Mammoth repair bills make flats ‘worthless’
A COUNCIL has handed 10 leaseholders bills of up to £200,000 each to repair a Grade II listed building.
With one-bed flats in the area selling for £165,000, the residents say the massive bills effectively make their properties “worthless”.
Three of the residents have been told to pay between £177,000 and £217,000, while seven others face bills ranging from £94,000 to £164,000.
Letters posted to the residents at the Georgian seafront property in Kent informed them that payment can be made over a number of years or when they sell their homes.
Thanet District Council says the Royal Crescent building in Ramsgate, built in 1826, needs “essential” repairs, including work on unstable balconies, which are currently supported by scaffolding.
Other proposed repairs include chimney and roof strengthening, rainwater fittings, upgraded decorations and improvements to the facade.
The council estimates the structural repair work for parts of the site it owns will cost £2.8 million.
It said it had considered increasing the rent for tenants, but decided against it.
Jeremy Millar, an art tutor who has lived in the seaside block for five years, was stunned by the news that he could have to contribute up to £217,000.
He said: “Getting that letter was such a shock. Reading it was like being fired from a job by text.”
“The flats aren’t worth much more than what we’d be paying, so it means they are effectively worthless to us.
“The amount they are talking about is the cost of rebuilding a building, not repairing one.”
The council said it had received legal advice on its plan to charge leaseholders, and has confirmed everything is above board.