We have published two stories from members, one on estate rent charges and another on fleecehold in retirement. As the estate charges scam becomes more well known, we have more press interest. Stories of what is happening to everyday people is what interests audiences most. We would love to publish an article or series of articles relating the woes of home owners on private managed estates. If you are willing to share, you can either comment on this article or email us via our contact form.
We are starting to hear about estate management agents/companies going out of business – do you have a story about this you can share??
We live in a 3 bed semi in Kent. It’s a large purpose built estate where the majority of residents pay an annual service charge, on top of council tax, to a number of different estate management companies. Ours is LEMC and is run by 5 resident directors, 3 are ‘sleeping ‘ directors and the other 2 are more active day to day. Our fees are currently an eye watering £1300 per year, although some residents pay more than £2000. We have challenged these fees repeatedly, but LEMC, knowing we have absolutely no legal redress, continue to fob us off, essentially telling us ‘it costs what it costs’. The 2 active directors now take a fee for the work they do, a job that they took on voluntarily, because the previous management company was also felt to be overcharging. Their fee rose by 59% this year alone and our overall yearly charge rose by 8%. They say they hope it will ‘settle down’ but can’t guarantee this and know we are legally obliged to pay anyway. Meanwhile, the landscaping of the area is almost non existent, with bushes and shrubs growing across paths and obscuring lights and signs. To add insult to injury, one of the active directors behaves as though we all rent our properties from her, telling contractors to paint properties in colours she prefers and giving them permission to jump resident’s fences to gain access to their properties. We also suspect the same director is asking contractors to increase their quotations on final invoices, then pocketing the increase when the bill is paid by LEMC. We have been in touch with our local MP, who has contacted Kit Malthouse, as he confirms we have absolutely no legal protection whatsoever from either rising fees, or from the management company continuing to add restrictions as and when it suits them. We cannot believe this is actually legal and feels like extortion!
I moved into a new build property 3 years ago, built on an old hospital site. in Hull. The area is made up of approximately 120 Detached/Semi Detached properties. I am in council tax band C and also receive a single person discount of 25%.
As well as council tax payments, I receive 2 bills per year from a property maintenance company. There is an annual break down of fees most of which seems to be administration charges. I recently received an arrears bill for £21 from the previous financial year, as the company had not paid enough postage I had to collect the letter and pay for the postage too!!
I cannot see a future for myself on this estate as these unregulated companies just seem to make up their fees as they go along. I am currently looking into selling my house to move somewhere more affordable.