'I'm mentally exhausted after £2k service charge hike'

A leaseholder whose service charge jumped by about £2,000 in just two years claims the building remains unsafe and says his experience has been "mentally exhausting".

Abrahan Marquez, 37, lives in Bloomsbury House, Northampton, where his maintenance fees have risen from about £1,300 to £3,300 since he bought the flat in 2022.

He said the Grade II listed apartments had security issues, with rough sleepers able to get in.

Bloomsbury House's managing agent, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH), said any increase in service charge reflected the real cost of delivering services and said a security patrol had been introduced at no cost to leaseholders.

Mr Marquez is one of many leaseholders in the region to contact the BBC over rising service charges across the country.

A leasehold is a type of property contract that allows the owner to live in a property - usually a flat - for a fixed term.

Under this system, leaseholders often have to pay ground rent and maintenance charges to freeholders, who own buildings and the land beneath.

Mr Marquez said his experience since moving in had "been quite difficult".

"The building is not safe… cars are being vandalised," he said. "This is mentally exhausting.”

He said he felt he got "nothing special" for the money he spends on the service charge.

MTVH director Max Curtis said: "I do have a sympathy of anyone experiencing bills of this amount and I hope what we can do is provide clarity and simplicity wherever possible and it sounds like in this case this hasn't been our resident's experience and of course we regret that."

About 120 miles (193km) away in Norwich Mike Sarre, 73, and his fellow residents living in a "leasehold scheme for the elderly", are waiting for refunds over errors in their historic service charges.

In August, the leaseholders got a letter of apology from the management company Places for People over a "service failure".

However, Mr Sarre said the dates set for putting it right have all been missed.

"They just seem to be ignoring it altogether," he said.

Places for People said: "We have always been open about our commitment to refunding these monies and have been in regular contact with customers about this.

"We are confident this will be put right soon and we apologise for the delay."

Residents of The Heights in Bedford previously spoke to the BBC about their service charges which rose to 3,800 per year amid claims of a "severe lack of service".

This summer, after a long process, leaseholders took control of the building through the right to manage, and have appointed their own company to manage the building.

Kyle Haines, from that company - The Shires - said it would cost hundreds of thousands to bring the building up to scratch.

“I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a challenge, but I do enjoy a challenge.

"It’s a shame it’s fallen into a state of disrepair but it’s our mission to turn it around,” he said.

Resident Yashpal Jassal said the flats already looked better and claimed "spirits are high" since the residents took control.

"It certainly [makes us feel proud] to be living where we are compared to where we were several months ago," he said.

The director of the former management company said The Heights was "never left in a state of disrepair" but said he was "glad" the residents had taken over and wished them well for the future.