A man can't patch up a huge hole in the roof of a house, because it is "owned by the king" (4 photo)

Peter Butt, 59, said he can't fix the giant hole in his roof because the building is owned by the King's Crown Estate.





The man has been trying to fix the problem in his top-floor flat for the past six months after water started seeping into his bedroom and bathroom. When he and his neighbours tried to fix the roof, they realised an administrative 'error' had meant the freehold had been transferred to the Crown Estate, which is headed by the monarch.

A complicated and drawn-out conveyancing process means Peter is left to deal with the ongoing effects of a leaky roof on his flat, which will cost £74,000 to repair. He bought the property in June 2019 but rented it out to a friend. The roof started leaking in February 2024.



"The original developer created a company to help build and sell the apartments, and then dissolved it, as is usually the case. Due to some oversight or oversight, the freehold did not transfer to the residents' management company. Since the [developer's] company was dissolved and the title was not transferred, the land officially became ownerless. This means that the residents' company cannot get a loan for repairs," he said.

The publication notes that residents' management companies are non-profit firms created by residents of rented houses to manage and maintain the building in which they live. Obtaining ownership of the freehold means that they have more control over the financing of any construction work. However, the building was automatically transferred to the Crown through a process called escheat, whereby unclaimed land passes to the Sovereign as "Lord Paramount of all the lands of the Realm".





The Crown Estate cannot take any action that could be considered an act of management, ownership or property - such as fixing a leaky roof - as this would give rise to liabilities associated with the property.

"It was a nightmare. For months at the beginning I spent hours a day emailing people and trying to figure out what the latest situation was and what their latest strategy was. I got as far as I could with it and then the only way to deal with it was to pretend it never happened. But the leak in the roof is always there in the background and in the last month it's been waking me up in the morning," Peter added.