Residents at a Preston retirement complex, Glenview Court, 'in disbelief' as their maintenance bills double overnight

Glenview Court in Ribbleton is comprised of 40 bungalows and flats housing residents aged 60-92, and it is run by the Residential Management Group (RMG), whose parent organisation is Places for People.

What has happened at Glenview?

On February, 28, residents received a letter from RMG explaining that their maintenance bills will go from £88.07 per month to £170, as of April 1, and they have since told the Post that they have been left “in a state of shock and disbelief about this huge increase imposed at such short notice.”

Residents believe this is an unacceptable rise, especially as most of them are on fixed pensions. Some even say they never received this letter at all, meaning the first they heard of the 93% maintenance increase was when a residents meeting was held on March 27.

One resident, 67-year-old Ms Davis told the Post: “New legislation needs to be voted on in parliament to control charges that leaseholders can impose on Older People's Housing Estates. A considerable number of whom may have long term health conditions, disabilities and/or dementia. These people are in the vulnerable category, and they live on fixed pensions or low incomes.

“It is therefore immoral to impose 100% increases in service charges at such short notice putting a burden on the elderly who are already struggling with the high cost of living. A minimum period of notice of 6 months should be given if a substantial rise for major works is anticipated.

“A maximum amount of annual increases should be moderate and needs to be set in law for elderly people's estates to control the leaseholders and make them more accountable for how they manage their finances without passing such huge increase onto the residents at short notice.”

Why are their maintenance bills going up?

The residents have been informed that the price hike is needed to pay for impending replacement guttering works in 2024.

If there is a legitimate reason, then what is the problem?

Ms Davis explained: “It is the residents belief that the estate has been poorly managed over the last few years as the impending major improvement works has been known about for the last three years at least.”

With RMG having been aware of the need for such works for many years, residents believe the increased cost should have been staggered over a longer length of time, and the cost of works may have been less if the guttering problem was sorted sooner.

In fact, back in January 2021, the residents agreed to a Statement of Estimates for these works, which included replacing the current guttering with deeper guttering and wider downpipes at a cost of £72,000, but the work was never done.

Two years down the line, the new estimated cost is £126,324, but the doubling in price is not the only issue at hand, as one resident’s letter to RMG reads: “Now you come to us with a Statement of Estimates whereby you wish to just replace the guttering with the same size of guttering, with the same downpipes, when we and you know this does not work for us. We will still have the same problems of the water overflowing the guttering.”

Explaining a further issue, Ms Davis added: “Three estimates for these works have been submitted but in order to see them in detail RMG are only making them available to view at Places for People Homes Ltd at an address in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire... It is unacceptable to expect residents to travel 100s of miles to view these estimates.”

Glenview residents also told the Post that on July 27 2022, they were informed that £91,525 was available in the propety’s reserve fund and they cannot understand why this cannot be used for the works.

How have objections been raised?

RMG have set an objection deadline of April 6, and at least 38 of the Glenview residents have submitted their objections in time.

Residents have also requested that the estimates be emailed or posted to them and that they receive information regarding how much money is left in the reserve fund, but neither requests have been answered.

In addition, Ms Davis contacted her MP, Sir Mark Hendrick, and in an email seen by the Post, Sir Mark has asked the Places for People CEO to investigate this matter, consider reducing the maintenance charge to an affordable amount, to provide the information that residents have requested, and to hold off the collection of raised maintenance payments until these matters have been rectified.

As of April 5, Sir Mark Hendrick has not received a response.

What has RMG said?

In a statement for the Post, a spokesperson for RMG commented: “Glenview Court is a private estate funded by way of a service charge. Annually RMG on behalf of the Landlord evaluate the estates’ costings to determine the costs for the forthcoming budgetary period.

“The cost of the guttering work at Glenview Court had an increase on the current budget period. RMG have been actively engaging with the customers on the works, including seeking votes on the options available. Alongside this engagement a formal consultation in line with Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is in progress, and RMG will respond to any responses to this consultation as required. We understand that any additional cost can be a challenge and we encourage customers to contact us if they are facing difficulties and we will do everything we can to help.’’