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Hello, i'm writing here to see if anyone has any guidance or help with the following matter:
We have recently had a troubling experience with a management company of our new build estate, the company in question is HML Group. When we purchased our property, we were quoted and agreed upon a certain fee structure which we have in writing and a copy is with our solicitors. However, we have recently been blindsided by a demand for a fee that is four times the original amount we agreed to.
Some background on our development site, this site is still in an incomplete state from the original builders (Stewart Milne) and has been since 2017, however in the last 3 months they have finally tried to make efforts to finish the roads and common areas and i'd say are perhaps more than 90% complete now. Many of the shared landscape areas are run down and or not completed. During this time we have had an agreement with SM that no management fees or annual charges would be taken from residents until the site is completed and handed over to the council. In this time (the last 3 months) SM have engaged with a management company called HML. (we believe this arrangement was actually in place since the beginning of the property development, but they are for some reason pretending that it wasn't... despite having proof on companies house that the management company was appointed at the beginning of the development).
So ... this ordeal began when we received a demand for a payment that was five times the initial fee from an annual fee of £267 pa to £1,209 pa. After querying this outrageous increase, the demand was adjusted to twice the original amount (£453), but still without a reasonable explanation of why the error in the first place and how this new figure has been calculated. The management company has not provided a satisfactory breakdown of these new fees, vaguely citing "Management Fees" as a line item. Since this company has been involved every step of the way has been plagued by poor communication, for example, holding a residents meeting without residents' knowledge and then sending out a residents meeting invite 4 days after the event happened. We believe that this is all part of the ongoing tactic of inflating costs with letters and comms. Invoicing residents for an entire year of work when they are only now on site (In October), and also informing us they will be invoicing again at the start of the year for another years work.
We are freehold property owners and have always been diligent in paying our bills. We are more than willing to pay fees that align with what we were initially told and have previously been billed for and paid. However, the actions of this new management company raise concerns about their transparency and fairness. They have even gone so far as to threaten legal action and debt collection with residents.
An overwhelming majority of residents, at least 80% (that's around 190 properties), have declared their intention not to pay the inflated fees due to this unjustified increases and lack of work being done on site.
We feel that the situation is not only unfair but also borders on predatory. Therefore, we are trying to get some guidance on how to address this situation legally and collectively.
What actions can we take to halt this unreasonable demand? Are there any legal avenues we can explore to stop these seemingly arbitrary and unfounded fee increases? Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated as we navigate through this distressing situation.
Thank you for your support.
We have recently had a troubling experience with a management company of our new build estate, the company in question is HML Group. When we purchased our property, we were quoted and agreed upon a certain fee structure which we have in writing and a copy is with our solicitors. However, we have recently been blindsided by a demand for a fee that is four times the original amount we agreed to.
Some background on our development site, this site is still in an incomplete state from the original builders (Stewart Milne) and has been since 2017, however in the last 3 months they have finally tried to make efforts to finish the roads and common areas and i'd say are perhaps more than 90% complete now. Many of the shared landscape areas are run down and or not completed. During this time we have had an agreement with SM that no management fees or annual charges would be taken from residents until the site is completed and handed over to the council. In this time (the last 3 months) SM have engaged with a management company called HML. (we believe this arrangement was actually in place since the beginning of the property development, but they are for some reason pretending that it wasn't... despite having proof on companies house that the management company was appointed at the beginning of the development).
So ... this ordeal began when we received a demand for a payment that was five times the initial fee from an annual fee of £267 pa to £1,209 pa. After querying this outrageous increase, the demand was adjusted to twice the original amount (£453), but still without a reasonable explanation of why the error in the first place and how this new figure has been calculated. The management company has not provided a satisfactory breakdown of these new fees, vaguely citing "Management Fees" as a line item. Since this company has been involved every step of the way has been plagued by poor communication, for example, holding a residents meeting without residents' knowledge and then sending out a residents meeting invite 4 days after the event happened. We believe that this is all part of the ongoing tactic of inflating costs with letters and comms. Invoicing residents for an entire year of work when they are only now on site (In October), and also informing us they will be invoicing again at the start of the year for another years work.
We are freehold property owners and have always been diligent in paying our bills. We are more than willing to pay fees that align with what we were initially told and have previously been billed for and paid. However, the actions of this new management company raise concerns about their transparency and fairness. They have even gone so far as to threaten legal action and debt collection with residents.
An overwhelming majority of residents, at least 80% (that's around 190 properties), have declared their intention not to pay the inflated fees due to this unjustified increases and lack of work being done on site.
We feel that the situation is not only unfair but also borders on predatory. Therefore, we are trying to get some guidance on how to address this situation legally and collectively.
What actions can we take to halt this unreasonable demand? Are there any legal avenues we can explore to stop these seemingly arbitrary and unfounded fee increases? Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated as we navigate through this distressing situation.
Thank you for your support.
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