What's my situation with buildings insurance?

Q I bought my one-bedroom flat from Lewisham borough council around a year ago and I was wondering what my responsibilities are with regard to buildings insurance. The ground floor flat occupier is still a council tenant.

I understand that the council has its own insurance, but does this protect me if there is a fire, say, or some other damage which might destroy my home? All the buildings insurance policies that I have seen advertised seem to be designed for mortgage-holding freeholders.

RB

A Freeholders are responsible for organising buildings insurance and anyone who buys a flat is required to pay part of the premium charged for insuring the building in which the flat is, though the freeholder will arrange the actual policy. This policy covers the cost of rebuilding the entire premises should they be completely destroyed, as well as the cost of dealing with other problems, such as subsidence or flood damage.

The same applies to flats in local authority property - as the council is the freeholder, it will normally be responsible for arranging a suitable buildings policy, whether its flats are owned or rented, and, as a leaseholder, you should be liable to pay your part of the insurance policy premium.

However, the real nitty-gritty will come down to your individual purchase agreement with Lewisham council, because these agreements can vary substantially. It may be that your insurance costs are included in an annual maintenance charge, if you pay one, or the council might require you to pay a separate sum for insurance.

Your purchase contract should provide details of what is required - if you can't decipher the details, you need to contact Lewisham council to clarify the matter.

One thing to bear in mind, though, is that the council is only responsible for arranging buildings insurance - it has no obligation to sort out cover for your home contents. That's up to you and this applies whether you rent or own your property.