Crackdown On Property Management Companies

[mwstewart]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/04/ho...

Great news on the face of it, and long overdue, but I will be interested to see how the changes are evaluated and applied given that each property is very much its own individual case.

[mcdjl]

I get why they're needed in blocks of flats, but to me they make no sense at all when applied to be build estates. The residents end up paying an additional council tax as far I can which is totally unregulated.

[heisthegaffer]

This is interesting because there has been a crackdown to ensure fair value IRO insurance costs, specifically commission levels so many managing agents have probably increasing service charges and management fees etc to fill the gap.

[John D.]

mcdjl said:

I get why they're needed in blocks of flats, but to me they make no sense at all when applied to be build estates. The residents end up paying an additional council tax as far I can which is totally unregulated.

It makes sense if there are communal landscape areas that need to be maintained.

[JagLover]

John D. said:

mcdjl said:

I get why they're needed in blocks of flats, but to me they make no sense at all when applied to be build estates. The residents end up paying an additional council tax as far I can which is totally unregulated.

It makes sense if there are communal landscape areas that need to be maintained.

Looking at my own service charge that is £300 a year to cut some patches of grass and bushes occasionally and maintain the carpark. I think the question is not whether it needs to be done, but whether it needs to cost quite so much. If the carpark were built properly why would it need resurfacing regularly?. Is that really the cheapest the gardening can be done for?

[Glosphil]

John D. said:

mcdjl said:

I get why they're needed in blocks of flats, but to me they make no sense at all when applied to be build estates. The residents end up paying an additional council tax as far I can which is totally unregulated.

It makes sense if there are communal landscape areas that need to be maintained.

I have lived in 2 private roads & the residents were perfectly capable of managing the common areas themselves without a management company being involved & charging fees for a profit. In both cases that included road maintainance & in one case a sewage pumping station.

[franki68]

I am very actively involved in this ,I did some interviews with bbc a while back who were investigating certain companies .
First port are notoriously bad and have been called before the House of Commons to explain why they are so bad and charge so much .
The whole freehold situation is a farce , the management companies are just a small part of the issues created by freeholds .

[119]

Whatever changes they bring, these companies will always find a loophole to circumnavigate anything.

[eldar]

JagLover said:

John D. said:

mcdjl said:

I get why they're needed in blocks of flats, but to me they make no sense at all when applied to be build estates. The residents end up paying an additional council tax as far I can which is totally unregulated.

It makes sense if there are communal landscape areas that need to be maintained.

Looking at my own service charge that is £300 a year to cut some patches of grass and bushes occasionally and maintain the carpark. I think the question is not whether it needs to be done, but whether it needs to cost quite so much. If the carpark were built properly why would it need resurfacing regularly?. Is that really the cheapest the gardening can be done for?

Do the residents have a management company to control contracts?

[Spare tyre]

mcdjl said:

I get why they're needed in blocks of flats, but to me they make no sense at all when applied to be build estates. The residents end up paying an additional council tax as far I can which is totally unregulated.

New build estates here are all privately maintained, the play equipment is truly awful

[T_S_M]

I pay £200 a year to the 'management company' who look after my estate.

In the 6 years I've lived here I have seen them maybe 3 times, cutting grass in the communal area when its a foot tall.

They're an absolute scam in my opinion and some of them cost nearly £500 a year in my area!

[rdjohn]

I am an unpaid resident director for the block that I live in. Our total focus is about getting best value. We employ an Agent to do the day to day admin stuff. We are looking to change agent, but we are paying peanuts, in reality. We are a long way from £70 per letter / £160 / hr etc.

I am sure all owners have the right to become resident directors, just attend the AGM and get yourself elected. Simply whinging about the costs serves no purpose.

[John D.]

JagLover said:

John D. said:

mcdjl said:

I get why they're needed in blocks of flats, but to me they make no sense at all when applied to be build estates. The residents end up paying an additional council tax as far I can which is totally unregulated.

It makes sense if there are communal landscape areas that need to be maintained.

