Bin Shed for 2nd floor apartment

Del2005

I'm in the process of buying a 2 bed apartment in an apartment complex, it's on the 2nd floor above a duplex.

The estate agent is saying that I don't have access to a bin shed and I have to leave my bins on the tilled area in front of my door on the 1st floor, up 2 flights of stairs. I'm sure there is health and safety issues with this as there are restrictions on
lifting and pulling, as well as the issue that some people physically couldn't bring even empty bins up and down the stairs.

There are bin sheds under the stair leading up to my apartment. I suspect the people in the duplex are trying to keep both bin sheds for their bins, and the management company said it is nothing to do with them.

How do I go about getting a key to the Bin shed?

The_Conductor

That sounds more than a little bizzare.....

Normally it is the other way around- no-one being allowed to have their bins outside their doors- everyone having to put their bins in the binshed etc......

Is it possible to talk to a previous tenant or even the landlord rather than the estate agent to find out how this was dealt with previously?

Re: the management company- it most certainly is their business. You may have to read the articles of association and more pertinently the fine print of your lease to find out exactly what their obligations and your rights are.

To be perfectly honest- if it was suggested to me that my wheelie bin be parked outside my second floor door (I am in a duplex over an apartment at the moment) I would call an immediate meeting with the Management Company and lodge a complaint.

In most cases all common areas, including refuse storage areas, are vested in the Management Company and they have a duty of care to ensure that all appropriate persons have access to them.

S.

antoinolachtnai

You are dead right to be concerned abou this and to want to check it all out.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to what the estate agent says one way or another. The estate agent's job is done when the purchaser accepts your offer. You should never take an estate agent's word for anything.

First find out what's actually going on. Try talking to a neighbour in one of the other similar buildings in the development and see if you can find out what happens. Even if they aren't home, the walk up to their front door might be informative (of course you wouldn't want to go anywhere that might be construed as trespassing).

Better still, find out when bin day is and head out early in the morning on that day and wait for the collection. See what happens. Does the current resident really haul that bin up and down the stairs?

Next, check the lease and find out what you are actually buying, and what the management company owns/controls. When you go to your solicitor, say 'hey, this is a great apartment! I wonder where the rubbish is supposed to go and how that is underpinned legally.'. Don't go in there saying that you are very worried about the rubbish situation, because if you do, he may be wiser to just recommend that you (and the bank whom he also represents) pass on the property.

The management company pretty much has to answer your solicitor's questions about the property as it relates to the management company. It might help to figure out if your seller is active with the management company.

It might be worth looking at the planning permission files for the apartment too. Presumably it is a recent build and there may be provisions in the permission about this sort of thing.

Also find out who owns the duplex if it can be determined from the Land Registry. It could be the same person as the apartment and this could be at the heart of the issue.

If you find out that you are entitled to use the rubbish shed, then you can demand the management company gives you a key. You might have to go to court to get this done, but I doubt it.

To be honest, you might be better to check that the lease is on your side, get into the property, then fight it out rather than arguing about it now. That's the nature of the property market at the moment. It is possible that other people have encountered this property and turned it down on this point, and you may be getting sme discount as a result.

Is it a council rubbish collection? If it really is the case that you have no choice but to to haul a wheelie bin up two storeys, you should not have to use a wheelie bin. The council may be able to make some other arrangement for you (i.e, using a bag).