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Wyre
Mews was owned and managed by a local company, but despite
frequent requests for information and meetings, they consistently
avoided discussions with the residents to address the issues
that concerned them. These issues had been uncovered by many
of the residents over a period of months if not years, and
mainly centred on the following -
•
Annual budget meetings were not held
• A failure to provide an accurate account of leaseholders'
service charge monies.
• Expensive and inadequate maintenance contracts.
Discussions
with their neighbours at St Mary's Mews revealed that their
manager, Guardian,
regularly provided them with detailed and accurate information
about their financial accounts. Contractors delivered a cost-effective
service, their property was well maintained and service charge
budgets were presented and discussed at an annual meeting
to which all residents were invited to attend.
The
Wyre Mews residents obviously did not wish to move, as they
had chosen their retirement property with great care, but
they knew that they could not continue to be subjected to
such gross mismanagement - what could Guardian
do to help ?
Guardian,
being a specialist in leasehold retirement housing, had both
the expertise and the resources
to help the residents prepare a case to submit to the newly
formed Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The law had just been
updated to introduce these specialist panels to hear issues
on leasehold matters, such as unreasonable service charges
or mismanagement of leasehold estates. The tribunal had been
granted the powers to remove a manager who failed to manage
the properties in an appropriate manner, and appoint a substitute
to take over the landlord's responsibilities.
The
residents asked Guardian
to take over the management should their case be successful
and we worked together to prepare the case, instructing a
lawyer to present the Tribunal. The case, which involved a
huge committment from the residents, centred upon the mismanagement
of the financial accounts and a number of missing funds.
When
the Tribunal found that the landlord had been negligent and
appointed Guardian
to take over, our success was celebrated by every single resident,
who had all supported the committee every step of the way.
The
local Area Manager quickly took control of the estate, addressing
the problems and introducing a transparent and well-defined
management service. Despite many difficulties the majority
of the missing funds, amounting to over £20,000, were returned,
albeit many months later, and the financial accounts are now
in a much healthier state.
One
of the residents who was heavily involved in the case, Shirley
Peters has made the following statement:
"The
place has been redecorated under Guardian
and is kept much cleaner. The staff are more motivated and
properly trained. Everybody is very approachable and we see
proper accounts. If a job is done, the estate manager is sure
it is done well. Nothing's too much trouble for them."
RELATED
LINKS
Changing your Manager
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