If you think you’re being charged over the odds for your buildings insurance, you’re within your rights to ask your freeholder for a copy of the insurance policy. The copy must show how much the building is insured for, the name of the insurance provider and the risks that are covered by the policy.
The freeholder must reply to your written request for a summary of the policy within 21 days. If they don’t, they’re committing an offence and could be fined up to £2,500.
If you’re not happy with the cover and the freeholder isn’t prepared to negotiate, you could choose to take them to a housing tribunal. At a tribunal, an independent judge will decide the outcome.
It might be worth discussing the matter with other leaseholders in the building, as the freeholder may be more readily persuaded by you all acting together.