Shared ownership service charge

tony3619

Hello, 

I'll try and keep this simple and short! 

I live on an estate with 3 town houses and 6 flats.

I received an updated service charge that shows an unplanned charge for scaffolding to repair the flats communal roof so I read over my Lease which does indeed state I am expected to pay a reasonable share for the upkeep of communal areas. 

It's only when I read the defined terms that communal areas is classed as...

 "Amenities located within the estate which are or may be used or enjoyed by an occupier of the premises" 

Do I have a case that because the flats communal area is locked by keycodes I have no access to the communal flats entrance so shouldn't be expected to pay for this repair? 

By their own lease definitions this is not an area I would consider as communal for me

user1977

tony3619 said:

 "Amenities located within the estate which are or may be used or enjoyed by an occupier of the premises" 

Are any of those words defined in the Lease?

This is the sort of query where it helps to see the whole thing rather than selected snippits....

la531983

I live on a similar development and flats are charged different things than houses. In fact we just had the accounts through for 22-23 and despite the scheme being £500 in deficit, most of the things it pertains to is the flats, so they actually owe me £6 for last year.

I assumed this was standard. Maybe it isn't. 

eddddy

tony3619 said:

Hello, 

I'll try and keep this simple and short! 

I live on an estate with 3 town houses and 6 flats.

I received an updated service charge that shows an unplanned charge for scaffolding to repair the flats communal roof so I read over my Lease which does indeed state I am expected to pay a reasonable share for the upkeep of communal areas. 

It's only when I read the defined terms that communal areas is classed as...

 "Amenities located within the estate which are or may be used or enjoyed by an occupier of the premises" 

Do I have a case that because the flats communal area is locked by keycodes I have no access to the communal flats entrance so shouldn't be expected to pay for this repair? 

By their own lease definitions this is not an area I would consider as communal for me

As an easy starting point, you could try writing to the freeholder saying something like...

I don't believe I am required to contribute to cost of the scaffolding because my lease only requires me to contribute to maintenance of "Amenities located within the estate which are or may be used or enjoyed by an occupier of the premises". And I don't have access to the flats.

If you believe that is not the the case, please confirm which clauses in the lease you are relying on.

... and see if they point you towards relevant clauses in the lease (rather than you having to search for the clauses).


But... I wouldn't be surprised if the reply was something like...

The keycode is xxxx. Access has always been available to you. You just needed to ask if you wanted the keycode.

tony3619

eddddy said:

tony3619 said:

Hello, 

I'll try and keep this simple and short! 

I live on an estate with 3 town houses and 6 flats.

I received an updated service charge that shows an unplanned charge for scaffolding to repair the flats communal roof so I read over my Lease which does indeed state I am expected to pay a reasonable share for the upkeep of communal areas. 

It's only when I read the defined terms that communal areas is classed as...

 "Amenities located within the estate which are or may be used or enjoyed by an occupier of the premises" 

Do I have a case that because the flats communal area is locked by keycodes I have no access to the communal flats entrance so shouldn't be expected to pay for this repair? 

By their own lease definitions this is not an area I would consider as communal for me

As an easy starting point, you could try writing to the freeholder saying something like...

I don't believe I am required to contribute to cost of the scaffolding because my lease only requires me to contribute to maintenance of "Amenities located within the estate which are or may be used or enjoyed by an occupier of the premises". And I don't have access to the flats.

If you believe that is not the the case, please confirm which clauses in the lease you are relying on.

... and see if they point you towards relevant clauses in the lease (rather than you having to search for the clauses).


But... I wouldn't be surprised if the reply was something like...

The keycode is xxxx. Access has always been available to you. You just needed to ask if you wanted the keycode.

That would be ridiculous if they did so this! But yes I agree I wouldn't put it past them. 

It would be strange for them to take this stance as I dont get charged for energy, cleaning etc for this communal area. 

I shall speak to them tomorrow!