Management company refusing to remove debris

leaseholder25

Last summer, I bought a second floor leasehold flat on a housing development which borders a council-run public park. There is a dense row of trees along the fence between our housing development and the park and these trees overhang into our communal garden.

A few weeks after I bought the property, a number of helium balloons were caught in the branches of one of the trees right outside my living room window. This debris has not fallen off and is quite unsightly, it also obstructs the view. I have been chasing the council for many months but they informed me that the debris is not causing any harm to the tree and so they will not remove it. However, I am legally entitled to prune back any branches which hang over into private property or deal with in an appropriate manner.

Since then, I have been in touch with my management company as I pay a service charge for gardening and rubbish removal. The management company have refused to respond to me officially but have told me over the phone that they do not intend to remove the debris also and I am welcome to do it myself. The problem is that the debris is too high for me to reach and I will need to pay a contractor.

If this was my property only, I would be happy to deal with it myself. But I am a Leaseholder and I pay a Service Charge to a property management company. This Service Charge covers maintenance costs such as Gardening and Rubbish Removal. If I am forced to pay for Gardening or Rubbish Removal out of my own pocket, then am I legally entitled to a reduction in my Service Charge bill? I'm assuming that the management company will refuse to do this so, if it should come to it, can I take this matter to small claims court to reclaim my costs?

ThumbRemote

I am far from an expert in such matters, but I would assume that somewhere 'Gardening' is better defined - perhaps in the terms of whatever contract you have with them? In any case, it's unlikely that you get to specify exactly what the gardeners do.

I very much doubt you would have any success at small claims court. This does not seem like an essential item they're not doing, it seems like a cosmetic issue.

I suspect you will just have to live with it.

lincroft1710

My view is that removal of overhanging branches is maintenance (although this could be argued), it is not strictly gardening. But it will depend on exactly what the terms and conditions of the service contract specify.

It may be far simpler to pay a contractor to prune the overhanging branches.

eddddy

The document that you need to check is your lease.

It will state what the freeholder's obligations are in relation to garden maintenance etc. (In this case, the management company are undertaking the freeholder's obligations - they are the freeholder's agent.)

Here's an introduction to the steps you can take when a freeholder (or their agent) breaches their obligations in a lease:
https://www.lease-advice.org/faq/what-can-i-do-if-my-landlord-breaches-their-obligations-in-the-lease/