Management Committee - what rights do we have?

FTB83

Hi - I am not sure if anyone can help, but mr partner and I bought a small two bedroom house a couple of months ago and have moved in. Before we moved in we were told that there was a Management Committee which maintains the communal carpark and plants at the back of the house, it costs £33 per months which, although is a fair bit, we accepted it is part of living in that area.

Yesterday however, we received an invoice, which had been sent to our solicitor from the Management committee, for £176 which the committee say is the cost of them issuing a share certificate for us (apparently the committee is run as a small company and each house that pays into it is a shareholder, although there are no profits etc.). Anyway, we were a bit taken aback by this sudden invoice for money as we had not been told by anyone (not the committee, solicitors or anyone) that we would be landed with this bill, and the solicitor actually mentioned that the issuing of a share certificate should only be £70 at the most.

My question is, do we have any rights to ring them and say why were we not told we would be billed for this and why is the amount so high etc.? It's probably the case that we should have expected this expense, but as first time house buyers and with no experience of Management Committees, we're a bit stumped.

I thought I'd post here before contacting them as I's rather know if I have any rights before wading in!

Thanks.

FTB83

Debras_Angel

Hi FTB83,

I would think that you have every right to question this as you are part of the Management Company if you have been issued with shares.

You will have a voice on the committee along with your neighbours in any future decisions.

Cheers

Debs

FTB83

Thanks Debras Angel - will contact them and see how I get on!

FTB83

amboy

i have the unenviable pleasure of also being involved in one of these types of committes that has been formed for one of the BTL I run, I find that the charges are ridiculous, all they do is maintain the front greens and trees as well as lighting for the street as it is a private road.

I would advise you to make your presence felt at the meetings they hold, where you may find there are old timers who are used to doing things their way.

Oh and my commitee regular monitor dustbins, back gardens etc, a bit weird if you ask me, but they argue that they want the area to look nice.

Good luck

FTB83

Thanks amboy.

The committee seems to only meet once per year (!) and it's feels odd having to pay for something that you seem to have any say over, but also no choice as to whether you pay or not. I might pop and see a couple of my neighbours to find out more! Someone did mention some time ago that after so many years (three or four I think) areas on a housing estate become the property of the Council (i.e. the roads and verges), so wondered whether the maintenance might then be taken over by the council. Hoping this is the case, but won't hold my breath.

I will certainly be chatting to the company that looks after our Management committee, thanks for your help.

FTB83

dougk_2

Hi, I am on a Management Committee for our group of 24 houses on a private estate development. We have communal grounds which have to be maintained (grass, driveways,paths etc) and also other communal facilities such as the tv aerial, drains, lighting , sewage pumping station etc. There is more to it than just grass cutting which in itself leads to a bill of about £3000 PA (eg. £10 per hour times 10 hours a week times 30 weeks a year!)

We don't charge for the shares certificate but there is a yearly annual maintenance charge of £350 - which actually if you take into
account the stuff you will never actually have to pay for (i.e drain blockages, sewer repairs, outside lighting) is not actually that bad.

Each year there is an AGM where things are discussed and you can elect new directors etc (of which you can put yoourself forward). There will be an memorandum of articles available to you to show how the company works and its resposibilities.

I would suggest the bill is for the remainder of the years maintenace charge and not the shares certificate. Your solicitor should be able to tell you more or find out who the chairman/secretary of the compnay is and speak to them direct. Also if your solictor was not aware of all this before the completion he/she didn't do a very good job IMO!

FTB83

Hi dougk

Thanks for the info. The invoice is definitely for the issue of a share certificate. We pay our maintenance charges monthly = £33 per month (totals £396 per year), and these were paid up until we moved in by the previous owner, and our direct debit took over the payments straight away from then.

I suspect the solcitior should have expected the charge as the letter from the him that accompanied the invoice (it was sent to the solicitor first) apologised for not knowing this would be coming and commented that the fee is way to high, but said 'I'm afraid we're stuck with it'. Doh!

I guess it's left to me to take on :eek:

dougk_2

I certainly would challenge any charge for a share certificate - ours is just a sheet of paper with our details written on it, a unique number and signed by the chairman! Its not much work involved other than a quick letter / form to companies house on the changes of shares ownership.

On the other hand i guess you will pay for this in some other method such as monthly increase in order to kepp the accounts balanced. Also ask for a copy of the annual accounts so you can see how the money you and the other residents is spent, and be prepared to offer suggestions for improvements at the agm.

We all do it for free but I know some management commitees where they charge for their time!