Dartford MP Gareth Johnson today spoke out against ‘unfair’ home management charges and called for the Government to legislate during a debate in the Houses of Parliament.
Mr Johnson secured the debate in Parliament after nearly a quarter of all requests to see him at his MP surgery related to this issue.
During the debate, Mr Johnson said: “We have a large number of affected people in my constituency which is not surprising given that 7000 new houses have been built in Dartford in the last ten years
Management fees are imposed on homeowners whatever their tenancy in order to pay for the upkeep of communal areas and other amenities.”
Highlighting numerous examples during his speech, Mr Johnson said the main issues related to home buyers facing sudden increases in the charges, not knowing what the money was being spent on and difficulties in selling homes on.
Mr Johnson added: “I genuinely believe that developers and Management Companies (MCs) are taking advantage of what the public conceive as a freehold.
Understandably, people believe with a freehold that they have full control over their property when actually the reality on these newer estates is very different. So called freeholders are not only being forced to pay these charges but also when it comes to selling the property, having to effectively ask the MC for permission and to pay them a fee to do so.”
He said residents also have no say in the running of the MCs or input into what their priorities should be.
Mr Johnson concluded saying: “There is no way of avoiding exorbitant fees, no right to challenge and no conceivable way of changing MCs. It is a licence for these companies to print money and if we do not legislate quickly we will create a legacy that will stay with the British housing sector for generations to come. We should not allow people to be treated this way for simply wanting a nice new home to live in.”
Responding to the debate, Housing Minister Rachel Maclean said the Government understand the concerns outlined and said reforms will be brought in the King's speech in the Autumn to legislate before the end of this Parliament.