Service Charges on new build developments

buel

Thanks but each house on the estate is to pay the £170.

jimbog

RelievedSheff wrote: »

We used a solicitor from the developers recommended panel and it was made quite clear from the out set, by both the developers and the solicitors, that the solicitors did not get commision from the developers.

Maybe not ‘commission’, which would be a percentage, but rather a ‘referral fee’/‘admin charge’ (delete as applicable). And also that the solicitors would enjoy a steady stream of clients from their mates the developer which may well be incentive enough so wouldn’t want to rock the boat.

I want a solicitor who rocks the boat.

ethank

A lot of councils will not know take responsibility for paying the upkeep of public open spaces, play areas etc out of council tax, so they are passed over to a management company to run.

NeilCr

buel wrote: »

Interesting!! Just spoke to the Developer and they simply won’t confirm that the charge won’t rise ‘exponentially’ (the word I used to them). Obviously they said it won’t but also won’t be drawn on my very simple concern - that it, theoretically, could rise massively and impact on the ability to sell further down the line.

To be honest while I, completely, understand your concerns I can't see any developer guaranteeing how much service charges will increase by. There are sometimes "unknowns" - we had an ongoing problem a couple of years ago with an electric gate which busted the budget for the year.

Have you asked the developer if there is an intention to pass/sell the freehold to the residents on completion? We own the freehold of our estate so have control of service charges, appointing a managing agent and running the whole show. We are very conscious of limiting any increase in service charges as much as we can - as we have to pay them!

This is for a freehold house on a mixed site of flats and houses

ETA - we have a private road which won't be adopted but costs us little to maintain. We do employ a gardener as there are a lot of trees, plants, flowers on the estate. His wages plus the electric gates and managing agents fees make up the majority of my service charge

GDB2222

buel wrote: »

Thanks but each house on the estate is to pay the £170.

I meant £500 per house.

davidmcn

buel wrote: »

it states that if there is ‘a dispute between the company and the owner as to the amount or proportion of the service charge, such dispute shall be referred to the surveyor who shall act as an expert and not as an arbitrator and whose decision shall be final and binding on the parties PROVIDING ALWAYS that the owner shall not withhold payment of the service charge where there is a dispute and such dispute shall only be referred as above after payment by the owner of the sums due in accordance with the schedule’.

Doesn’t sound too good, does it?

Hard to tell without seeing the rest of the deed. How are "service charge" and "surveyor" defined, for example?

eidand

nik_k wrote: »

FWIW, we're purchasing a new build, and, although subject to a rent-charge, this does not cover the roads as these will be adopted by the local authority. Therefore, the whole issue of service charges etc needs to be considered on a development by development basis, as what's included/not included will vary

Be very careful, local authorities do not always adopt the roads despite what the developer tells you. The builders are the ones who need to initiate the process and do not always for whatever reason. Get everything in writing and keep the records as proof should you need to. Do not ever trust anything they tell you, assume it's all a lie and you'll be correct most of the times.

eidand

ethank wrote: »

A lot of councils will not know take responsibility for paying the upkeep of public open spaces, play areas etc out of council tax, so they are passed over to a management company to run.

they have no problem charging for the full council tax, even they do not provide all the services they really should. what should we call this situation, I wonder?

davidmcn

eidand wrote: »

they have no problem charging for the full council tax, even they do not provide all the services they really should. what should we call this situation, I wonder?

Council tax isn't a fee for services you use, it's just a tax based roughly on the value of the property. You don't get a discount for not troubling the social work department or not using the library, so why get a discount just because the council isn't resurfacing your road once in a blue moon?

eidand

davidmcn wrote: »

Council tax isn't a fee for services you use, it's just a tax based roughly on the value of the property. You don't get a discount for not troubling the social work department or not using the library, so why get a discount just because the council isn't resurfacing your road once in a blue moon?

this is incorrect, please do a bit of reading on the subject:

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/how-to-save-money-on-your-council-tax-bill

I quote:

What does Council Tax pay for?

Local services are funded by Council Tax. This includes:

police and fire services
leisure and recreation projects such as upkeeping parks and sports centres
libraries and education services
rubbish and waste collection and disposal
transport and highway services including street lighting and cleaning, and road maintenance
environmental health and trading standards
administration and record keeping, like marriages, deaths and birth, and local elections.
Council Tax isn’t used to pay for health services.



That road maintenance that you already pay and if your roads are not adopted, you have to pay for it yourself on top of your council tax. It's a rip off basically and too many fall for it.