Service charges on new build house

Lord_Baltimore

davidmcn wrote: »

It's nothing to do with freehold or leasehold - if there are communal areas somebody has to pay to maintain them.

mark5 wrote: »

It's becoming more common now, in the past the local council would adopt and maintain open spaces on new estates but rarely do anymore,the open areas still need maintaining though, hence the management charge.

But it doesn't happen everywhere. There's a new build estate locally where nobody pays management fees but someone regularly mows the grass. Perhaps they are pre-adoption Council workers? Perhaps where a Council insists that social housing is part of an estate, it has an obligation to maintain standards?

glasgowdan

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

But it doesn't happen everywhere. There's a new build estate locally where nobody pays management fees but someone regularly mows the grass. Perhaps they are pre-adoption Council workers? Perhaps where a Council insists that social housing is part of an estate, it has an obligation to maintain standards?

Are there still houses being built on the estate?

moneyistooshorttomention

davidmcn wrote: »

It's nothing to do with freehold or leasehold - if there are communal areas somebody has to pay to maintain them.

Well - strictly speaking - we all know its the norm that Councils do things like that re standard freehold houses.

So - if they don't and it's some "down to a management company" type arrangement - then we are all entitled to have it "told like it is" re likely charges to pay for what we regard as "Council work".

davidmcn

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

But it doesn't happen everywhere. There's a new build estate locally where nobody pays management fees but someone regularly mows the grass.

When you say "nobody pays management fees", do you mean "yet"? Or do you mean there is no obligation in the title deeds to meet those costs?

glasgowdan

davidmcn wrote: »

When you say "nobody pays management fees", do you mean "yet"? Or do you mean there is no obligation in the title deeds to meet those costs?

Sounds to me like the site is still under the builders control, not handed over to management co yet as it's not finished.

Lord_Baltimore

glasgowdan wrote: »

Are there still houses being built on the estate?

No. Estate was finished a couple of years or so ago.

davidmcn wrote: »

When you say "nobody pays management fees", do you mean "yet"? Or do you mean there is no obligation in the title deeds to meet those costs?

No, I don't mean 'yet' and there is no such obligation in the deeds of the freeholders whom I know (about 5 families). But, of course, I don't have access to every occupiers deeds; there is some social housing and some flats.

I notice this issue was mentioned in today's paper with a developer acknowledging that fees for some freeholders was something that needed looking into - as we know, developers sell their interest in these fees to other operators who hike the charges. I don't think people should put up with it.

ruperts

It's clearly a scam because you're already paying council tax which is supposed to cover maintenance of public areas but you're then being fleeced for more money by way of 'service charges' on top. The only difference is that the council have some degree of accountability when it comes to their charges but management companies are a law unto themselves until residents proactively and with great effort successfully challenge them.

It's a scam but sadly one that the authorities are fundamentally complicit with because it allows them to charge the same council tax for doing less work. The same scam has been allowed to run unobstructed in the leasehold sector for decades so i don't hold out much hope of it changing any time soon. But maybe by trying to incorporate the scam into freeholds as well they've gone too far with their greed - hopefully the ever greater numbers of people being stung will eventually mean politicians have to put an end to this particular gravy train to protect votes.

comeandgo

But the areas that the maintenance companies charge for are not "public areas". They are owned by the houses or the developers. Why would the council cut or maintain private areas?

davidmcn

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

No, I don't mean 'yet' and there is no such obligation in the deeds of the freeholders whom I know (about 5 families).

Do those houses actually have any rights over the areas in question? And who is paying for the grass-cutting?

davidmcn

comeandgo wrote: »

But the areas that the maintenance companies charge for are not "public areas". They are owned by the houses or the developers. Why would the council cut or maintain private areas?

And if you don't have any council-maintained areas outside your house, you (and everyone else) can go and find some and enjoy them, if you're really worried about getting value for money from your council tax.