Helen Morgan demands end to fleecehold nightmare

Helen Morgan has urged the Government to hurry up and change the law to protect homeowners from excessive estate management fees.

The Liberal Democrat MP secured a debate in the House of Commons to discuss the plight of freeholders being fleeced by estate management companies.

The situation, known as a ‘fleecehold’, happens when an individual owns their own home but has to pay a management company for maintenance of shared communal areas such as roads, streetlights, footpaths, play areas and even sewage connections.

Homeowners are often charged excessive fees by the estate management companies who sub-contract work to a profit-making company, which is often connected to the original developer.

Helen brought up the example of The Brambles development in Whitchurch, where residents faced a five-figure sum in order to get their sewage connected to Welsh Water’s network after the original connection was illegal and it broke.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said, “There is currently a legislative desert in this area, leaving homeowners in this situation with nowhere to turn to.

“There are multiple shocking examples on this situation in North Shropshire and the Government’s delay to introduce legislation helping them has left people in nightmare situations.

“I am pleased that the Minister once again pledged to legislate for changes as it cannot come soon enough.”

The Government have previously promised to give freeholders the equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of management fees. But they have failed to bring forward legislation 6 years after promising action.

At the end of Helen’s debate the Minister for Housing and Planning pledged to legislate for changes to the law to better allow freeholders to challenge the reasonableness of charges in the next Parliamentary session.

Helen has also called for the Government to encourage local authorities to ensure that there is a plan for the adoption of roads, streetlights and play areas, and that either Section 106 or CIL monies are obtained from developers to ensure that they can be upkept in future.

Helen also demanded cost effective legal remedies be made available to homeowners trapped in these arrangements to be included in the forthcoming Leasehold Reform Bill.