Looking at my own service charge that is £300 a year to cut some patches of grass and bushes occasionally and maintain the carpark. I think the question is not whether it needs to be done, but whether it needs to cost quite so much. If the carpark were built properly why would it need resurfacing regularly?. Is that really the cheapest the gardening can be done for?

No doubt.

[franki68]

rdjohn said:

I am an unpaid resident director for the block that I live in. Our total focus is about getting best value. We employ an Agent to do the day to day admin stuff. We are looking to change agent, but we are paying peanuts, in reality. We are a long way from £70 per letter / £160 / hr etc.

I am sure all owners have the right to become resident directors, just attend the AGM and get yourself elected. Simply whinging about the costs serves no purpose.

Second para is incorrect , depends on lease which can be fine in some cases but often is restrictive .

[mwstewart]

Here's what I consider to be a prime example even accounting for the London weighting: a small flat in a high density block yet the annual service charge is £6,600 per year:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/163367018

[Otispunkmeyer]

T_S_M said:

I pay £200 a year to the 'management company' who look after my estate.

In the 6 years I've lived here I have seen them maybe 3 times, cutting grass in the communal area when its a foot tall.

They're an absolute scam in my opinion and some of them cost nearly £500 a year in my area!

Yeah I remember when we lived in a small block of flats... I think we were paying like £80 a month and we could never work out what for. I remember the contract did say window cleaning. I'd never seen a cleaner, so complained. The first time the cleaner turned up he rocked up in this properly shabby old Frontera and his version of window cleaning was to hook a hose up to the outside tap and just squirt the window from wherever he was stood. That was it. As you can image, this made the windows worse than if he'd just done nothing.

Complained again and I think they just decided to remove window cleaning from the agreement all together! We moved out before the rest of the residents basically clubbed together to sort it all out themselves. 12 apartments all paying £80 a month for =sqrt("fk all").

[John D.]

Otispunkmeyer said:

Yeah I remember when we lived in a small block of flats... I think we were paying like £80 a month and we could never work out what for. I remember the contract did say window cleaning. I'd never seen a cleaner, so complained. The first time the cleaner turned up he rocked up in this properly shabby old Frontera and his version of window cleaning was to hook a hose up to the outside tap and just squirt the window from wherever he was stood. That was it. As you can image, this made the windows worse than if he'd just done nothing.

Complained again and I think they just decided to remove window cleaning from the agreement all together! We moved out before the rest of the residents basically clubbed together to sort it all out themselves. 12 apartments all paying £80 a month for =sqrt("fk all").

In a block of flats are you not paying for maintenance/ potential future repairs to things like the roof?

[eldar]

franki68 said:

rdjohn said:

I am an unpaid resident director for the block that I live in. Our total focus is about getting best value. We employ an Agent to do the day to day admin stuff. We are looking to change agent, but we are paying peanuts, in reality. We are a long way from £70 per letter / £160 / hr etc.

I am sure all owners have the right to become resident directors, just attend the AGM and get yourself elected. Simply whinging about the costs serves no purpose.

Second para is incorrect , depends on lease which can be fine in some cases but often is restrictive .

Does depend on the lease,but legislation has/is changing to ease restrictions. My experience is resident apathy, along the lines of 'something must be done.' But by someone else, not me.

Plus the management companies are generally fecking useless, to put it mildly.

[bennno]

mwstewart said:

Here's what I consider to be a prime example even accounting for the London weighting: a small flat in a high density block yet the annual service charge is £6,600 per year:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/163367018

In that example the tenants have a share of the freehold, so they are free to self manage and appoint the agents.

Ergo there simply must be a high cost of maintaining that building and its underground parking.

[mwstewart]

bennno said:

In that example the tenants have a share of the freehold, so they are free to self manage and appoint the agents.

Ergo there simply must be a high cost of maintaining that building and its underground parking.

Normally these places have a freehold management company (FMC) appointed for management of the communal areas. I'd estimate there are 60 units in that block, so a rough average of £7k per unit is £420k per year in maintenance. I very much doubt that the actual figure is anywhere close to that.