Homeowner can’t fix hole in his roof – because the King owns it

A property owner is struggling to fix the hole in his roof because the building is owned by King Charles.

Peter Batt, 59, has been trying to fix a gaping hole in the roof of his apartment block in Priory Courtyard, Ramsgate for the past six months.

In January 2024, Peter moved out of the flat – which he bought in June 2019 – to live with his partner and rented the flat out to a friend.

As she was renovating it in February, she noticed that water started pouring into the second bedroom and bathroom.

For the past six months, Peter and other leaseholders have been struggling to fix the issue after the found out that the building is owned by the Crown Estate, which the monarch is the head of.

Peter, a journalist from Ludlow, Shropshire, said due to oversight the freehold did not transfer over to the residents’ management company.

He explained: ‘Because the [developer’s] company had been dissolved, and the title wasn’t transferred, the land then officially became ownerless. This means that the residents’ company can’t secure a loan to repair the work.’

RMCs are non-profit firms formed by leasehold residents to look after the management and maintenance of the building they live in.

If they take ownership of the freehold – as was intended to be the case at Priory Courtyard when it was finished in 2007 – it means they have more control over the funding of any structural work.

But the original developer of the site, John Walker, who also owns a flat there and is part of its RMC, says the title was not transferred because of an ‘administrative error.’

He said: ‘What happened was, when we were done with the development and the company was wound up, someone forgot to transfer the freehold to the residents company. It was an administrative error.

‘We discovered that it had been transferred to the Crown about three years ago, but we took advice from solicitors at the time who said it wouldn’t matter as the homes were on a 199-year lease.’

John said: ‘Now, this issue with the roof has come up. We are trying our best to speed things up and get the freehold back, but it is taking some time.’

The building was automatically transferred to the Crown as part of a process called escheat – when ownerless land is passed to the sovereign as ‘lord paramount of all the land in the realm.’

But the Estate is not able to take any action that could be deemed an act of management, possession or ownership – such as fixing a leaking roof – as it may incur liabilities associated with the property.

The RMC at Priory Courtyard is now taking steps through the courts to obtain the freehold to the building.

However the complicated and drawn-out process has left Mr Batt to deal with the ongoing effects of the leaky roof, which mostly impacts his top-floor flat.

Fortunately, he moved out of the property to live with his partner before the hole opened up in February but has a tenant waiting to move in.

Surveyors have determined that the roof needs to be replaced entirely at a cost of about £74,000.

Peter said: ‘This has been a nightmare. For a couple of months at the beginning, I’d spend hours a day emailing people and trying to push them to see what the latest situation is and what their latest strategy was.

‘I got as far as I could with that and then the only way you can deal with it is just to pretend it’s not there. But it’s always there in the background, and in the last month it has started waking me up in the morning.

‘I find myself getting really angry. In all of this, I just felt terrible for my tenant and her daughter. They are living with friends and love this flat, so want to wait to move in.’

The Crown Estate confirmed it acquired the title to Priory Courtyard on November 22, 2017.

It could not comment on any application by the RMC concerning the freehold.

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