Two long leasehold flats in two different blocks in London. Two elderly tenants in dispute nominally with their respective management companies, but in reality with their neighbours, who would bear the cost of any dispute through increased service charges.
Marjorie had lived in her flat for almost fifty years. After Marjorie’s husband died her daughter, an interior designer, persuaded her to refurbish the flat including replacing the carpeting throughout with modern wooden floors. Marjorie’s neighbours in the flat below complained that they could now hear Marjorie moving round the flat, particularly at night when Marjorie, who suffered from insomnia, got up repeatedly to make cups of tea. They complained to the management company and, after several letters had been ignored, it threatened proceedings for nuisance and an injunction requiring Marjorie to replace carpeting throughout the flat. Marjorie’s daughter was adamant that there could be no nuisance from noise because she had specified the very latest sound insulation in the wooden flooring. Privately she believed that Gladys, who lived downstairs and had been a good friend, was jealous of her mother’s smart modern flat and was just trying to cause trouble.
Raymond had lived in his flat, the top flat in his block, for over 50 years and was increasingly frail although very forthright in his views. He had a running dispute with the management company about the maintenance of the lift which was frequently out of action. He felt vindicated when it had to be replaced. He then turned his attention to the heating system, saying that his radiators and water were lukewarm at best and the boiler clearly needed replacing. He obtained a report from an expert which supported his claims that there was inadequate hot water in the bathroom and that some of the radiators did not achieve adequate heat. Armed with that report he started proceedings against the management company, requiring them to replace the boiler and would not countenance any other solution. The management company believed that the problem was largely caused by Raymond’s failure to bleed his radiators and the solution lay with him.
Two years and many tens of thousands of costs later, Raymond was still, he said, in a cold flat with no hot water. At a residents’ meeting at which the estimate of legal costs to trial caused widespread dismay, a new resident who had just joined the management committee suggested mediation. Raymond reluctantly agreed to give it a try.
At the mediation Raymond was initially adamant that a new boiler was the only solution. The management committee accepted that the supply of hot water to his bathroom was not ideal. Other flats had overcome this problem by fitting dedicated shower heaters and it offered to fit one for Raymond at no cost to him. Raymond agreed to consider it if a solution to the central heating could be found. The management committee produced a report recommending a booster to the existing system which it was willing to install but Raymond needed to undertake to maintain and bleed his radiators regularly. It was eventually agreed to stay the proceedings to enable the booster to be installed and monitored to see if it was an effective solution. It was also agreed that the caretaker of the flats would bleed Raymond’s radiators when required. At the end of the mediation everyone met to express their relief that a solution had been found and agreed to talk further if the booster installation did not meet expectations. As the chair of the management committee said “If only we had mediated two years ago!”
In Marjorie’s case, her daughter was worried about her reputation as an interior designer, and the dispute went to mediation before proceedings were issued. During the mediation, Marjorie’s daughter went into the downstairs flat whilst her mother walked about her flat. Privately she conceded to the mediator that you could hear the sound of footsteps downstairs and she understood how irritating that could be in the night, particularly since her mother’s kitchen was over the bedroom in the flat below. It was agreed to put down rugs to cover most of the wooden flooring and to install a tea station in the living room for Marjorie to use during the night. Marjorie and Gladys agreed to meet for coffee the following week.
Disputes between neighbours or tenants and landlords call for practical solutions. Practical solutions often require some goodwill on both sides and are easier to find before costs and frustration have escalated and relations broken down beyond repair. Early mediation has much to recommend it!
