21 June 2024 , 13:04
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Locals living in "slum" flats where waste piles up high and keypad doors are left broken are being crippled by giant £2k service charge costs - which have doubled.
Residents in the Heritage Plaza flat block in Swindon say their maintenance costs have risen by a over £1,000 in just seven years. The Nationwide Pension Fund purchased the freehold and appointed RMG to oversee the building in 2017 but flat owners say this has only made matters worse.
Jonathan Sheldrake says bills have increased from £1,069 in 2017 to a massive £2,120 in 2024. In 2023 his rate was £1,772 but then in April this year he was told it would be rising again by a "crippling" £400. He revealed that living conditions in the building were on the verge of becoming 'slum-like' with torn and battered carpets lining the floors and communal areas left in a state of disarray.
The refuse storage area is constantly overflowing with a backlog of rubbish - attracting scores of flies - and security systems are not up to scratch, with some damaged or broken. Many are confused as to where their hefty contributions are going but RMG say rising electricity costs and insurance premiums are to blame.
Rubbish is piled up at the block of flats (Swindon Advertiser/SWNS)Jonathan said: "No-one has a problem with paying a service charge if you get reasonable service in return but this is an extortionate increase and the estate is in decline. We used to have a decent, local maintenance company that kept this place safe and clean. Then Nationwide purchased the freehold and got a good deal with RMG, but it was a terrible one for the people who live here. They don't take responsibility or listen to us and just do what they like.
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"Owner-occupiers are moving out and being replaced by buy-to-let landlords with no interest in maintaining the estate, though the properties are worth less now so it's difficult for some to sell up. What should be a gateway to the Designer Outlet and heritage area is in danger of turning into a slum.
"This cannot be allowed to happen, especially as such areas require increased police presence and intervention from other public bodies." Boxes and bags of rubbish are left out in the open due to a lack of adequate services but RMG claim they've had 'few complaints'.
Jonathan Sheldrake is shocked by the recent increase in the service charge (Swindon Advertiser/SWNS)Legally leaseholders do have the right to ask for paperwork or receipts showing where the service charge has been spent. RMG operations director Clare Corbett said: "Our records show that we have received very few formal complaints over our tenure of management.
"RMG has managed the development since 2018 and although the service charge has increased this year due to high energy costs that affected properties nationally, in 2019 and 2020 the service charge went down on prior years.
"RMG does not benefit from the service charges that are collected from residents. All funds collected are held in a Trust Account specifically for the 123 flats at Heritage Plaza. If the budget that is set at the beginning of the year is not fully spent at the year end, then residents receive a surplus credit to their service charge account.
"Repairs to block front doors are repaired when reported and subject to multiple insurance claims as some of the repairs needed are due to vandalism.
Squeezed leaseholders are complaining about the upkeep of the building (Swindon Advertiser/SWNS)"The door locks are ready to engage but unfortunately, the most recent vandalism of the door included vandalism to the intercom system which also now needs repair. Therefore, this needs to be replaced before we can reengage the locks as otherwise no one will be able to call a flat for access such as visitors, delivery drivers or the postal service.
"RMG can confirm that the internal redecoration of all blocks has recently been completed following the Section 20 consultation process. The focus for the next large expenditure item is carpet replacements, and that is a focus for 2024/2025. Large items are regularly removed from the bin stores and more bins have been requested from the council. New combination locks are being considered for the bin store.
"RMG has met with the police, local council and fire authorities. All have left meetings satisfied with the work being undertaken by RMG and that they would report their findings back to residents."
Bills have increased from £1,069 in 2017 to a massive £2,120 in 2024. (Swindon Advertiser/SWNS)Building owners Nationwide Pension Fund claimed that only three complaints had been made to RMG in the past three years. Nationwide Pension Fund's chief investment officer Chris Grant said: "The management fee charged by RMG in 2017 was set at the same level as charged by the previous managing agent - this equated to 19 per cent of the 2017/18 budget.
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"In the following seven years, the management fee has increased below the level of inflation and now equates to 14 per cent of the 2023/24 budget, demonstrating residents are not being overcharged for their services. If you remove the increases in insurance and electricity from the calculations, the service charge over the seven-year period has increased by 3.7 per annum well below the 5.1 per cent per annum increase in inflation.
"Regarding service quality, in the last four years, RMG has received three complaints via its formal complaint procedure, so we cannot agree that RMG is doing a poor job. The welfare of our leaseholders is of paramount importance to the NPF and the vast majority have had no reason to raise any issues.
Heritage Plaza in Swindon (Swindon Advertiser/SWNS)"The fund periodically reviews its supplier in relation to our overall portfolio and to ensure the best value is provided for the fund and the tenants and we believe this is provided through the economies of scale that RMG provides. We consider the performance in relation to the whole portfolio which consists of circa 5,000 residential properties.
"To date, we have only received a small number of complaints relating to service charges and RMG's performance, almost all of which have originated from a handful of tenants at Heritage Plaza. This does not suggest any systemic failure on the part of RMG to deliver services across our portfolio.
"We also do not agree that the service charge is a barrier to sale. In fact, six properties have been sold at Heritage Plaza in the last 12 months."