Constant increase in service charges and all complaints or questions ignored

thebarber

I bought a flat last year managed by hyde housing. Fixes to simple things like light bulbs took months internal windows were not cleaned for months externals are never cleaned. One new tenant decided to dump tons of old furniture in the reception. When it was reported with the details hyde put up a warning they would remove it on a set date then billed all the flats for the removal.

When we moved in scaffolding for a roof repair was removed and painters left the internal job  unfinished as a piece of ceiling relating to the roof was not replaced. when i chased what was happening they placed new scaffolding and left it unused for 3 months i questioned the cost of this in November. In December they wanted an extra £440 from 6 flats quoting remidal works i asked for a breakdown they said they would respond in 30 days. They were due to pay me £200 compensation and i told them not to add it to my account balance as i was appealling the charge they did and it was swallowed by the outstanding £440 in January they said the final bill for the roof would be coming i again queried about the second scaffolding i was told i would get a reply in 30 days. in march they said the service charge would increase from £164 to £247 about a 30% increase or extra £5000 a year for the block again i queried this we have 5 lights and a lift. They have now added the £3400 final bill debit to my account. Since november they have never given any answers all previous complaints have been deleted or set as resolved and after the most recent contact they have just opened a new query on the 24th of march saying they will respond in 30 days. The internal ceiling is still not repaired the painting is not finished. They refuse to give me contact details for the service charge team

I have £5000 reserve from the seller to cover the roof works the final bill amount will shortly be sent by the sellers lawyers however i have told hyde i will not pay them until i get the answers and if they take me to court so be it.

I have put it to hyde that the first scaffolding was taken down before the work was finished or checked they then replaced the scaffolding to check the work but left it up for 3 months at a large cost to us and it was their mistake and they should cover it.

Should i pay them or should i wait for court. Im getting zero answers and it seems they never will give a reply they just keep on adding charges yet will never explain what for

eddddy

thebarber said:

Should i pay them or should i wait for court. Im getting zero answers and it seems they never will give a reply they just keep on adding charges yet will never explain what for

The standard advice is to pay Service Charge bills in full - but tell the management company that you are paying under protest, and you plan to challenge it at a tribunal.

Because, if you don't pay the bill in full, something like this is likely to happen...

• The management company will send you a reminder letter - and charge you £40 for sending the letter

• The management company will send you another reminder letter - and charge you another £40 for sending the letter

• The management company will instruct solicitors - who will send you a letter threatening legal action - and charge you the £300 solicitor's bill 

• The solicitor will start preparing legal action - that might cost hundreds or maybe more - and the cost will be charged to you 

If you win the case at tribunal - you won't have to pay any of the above - which is great.

But if you lose the case at tribunal - you'll have to pay all of the above.


But if you pay the Service Charge bill in full, none of the above will happen - so you won't have to pay those charges if you lose. (And if you win, any overpayment will be refunded.)

thebarber

Thank you for that. I have just sent a formal request by email to inspect all their accounts and receipts for the service charge last year i also included a request to see the same for the roof works as on the letter they sent it says i can do so. I will make copies specifically relating to the cost of furniture removal window cleaning and such. I will also make copies of the bill for both sets of scaffolding and and any receipts of works done during the second set of scaffolding this will likely show someone attended to inspect the roof and then it was left up for 3 months at a large cost.

I will then look how to challenge it at a tribunal. Thanks for that advice. 

thebarber

tribunal only seems to apply for yearly service charges i cant find any option to appeal cost of works

eddddy

thebarber said:

tribunal only seems to apply for yearly service charges i cant find any option to appeal cost of works

I'm not sure where you're looking - but taking a step back...

• Your service charge is your share of the Freeholder's costs  (The service charge is a grand total of all the bills the Freeholder has to pay, which is then shared across all the flats.)

• The Freeholder's costs will include the cost of works

So, for the sake of an example, let's say

• There are 5 flats in your block, so each leaseholder has to pay 20% of the total Service Charge.

• In November 2023, the freeholder spent £4000 on scaffolding - you think that's unreasonable, they should have only spent £1000

• So the freeholder has charged you 20% of that £4000 = £800, which will be included in your 2023 Service Charge bill

• So you challenge that £800 charge in your 2023 Service Charge bill (and provide evidence that instead of being an £800 charge, it should have been 20% of £1000 = £200)

If the tribunal agree with you, you get £600 back.

