind him of his responsibilities. And that's it...The work hasn't been done,

 

now the landlord has denied having anything to do with having the work done by the handyman in 2017, blatantly lying about it, and has told me I must pay for the two sheets disposing of.

 

In between all this (Jan 2018) he had a company come in to take sample's but I don't know the outcome.

 

Both my customers & myself were exposed to the asbestos in 2017 for sure as he used power tools.

 

He's totally denying everything, im so angry & confused.

 

Ps, this isn't about me getting out if my lease, I'd like to stay there but the landlord has turned nasty.

Edited February 28, 2018 by dx100uk
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[mariner51]

If it is a Commercial Let generally the Tenant is responsible for all repairs.

It is a concrete roof mixed with asbestos fibres. A crack can be sealed with a tube of Chemical Metal, but all sheets should be 'double bagged' and disposed of according to current Gov guidelines.

[king12345]

I would get my own independent report to confirm or not presence of asbestos.

If there is asbestos then you need to find text messages, emails or something to prove that he had the work done by a bodger.

I don't think you can terminate the contract early for this, but he surely needs to make the roof safe and secure.

Speak to your local council for better advice, some councils offer a discounted rate to remove or make asbestos safe.

[ericsbrother]

what does the lease say about repairs?

[rmsux]

Sorry about the delay, and thank you everyone.

 

Im just firing my laptop up because my tab has all of a sudden stopped downloading docs and my paper lease isnt here.

 

It actually says in the emailed lease that the landlord is responsible for asbestos.

Ill add a picture of my lease ok just to make sure because the wording is weird.

 

this is what it says in the lease regarding asbestos... does that mean its his responsibility?

 

The problem is he is denying ever paying the handyman to fix it, saying I paid him and contracted him which i didn't, I paid him on behalf of the landlord and the landlord then gave me the cash back, however im sure if it went to court I could prove this.

 

He has now ordered me to dispose of the panels that were removed.

But I said they were his responsibility.

 

"To Comply with all matters relating to use of the Premises statutory or otherwise save in relation to matters relating to asbestos which remains the responsibility of the Landlord."

Edited March 2, 2018 by dx100uk
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[ericsbrother]

then LL is responsible. Make im aware of the problem and ask him when he is getting soemone to cure it Fixing a leak and removing the asbestos are very differnt things

[rmsux]

Sorry, my heads all over so i haven't explained very well..

 

The work was done, authorised and paid for by him, something that he now denies

because it turns out it was asbestos even though he said it wasn't, so my customers & myself have been exposed.

And the fact that power tools were used exacerbates the asbestos problem.

 

I wrote to HSE who weren't interested, they said they would write to remind him of his responsibility as landlord.

 

He had Bradley Environment come out & do tests, but neither they or him will tell me or email me the results.

I messaged him to ask him to authorise them to give me the results but he hasnt replied.

I dont know what grade it is and the landlord is bare faced lying about it.

Edited March 2, 2018 by dx100uk
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[king12345]

Offer to buy the report and they will give it to you immediately

[ericsbrother]

work done- then there is nothing you can do and TBH little point in continuing to pusue this matter.

You arent going to die from asbestosis from this single event.

 

Read "Asbestos and other fibrous pyriboes" or "asbestos and other fibrous minerals" and the various IOSH publications that quote these works.

 

I used to work as a materials characterisation scientist and did a lot of work on asbestos in the early 1980's and can say that the statistics are in your favour even though there is no safe level of exposure.

 

Not your job to dispose of the panels, they are his property and responsibility

Edited March 5, 2018 by dx100uk
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[rmsux]

Thank you everyone, i really appreciate your input. I still haven't got hold of the test results but im still strying.

Thanks again.