We are very grateful to all of our supporters (and many others) who responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on estate charges. Their Housing Minister has responded in this statement published on 30th November 2020. With over 600 responses, many from affected home owners/buyers, they have clearly now got a good grasp of the issues. We recommend reading the whole report – it is not that long, but if you cannot perhaps this quote summarises best what has been heard from estate dwellers:
The strength of feeling communicated by residents responding to the exercise shows that at present the operation of estate charges leaves much to be desired. Many residents report that they were not made fully aware of the existence and likely level of charges when buying a property; that charges do not represent value for money; and that where they have attempted to complain or challenge charges, they are unhappy with how their case has been dealt with. Many reported a variety of actions threatened or taken in response to non-payment or to questioning of the charges. Residents are also unclear why they should pay these charges in addition to council tax, particularly since the facilities are usually available for the whole community to use. Several groups responding to the call for evidence expressed a fear that this would prove divisive and harmful to community cohesion.
Three actions are proposed:
Require that section 121 of the Law of Property Act is excluded from any future Help to Buy sales in Wales.
Clear information on estate charges and their implications to be given to new home buyers, and mandatory for Help to Buy in Wales.
More work to be done on looking at how public open spaces are funded on new developments – HorNet look forward to this one!