You can include a list charges from your 2023 Service Charge Bill in your tribunal application (as well as other years).





Edit to add...

Apologies if you realise this, and if you think I'm stating the obvious...

A service charge bill is like a shared bill in a restaurant.

5 of you go to a restaurant for a meal, the total bill is £200 - so you each have to pay £40.

But you realise that the restaurant has included a bottle of wine charged at £50, which should have been £25.

So you challenge it, and as a result you get £5 of your £40 back.

eddddy

Just to mention a few more things...

thebarber said:

Fixes to simple things like light bulbs took months internal windows were not cleaned for months externals are never cleaned. 

Were you charged for light bulb changes that didn't happen? Were you charged for external window cleaning that never happened?

If so, you should dispute those charges.

If you weren't charged for those things, they are not part of your Service Charge dispute.

(If you complain, and as a result, the freeholder employs contractors to clean external windows, the cost of those contractors will be added to the leaseholders' service charge bills.)

thebarber said:

One new tenant decided to dump tons of old furniture in the reception. When it was reported with the details hyde put up a warning they would remove it on a set date then billed all the flats for the removal.

That's probably a reasonable charge to the flat owners.

Presumably the tenant who dumped the furniture didn't own up - and the freeholder didn't have enough evidence of who did it. If the culprit had owned up, they could have been charged the removal costs.

ThisIsWeird

Do you have any concerns over the actual costs of this work, or the company carrying it out? Is it the case that for major works, such as roof repairs/replacement, the FH is obliged to obtain three quotes? If so, is it worth asking for sight of these too?
Check they are all bona fide companies and quotes. 

Martico

On the scaffolding, I wouldn't get too fussed at this stage about it being left up for three months - you don't tend to pay by the day. Scaffolders tend to move all the stuff straight from one job to the next, rather than spend time and money taking it down and storing it. So former jobs are often used as storage. Annoying, but that's the way it often is

eddddy

ThisIsWeird said:

Is it the case that for major works, such as roof repairs/replacement, the FH is obliged to obtain three quotes? If so, is it worth asking for sight of these too?
Check they are all bona fide companies and quotes. 

That's not really how it works.

It sounds like you might have heard about something called a "Section 20 consultation", but you haven't understood it correctly.

Here's some info about a Section 20 consultation:  https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/section-20-consultation-private-landlords-resident-management-companies-agents/

thebarber

eddddy said:

Just to mention a few more things...

thebarber said:

Fixes to simple things like light bulbs took months internal windows were not cleaned for months externals are never cleaned. 

Were you charged for light bulb changes that didn't happen? Were you charged for external window cleaning that never happened?

If so, you should dispute those charges.

If you weren't charged for those things, they are not part of your Service Charge dispute.

(If you complain, and as a result, the freeholder employs contractors to clean external windows, the cost of those contractors will be added to the leaseholders' service charge bills.)

thebarber said:

One new tenant decided to dump tons of old furniture in the reception. When it was reported with the details hyde put up a warning they would remove it on a set date then billed all the flats for the removal.

That's probably a reasonable charge to the flat owners.

Presumably the tenant who dumped the furniture didn't own up - and the freeholder didn't have enough evidence of who did it. If the culprit had owned up, they could have been charged the removal costs.

Despite telling them the light was broken and it did not need a new bulb they sent a contractor to change the bulb he tried and said the light was broken and they would need to send a different person to change the light they probably charges us twice but i will check when i get the recipts

In relation to the rubbish when the new tenant was reported the property manager could have simply went to the flat and told them to remove it but i was in that day and he didn't he just stuck up a sign on the ground floor had he bothered to go upto the floor he would have found 3 quarters of it covered in bags of junk and other furniture which he was also informed about. Later after chasing it he did go up and tell them to remove everything on that floor this was after he had had the ground floor cleared

thebarber

Martico said:

On the scaffolding, I wouldn't get too fussed at this stage about it being left up for three months - you don't tend to pay by the day. Scaffolders tend to move all the stuff straight from one job to the next, rather than spend time and money taking it down and storing it. So former jobs are often used as storage. Annoying, but that's the way it often is

Thats very helpful to know im going to be looking at receipts in about a month so i will check that as that was a major part of it if we were not charged for it then there is no need to pursue it. I Asked them in november about the scaffolding costs they had 4 months to just say that but they never reply. I was also asking them to remove it as my boss got her flat robbed Via her scaffolding around that time