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By TOM FOOT
 

From left: Leaseholders John Hearn, Pat Hearn, Andrew Dow, Dennis Denton, Linda Dyer and Tony Dyer
Nervous wait over bill for homeowners

HOMEOWNERS face an anxious wait to see how much they will pay towards a £550,000 bill for improvements to their council-managed estate.
Builders have been working on the Kingsland estate in Broxwood Way, Primrose Hill, for eight months, fixing walkways, balconies and paved areas at the two-storey blocks.
But 21 leaseholders, the owners of former council flats, say their share of the cost of improvements – estimated at £130-140,000 or between £6,000 and £9,000 per flat – is too much and includes work they are not responsible for.
On Thursday they took their claim to a leaseholders’ valuation tribunal, which will judge whether the bill is fair.
Homeowners and tenants first heard about the project after the council’s housing department mistakenly sent a bill to each flat asking for £5,500 payment before any work was done.
Insurance broker Andrew Dow, one of the leaseholders, told the tribunal that the £550,000 bill was “unreasonable”.
He said it was out of proportion for the council to charge £50,000 for managing the project.
He also pointed to an “error” that saw a £12,000 estimate for insulating a cavity wall rise to £67,000 by the time the final bill was sent.
He added: “This is not a question of can’t pay, won’t pay. We believe the costs are unreasonable.”
Representing the Town Hall, solicitor Emma Howells said leaseholders were lucky that the management charge was only £50,000.
She added: “We have done everything we could have done to keep costs for the project low. We have to cover our costs. We should not have to pay running costs for leaseholders’ properties.
“Ten per cent is actually a very low figure and £50,000 is nothing in London.”
Ms Howells added that the council will “charge even more” when a new computer system is introduced.
A tribunal decision is expected within a month.
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