'Fleecehold': Homeowner maintenance charges 'need regulating'

The amount of money homeowners can be charged for maintenance work by housing developers should be regulated by the Welsh Government, an AM has said.

Currently, people have no control over how much money estate management groups can charge for maintenance work and there is no appeals process.

Hefin David, AM for Caerphilly, said a cap on the charges residents face should be introduced.

The Welsh Government said it was looking at estate management changes.

Janine Jones, from Caerphilly, has spent five years campaigning to change the system after being forced to pay for the upkeep of open spaces on her estate.

Developers often hand the management of communal areas, such as grass verges and roads, to estate management companies, who then charge a yearly maintenance fee.

But these costs can change every year and are unlimited - something that has been dubbed "fleecehold" by critics,

Currently, leaseholders who own the property but not the land it is on, can appeal any charges they feel are unfair via tribunals, but as a freeholder, Ms Jones cannot.

Ms Jones said she paid £140 last year, twice as much as five years ago.

She said: "The standards are set by the management company and the costs to maintain those standards are set by the management company.

"However good or bad your relationship is with the management company, the residents have zero control. The loophole has to be closed".

Mr David wants to see estate management charges abolished and has raised the issue with the Welsh Government.

"I think the Welsh Government has the power to take action. There needs to be at the very least a cap on those charges and the rights of residents to have a method of complaint."

He added it was a problem in several counties in Wales and in England, where MP Helen Goodman is attempting to change the law.

The Welsh Government said: "Our Leasehold Reform Group is already examining estate management changes and will report to us in the summer."