'I can't fix huge hole in my roof as my home's owned by King Charles'

King Charles's ownership of a property in Shropshire means the owner can't fix a hole in the roof of his block of flats.

Peter Batt, 59, from Ludlow, has been trying to fix a gaping hole in the roof of his apartment building for the past six months.

Mr Batt moved out of the flat in Priory Courtyard which he bought in June 2019 and has been living with his partner since January.

He rented the flat out to a friend and while she was renovating it in February she noticed water pouring into the second bedroom and bathroom.

Peter and his fellow leaseholders have been struggling to fix the issue after they found out the building is owned by the Crown Estate, which is headed up by the monarch.

Mr Batt, a journalist, 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."

Mr Batt explained the original developer set up a company to aid the build and sale of the flats, then dissolved it as standard.

He added that, due to an oversight, the freehold didn't transfer over to the residents’ management company (RMC).

The land was then officially ownerless because the developer’s company had been dissolved and the title hadn't been transferred. That means the residents' company can’t secure a loan to repair the work, according to Mr Batt.

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

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 structural work.

But the original developer of the site, John Walker, who also owns a flat there and is part of the RMC, said the title wasn't transferred because of an "administrative error".

He said when the development was complete and the company was wound up someone forgot to transfer the freehold to the residents' company.

Mr Walker added: "We discovered 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.

"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 can't take any action which 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. Surveyors have determined the roof needs to be replaced entirely at a cost of about £74,000.

The Crown Estate confirmed it acquired the title to Priory Courtyard on November 22, 2017, but it could not comment on any application by the RMC concerning the freehold.