Leasehold flat - management comittee threatening to take our gate keys!

lucystardust

Hi, I am currently staying with my grandmother in her leasehold flat which she bought 30 years ago. Its in a block of flats in a 'retirement estate', there is a committee and we pay maintainence money to an estate agent who have been brought in by the committee to manage all the repairs and upkeep.

We've had a letter from this estate agents (they are told to send them by the comittee which is just 2 busy bodies who peer out their curtains all day) addressed to my grandmother. It says that her visitors have been leaving a gate open on the edge of the estate 'day and night' and that if this problem persists we will have to hand back our keys to the gate! They sent a similar letter last year when my dad forgot to close the gate once.

Surely this is a load of rubbish? Its quite worrying for a 90 yr old woman to receive these pointless and quite threatening letters. What authority do leasehold management comittees have to make up silly rules and punishments like this?

Doozergirl

It's on the authority of God presuambly, no-one else.

Shame for your grandmother

ILW

Have her visitors been leaving the gate open?

lucystardust

ILW wrote: »

Have her visitors been leaving the gate open?

No! I presume by 'visitors' they mean me and my dad, I never leave it open and he only occasionally visits and even then only uses the gate when he's going to the shop to get my grandmother some milk, so he maybe uses the gate twice a month max!

One of the committee members lives where he can see this gate from his window, so he must have been doing some snooping. In the past we've had letters from the committee telling people not to talk to the gardener who mows the lawns as it distracts her from her job, and also to park straight so that more cars can fit into the parking area. Surely they have no right to tell people who they can't talk to and how they can park?

charliee_3

I think this is just one of the joys of living with old people.. generally they have so little in their day that the slightest thing gets noticed and this sort of thing (commitees, busy-bodying, etc) gives them a sense of importance...

G_M

These busybodies sound like a real p*** in the ***!

I'd either ignore (how are they actually going to try to take back keys? Just refuse to return them) or write back denying everything and asking for dates & times when gate is supposed to have been left open as well as identification of the individuals to blame.

Oh - and I'd make a point of taking out a cup of tea/cold drink for the gardener and having a friendly chat!

Morglin

lucystardust wrote: »

No! I presume by 'visitors' they mean me and my dad, I never leave it open and he only occasionally visits and even then only uses the gate when he's going to the shop to get my grandmother some milk, so he maybe uses the gate twice a month max!

One of the committee members lives where he can see this gate from his window, so he must have been doing some snooping. In the past we've had letters from the committee telling people not to talk to the gardener who mows the lawns as it distracts her from her job, and also to park straight so that more cars can fit into the parking area. Surely they have no right to tell people who they can't talk to and how they can park?

Oh, ignore most of it - they sound like the elderly 'jobsworths' that generally run local Neighbourhood Watch schemes - not enough to do, and hell bent on getting some power.:rolleyes:

We lived with a lot of old people at our last place, not a retirement place, just the way it was - they told me I shouldn't chat to the decorator in passing, or make him the odd cup of tea as it 'encouraged tradesmen' to get "over familiar"!:rotfl:

It was a village and full of wanabee Hyacinth Buckets.:rolleyes:

Tell them to go and find something useful to do with themselves, and you will talk to whoever you choose to.

But, it's for everyone's safety and security to make sure any gates/doors are closed after use, and it shows courtesy and consideration to park neatly, so that the maximum amount of cars can be parked, so perhaps it's a case of compromise?

Lin

lucystardust

Thanks for the replies, I don't think this committee has any real authority to tell anyone to do anything so I'll tell my g'mother not to worry about these letters. Guess its one of the problems with living in an area full of elderly people. The crime rate is really low and its a nice area, just when you're walking about you know people are watching you from behind the curtains!