Excessive admin charges on leasehold major works

daztraction

Deleted_User wrote: »

You're welcome

Really, you shouldn't have.

Really.

daztraction

pimento wrote: »

Maybe not but the admin charge may be billable to leaseholders at the hourly rate.

Perhaps. I really have no idea how the council charge. Guess all I can do is get in touch and find out!

daztraction

The council are sending me a breakdown of the admin charge. I wonder whether, ironically, this action may increase said charge.

AndyT678

Admin isn't just going to be sorting out billing though is it?

Somebody presumably came out and inspected the roof before deciding that it needed replacing.
Somebody then had to come up with a detailed specification of exactly what work was required.
Somebody would have to assign a contractor. Maybe there's a tender process too.
Somebody would be monitoring progress of the work and inspecting it when completed to ensure that it complies with the original spec.
Somebody has to coordinate everything with contractors and 6 tenents.
And there's probably about a hundred other little bits of things to do that I can't even think of because councils are bureaucratic places that invent lots of complex and fiddley procedures to follow.

Not saying that £1500 isn't steep but I could see how it could get there.

teneighty

As AndyT678 suggested assuming that admin charge includes professional fees (surveyor/project manager) it strikes me as very reasonable.


I would expect between 10% and 15% of the project cost. If my maths is correct (highly unlikely) they have charged you about 6.25%.

daztraction

Cheers AndyT678 and teneighty, this is the kind of stuff that I was after and didn't think about. I didn't think about the builder shenanigans, just the council pen-pushing admin.

Jitterbug123

I have heard of this being something that happens with properties where councils own the freehold.

Because I am me, I would probably request the breakdown of the admin charge too. I think it's fair that you should know what you're paying for, and it will probably make you feel better even if you no room to dispute it.

daztraction

So I got a reply back from the council.

"The admin fee is a percentage based figure (relating to the overall cost of works) that covers the cost of the involvement of YHN's* Technical Team and the part they play in overseeing the scheme."

(* YHN = Your Homes Newcastle. The council, basically.)

That's it. No actual breakdown as such.

You know, I'd have been happy with an explanation that it was actually the builder's costs, and a specific breakdown of those. But it isn't - it's simply 6.25% of the total cost of the Major Works that the council is creaming from it, without any justification.

What should I do now. Should I ask for an actual breakdown of the council's specific costs?

artbaron

daztraction wrote: »

You know, I'd have been happy with an explanation that it was actually the builder's costs, and a specific breakdown of those. But it isn't - it's simply 6.25% of the total cost of the Major Works that the council is creaming from it, without any justification.

What should I do now. Should I ask for an actual breakdown of the council's specific costs?

Personally I'd challenge it. To be on the safe side I'd take it up to the line first (i.e a court date) and if they won't back down then pay up and take it to tribunal afterwards. Providing you've not agreed to such charges in your lease, of course. Admin charges are primarily money-making scams. Admin is not project management and nor is it technical input, it's basically getting a few quotes, booking the contractor and sending out the bills. And even if it were, how much project management does a roof replacement require? Like, "Replace that roof... Yep, that's done the trick."

bouicca21

It could be that administering a flat percentage is entirely justifiable, but I'd be wanting to ask how they arrived at that figure. Without firm information about the nature of the calculation you can't be sure that it isn't just something that was plucked out the air.