Brexit will put the EU house in order
THIS letter has just been sent to the agony aunt of a leading European newspaper: Can you advise me on a problem that is making our lives very difficult? I live in a large block of flats with 27 other families. The number has tripled since we moved in 40 years ago and while they are nice people, we don’t like all the changes. It used to be smaller, friendlier and we had much more in common. The management committee is interfering in what shops we can use, how much we can spend and what products we can buy. They also insist that the other families use an invented currency. This has had the unfortunate effect of impoverishing some of the families, who do not use it in the manner the management would like. In fact, we have had to take some other family members into our flat and give them jobs around the place, which has placed a burden on our finances. The building has been extended to accommodate more and more families and there are increasingly vociferous demands for more money to do things we don’t agree with. The management committee has also started to talk about a vague grand project, which sounds expensive. So we recently decided to move elsewhere. We gave in our notice to quit earlier this year, as per our lease. But then those families we thought were our friends, including some who we had supported, have turned nasty. Even though we are leaving according to the terms of the lease and will ensure our apartment is clean and tidy, the management committee has presented us with an invoice that is ten times our annual maintenance charge. It feels like a fine for wishing to leave the block, and it has been set very high to deter anyone else who might think of leaving. Perhaps it is also an attempt to grab some extra money for the kitty, as we were one of the largest contributors. We have asked for an itemised bill, but this is not forthcoming, so we don’t see why we should pay such a huge sum. We have nothing against the other families, it is just that due to all the enormous changes over the years, we no longer enjoy where we are living. Is it too much to ask that we can simply be allowed to leave and get on with our lives?
TONY BROWN, Torquay, Devon.