'An £8k service charge left me unable to pay bills'

A Bath-based housing association has defended the charges faced by its leaseholders, after many complained of huge bill increases to pay for maintenance.

Callum Maddern, who lives in the city, said he saw his service charge increase six-fold to more than £8,000 per year, after Curo said vital work needed doing on his accommodation block.

"I didn't have enough money to put the heating on," he said. "I had water on my sink and coffee tables that was freezing. I'd be lying in bed and I could see my breath."

Curo, which said it does not make any money from the contributions, said it is "trying to work with residents to prepare them for these bills".

When Callum bought his flat in 2023, the annual service charge was about £1,300 per year, and he was told there was £5,000 in what is known as a sinking fund to cover any necessary works.

But the following year he received a bill for £8,000, to go towards fire safety work and new windows.

"Originally I thought there was some kind of mistake," he said. But when he queried the charge Curo confirmed it was accurate.

Callum describes "constant delays" in his attempts to reach out to Curo and negotiate.

"They were totally uncaring," he said, adding he was told he could sell his property and pay the fee that way.

Callum said he ended up selling possessions and taking out loans to pay for the work.

And while he said he knew that, as a leaseholder, he had a responsibility to contribute towards maintenance costs, he questioned why everything suddenly had to be done in a three-year period.

"If new windows are needed, absolutely that must be scheduled in. But to have everything in the space of three years, surely that is not a good approach," Callum added.

'A perfect storm'

Andrew Snee, director of housing and support at Curo, acknowledged that the way charges had been communicated could have been better, and said he wanted to apologise "if our correspondence has caused any concern or upset".

But Snee denied that the company could have managed the costs better, describing the situation as a "perfect storm".

"The cost of living is increasing, the cost of contracts is increasing, at the same time we've got increased legislation around property safety and fire safety, which has to be a good thing but it does come at a cost," he said.

"We are being as honest and transparent as we can to deliver these costs in as caring a way as we can. Keep talking to us."

Ken Pearson owns his flat in a different block elsewhere in Bath.

He says his sinking fund contributions dropped to £124 per year when Curo took over his building, but then increased dramatically to £1,767 when a new roof was needed.

"We were only being prepared for the new roof when it was a matter of urgency because two flats upstairs had leaks," he said. "We should have paid over a longer period."

Ken took Curo to a tribunal over the sinking fund increases and lost his case, but now believes there needs to be a change in the law to ensure that landlords prepare leaseholders better for expected works.

"Curo have failed us and need to be held to account," he said. "They have not picked up that there was this financial catastrophe coming along."

In response, Snee said: "I think sinking funds have been managed as well as we can in today's world with all of the pressures on costs and contracts.

"If you've been building a sinking fund up and decoration has taken place, that would have potentially drawn quite a lot out," he added.

"Then if you're looking at a roof replacement in four to five years' time, not only are you looking at paying for that you're also starting from zero."

The government is working on a new law that would ban the use of leasehold for most new flats, and create a new right for leaseholders to request improvements.