I completely agree George. As a resident of Bromyard House I accepted the above average service charges when I moved in, because I believed it was a nice place to live. What was never made clear to us was that service charges would increase so rapidly. Now 4 years on I am paying double what I originally was.The problem lies with the Management Company the developer appointed, who spend money like water knowing full well that the residents will have to foot the bill. If they want to replace flowers in the garden every month, employ a team of gardeners every day during October to sweep up the leaves or refurbish the managing suite, then they can do so in the full knowledge that no one is going to stop them and it’s all at someone else’s expense.Residents have complained to the Housing Association, the Council, and even our MP but to no avail. All but one of these service charges (water), are eligible for Housing Benefit, so if the Government wants to know why its housing benefit costs are ballooning, it need look no further than Bromyard House and similar developments being built all over London.For the residents of Bromyard House, our only option is to move out, which is exactly what one of my neighbors did recently when his service charges reached £4250 per year. He could no longer afford this on top of his rent and mortgage repayments.These service charges have destroyed my opinion of shared ownership, and ruined many peoples dreams of owning their own homes, but until someone comes up with a way of tackling these unscrupulous management companies, don’t for one minute thing affordable homes are always affordable.
Della Bramley ● 5693d