Tenants fighting to take control of their homes
Residents have lost faith in firm managing run-down complex
BIRMINGHAM residents are demanding wholesale reform of the leasehold system that has left them as prisoners in a “dilapidated” block of flats despite rising service costs.
A group of residents in a “filthy” apartment complex in Birmingham city centre have told of their frustration over rising charges and the “mismanagement” of their block.
Leasehold flat owners in Broadway Plaza said they are forced to contend with broken lifts, dirty communal areas and security breaches that attract drug dealers to the complex.
It is a problem that has blighted many blocks around Birmingham, which were originally sold has highend urban living. Over time many have been neglected and a transient tenant population leaves small number of leaseholders as the only ones with any vested interest in maintaining the property.
The flats at Broadway Plaza, off Ladywood Middleway, near Five Ways, are run by Danesdale Land Ltd, which employs agents Centrick to oversee the day-to-day management.
But residents have lost trust in the company to carry out essential repair work, to the point they are now fighting for the ‘right to manage’ their complex.
Victory would mean leasehold property owners can take over the running of their building.
Owners said they were “pulling their hair out” over the “neglect” of their apartment block and wanted to see the leasehold system overhauled.
Another issue at Broadway Plaza concerns complications with the block’s EWS1 certificate, which allows valuers to know a building has undergone a fire-safety assessment.
Until these certificates are issued, lenders will not issue mortgages to potential buyers, leaving residents there feeling like “mortgage prisoners”.
When approached, Danesdale said the EWS1 certificates were the responsibility of the main freeholder due to the residential blocks being on top of commercial units.
Under the leasehold system, while residents own their property they don’t have a stake in the building it is in.
They pay costs such as ground rent, annual service charges and maintenance fees to a landlord who is responsible for maintaining communal areas.
The Leasehold and Freehold (Reform) Bill currently being debated in parliament aims to give leaseholders more power in the running of their properties.
It will call for greater transparency to justify the service charges levied and will ‘phase out’ leaseholds on newly-built houses, but not flats.
However, residents at Broadway Plaza believe the reforms will do little to help them manage their property due to the large proportion of commercial units at the complex. Under the current law, leaseholders cannot collectively buy their freehold if more than 25% of the floor space in their building is used for commercial purposes.
The Leasehold Reform Bill will raise this threshold to 50% – but residents say this number is still too low.
Pervaz Akhtar, of the Broadway Plaza Resident and Tenants Association, said: “The Leasehold Reform Bill is tinkering around the edges, but we don’t think it’s going to change anything.
“We had hoped it would be quite a revolutionary change, but it seems it won’t make much of a difference for us.”
Martin Reid has lived on the top floor of Broadway Plaza for seven
years. He said the block could be “fantastic” if residents were given the opportunity to run it themselves.
“Most of the apartments here have had varying degrees of problems with the lifts,” he said.
“Some have been broken for nine months and the quality of the cleaning is shocking. Doors have been jammed open meaning anyone can wander in off the street.
“We’re powerless to do anything because there’s no accountability. This is supposed to be a high-end block of apartments, that’s certainly what we paid for, but it has the feel of a council estate.”
Mum-of-two Carol Harris has lived in her apartment for 20 years. She said her annual service charge has risen from £1,400 to £3,400 over the past few years.
“They don’t seem fussed about fixing anything,” she said. “Our maintenance costs are rising but we’re not seeing where that money is going. We’ve been trying to engage with Centrick but it’s like banging your head against a brick wall.”
Lee Cowell has owned an apartment in Broadway Plaza for nearly a decade and currently rents it out to a tenant.
He said: “When I bought the flat it was great – the complex was well looked after, it was a desirable place
This is supposed to be a high-end block of apartments, that’s certainly what we paid for, but it has the feel of a council estate Martin Reid
to be. But since we’ve got this new management agent, the complex has gone downhill.
“My tenant messages me every week with a new problem. We want to take the management of the complex into our own hands and make our own decisions.”