Hi there,
a few months ago I was contacted by BT in regards to installing fibre optic cable to the apartment building where I live. They contacted me to obtain who the landlord was so they could gain permission to install the cable. Since then I have heard nothing more about it and I am wondering if any progress has been made or if it is being held up or if there is anything I can do.
I really want to work from home and standard slow internet is the only thing stopping me at the moment. There are also a lot of people in my area that I am sure would benefit from being able to work from home too.
please advise
It would of been Openreach who would contact the landlord, you can check what's available at https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband
Blocks of Flats, or Apartment Buildings as we now call them are classed as, ‘MDU’s’.
Multi Dwelling Units.
They’re not included in the Openreach Rural FTTP Build or Fibre Cities but when PON’s are built in the area they do leave enough capacity for each dwelling within the block of flats.
There’s a separate division of Openreach whose sole job it is to deal with MDU’s and from what I’ve been told it’s a logistical and legal nightmare because finding out who owns what and who they’ve got to get permissions from is a long drawn out process.
Appreciate the replies! Especially on Christmas Day appreciate your time!
Is there anything I can do to help the situation?
I have a Shared Ownership property and the landlord is a housing company called Bromford Housing. Surely it would be easier to make a arrangements with a company like that?
Not really. As I said, MDU’s are a Legal nightmare.
A mate used to work on the MDU Project and he left it for another job as it was more hassle than it was worth.
Problem with MDU’s, especially the large ones in you’ve got a Company that owns the Building but because they’re technically owned by another Company they require involvement and so on. Then there’s things like multiple Lease Holders, Landlords, Land Agents, Lettings Agents, etc and when leeches, aka Solicitors have to get involved then god help you!
My mate said dealing with them is a nightmare because none are interested so take an eternity to reply to information requests. Or they don’t want to take responsibility/ownership and just pass them off to someone else who again, isn’t interested and dumps it on someone else’s desk.
The only advice I can give is, Good Luck!
Hi everyone, so about a month ago, full fibre becamse available in my area, so i placed an order with bt. A surveyer came out to my block of flats and said that some external work was needed, they needed to get planning permission, etc. a few days later, the order got cancelled. I found out that it's because the landlord hasn't registered my block of flats as a MDU. I am with Paragon housing, and it's a bloody nightmare, they don't let you talk to your landlord, i'm sending emails backwards and forwards to try and get this sorted, but apparently the landlord doesn't know how to register us as a MDU? and apparently until this is done, no orders will be able to be placed, as they will just get cancelled down straight away. So frustrating!!!
Point you landlord here.
https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/fibre-for-home/are-you-a-landlord