Service charge for apartment block

kirstydawn

Hi all, I am unsure if this is the best place to post this but it doesnt seem to fit anywhere so i may do a few posts in different forums!

My partner and I bought a new build apartment about 5 years ago and understood that there was a service charge fee that we would have to pay each month as they do things such as clean communal areas, gardens, take out buildings insurance etc, which we are happy to pay for.

Over the 5 years this charge has increased rapidly and over the past few months we have received a number of letters asking for more and more money. We have been told that there was a shortfall in 2006 and 2007 after finalising their accounts recently for these years rand we now owe further money to cover these past years! We have been gven a breakdown of charges and it is for items such as providing keys for the meter cupboard which contains each flat's electricity meters that we need access to (surely we should have had access in the first place?), replacing door furniture, providing grit in the bad weather, contributions towards replacing smashed windows (where?) etc etc. We also get notes left on our communal door each few weeks stating that the cleaners have not been able to carry out their duties as they have been unable to gain access! When I questioned this with the management company they have agreed to give the cleanerskeys to the communal areas so they can actually get in and do their job (I am sure we will have been charged for providing the keys) and have stated that the cleaners are now not being paid by them to account for the past times that the cleaners have charged them and they hadnot completed their works - yet the residents have seen no reduction in what we are paying the management agency.

We had another letter yesterday asking for an additional £200 to be paid within 14 days so that they could put higher security doors onto each entrance block. They have stated that they did not expect the amount of vandalism that has occured on our site and so need better security doors and until they have received this additional money from all residents they will not start to change these doors or repair any other works (ie. the door closer in our block has been removed, and the heater is the communal area has been pulled off the wall).

Apologies for the long thread, I could go on and on with the difficulties that we have had with the management agency, I was just wondering if anyone knew what rights residents had in relation to these sorts of charges as it seems that they can continue to ask for more andmore money whenever they feel like it, even when the works are not being carried out.

Thanks all!

poppysarah

I think you need a residents meeting.