Key topic(s) - Leasehold, poor communication, budget, maintenance issues
Award
£50 compensation
Resolved by
Early resolution
What happened?
The complainant said:
- the agent had gone over the service charge budget which resulted in additional charges for leaseholders. The agent had budgeted incorrectly for the next year, although they knew about the issues
- they wanted the agent to answer queries about the accounts mismanagement, resolve all maintenance issues and stop blaming the owners for the issues that arose
- the agent raised multiple issues which were either still outstanding or ignored
The agent responded, saying:
- the service charge budget is only an estimate on what expenditure will be. Sometimes they will be faced with unexpected bills, but accepts that they have the duty to carry out work when required
- they responded to the complainant’s emails many times and disagree that emails were ignored
What evidence was provided?
Email communication, invoices
What was decided and why?
- We are unable to investigate the service charges that the complainant is paying and signposted the complainant to the First Tier Tribunal if they wish to challenge the service charges that they are paying
- We can investigate the service provided by the agent, more specifically the poor communication
- The evidence showed there was a delay in responding to some emails and that the agent should have communication better and replied to emails in a reasonable time
- For the poor service provided, the complainant was awarded £50 compensation
How can you avoid this happening in future?
