Campaigning for a better deal for Crucible Close service charge payers

 I had some success boosting my vote at the May Seven Kings 2026 election making the argument that working and middle class families needed to combine to challenge the upper class Weston family who are behind the proposed Tesco Toxic Towers.

The legal challenge I was part of against the Tesco Toxic Towers is an example of working class and middle class families uniting to fend of a proposed toxic development (due to its proximity to a High Road and the Elizabeth Line)

To be clear, I am not criticising the Weston family, they are just doing their best for their family.

High service charges for flats appears another opportunity for working class and middle class families to work together. My pitch to be the Your Party candidate at the GLA election will say if selected I will argue for a ban on new high rise and flat service charges to be to renewed annually in the same way motor insurance is renewed each year.

Smaller local firms often provide far cheaper fees than big national property forms so I expect annual renewal will spur competition by bringing in new entrants and driving down costs.

Some new property management companies are bound to fail so the Council or GLA could provide a back up management company if a firm failed to manage their flats. The bank of England acts as a lender of last resort to the banks so it seems reasonable for Councils or the GLA to provide a property management company of last resort if a managing agent goes bust or is incompetent.

I purchased a flat at Crucible Close RM6 in September 2024 , I have been chasing the management company since 9^th June 2025 and have still not had a breakdown of charges and what the annual fees will be.

I sent this blog to the management company for Crucible Close and I will let and report back with what they say.

To be clear, I am not saying the management company for Crucible Close is overcharging. I am saying that it is reasonable for have a detailed breakdown of what the charges are.

I cut and paste https://www.introducertoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2026/03/soaring-service-charges-risk-exclusion-by-mortgage-lenders/ below which suggests high service charges of over 1% of the sale value can mean some lenders will refuse to lend.

“The average leaseholder in England and Wales pays a service charge of £2,405 a year or £200.42 a month.  

This marks the first time the average service charge has passed £200 per month according to the agency conducting the analysis, Hamptons.

The average service charge ended 2025 4.6% higher than at the end of 2024.  

Over the last five years, the average charge has risen 32.6%.

It increased from £1,814 a year (£151.15 a month) in 2020 to £2,405 a year (£200.42 a month) in 2025.

These rises have outstripped broader inflation.  

Over the last year, service charges increased 1.2 percentage points faster than the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which came in at 3.4% over the same period.  

Meanwhile, over the last five years, CPI rose 30.9% (service charges +32.6%).

And over the last decade (2016-2025), service charges increased 55.6%, far outstripping CPI (39.8%).

London has long had the highest service charges in the country and has also seen the largest increases in recent years.  

Here, the average charge stands at £2,801 (£233.45 a month), up 6.4% year-on-year, 41.2% over the last five years and 64.5% over the last decade.  

Higher charges in the capital typically reflect taller buildings, which offer more amenities and generally cost more to run.

Nationally, the average annual service charge of a one-bed flat is £2,074 (or £172.81 a month), up 3.3% on 2024.  

The average two-bed comes with an annual charge of £2,463 (£205.28 a month), up 4.8% on last year.  

And the average three-bed carries a charge of £3,146 (or £262.16 a month), passing the £3,000 a year mark for the first time and up 5.7% year-on-year.

Last year, 37% of flats across England and Wales had a service charge exceeding 1% of their value, up from 29% five years ago.  

Hamptons says this matters because some mortgage lenders have tightened underwriting criteria to exclude flats where service charges routinely exceed 1% of their value (for example, a £4,000 annual service charge on a £300,000 flat).

Meanwhile, 14% of flats had a charge exceeding 2% of their value, and 6% had a charge exceeding 3%.  These were disproportionately city centre flats.  

With a more limited pool of lenders to choose from, borrowing to buy a flat with a higher service charge can become harder and more expensive.  

Last year, the average flat had a service charge equal to 0.90% of its value.

The increase in service charges as a share of value reflects both rising service charges and falling sales values.  

In much of the country, flat prices typically sit below their pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with one in five (19.9%) flat sellers in England & Wales last year achieving less than they originally paid.  

Meanwhile, service charges have risen consistently over the same period.

While service charges cover apartment blocks with a wide range of amenities, higher charges can hit saleability.  

Last year, flats marketed with a service charge at or below 1% of their value were 50% more likely to find a buyer than those with charges equating to 2% or more.

The number of flats with low service charges has fallen sharply.  Just 14% of flats now come with a service charge of less than £100 per month, a figure which has halved from 34% five years ago.  

Typically, these are found in low-rise blocks with minimal amenities.              

While there is a regional element to lower service charges, the cheapest bills are often found in low-rise 1970s and 1980s builds that have stood the test of time.  

Some 30% of flats in the North East still have a service charge of under £100 a month, followed by 28% in both the East Midlands and the South West”

There has been lots of negative press re high service charges per an AI search per the below;

“Recent investigations and resident reports from late 2024 through May 2026 highlight several negative stories involving London property management companies. These disputes often center on "opaque" billing, soaring service charges, and fees for services residents cannot access. [1, 2, 3]

Major Scandals & Disputes

• Viridian Apartments (Nine Elms) & Notting Hill Genesis: In a prominent case from mid-2025, residents of shared-ownership flats reported being "trapped" by service charges that spiraled from ~£100 to over £500 per month. Residents claimed they were billed for luxury amenities (like a 24-hour concierge and communal gardens) located in neighboring private blocks that they were physically barred from accessing.

• Eagerstates / Assethold: An investigation revealed that this management firm overcharged leaseholders by approximately £1.2 million over a five-year period. Tribunal cases uncovered exorbitant specific fees, including £720 to cut a single new key.

• FirstPort: Residents across multiple developments have described being "held to ransom" by rising fees, with some reporting that they are unable to sell their homes because the high service charges scare off buyers. In one instance, charges reportedly trebled to £7,000 a year, with homeowners seeing little visible maintenance in return.

• One Housing (Riverside Group): In Dalston, residents in "affordable" shared-ownership blocks saw service charges jump from £95 to £706 per month. In another case involving the same group, residents were billed an estimated £37,000 for a single block's service bill, leading to significant distress. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

"Horror Stories" regarding Specific Charges

Residents have shared individual billing items that highlight the lack of cost control:

• The £2,200 Lamp Test: At a development in London, residents in affordable homes were charged over £2,200 for a "lamp test" and repair service.

• £87 Lightbulbs: The same report found charges of £1,218 for workmen to replace 14 lightbulbs, averaging £87 per bulb.

• "Poor Door" Fees: Residents in some mixed-tenure developments reported paying service charges as high as £8,000 a year while being forced to use separate "poor doors," effectively subsidizing concierge entrances they were not permitted to use. [1]

Current Government & Regulatory Action (2026)

• City Hall Investigation (May 2026): Just this month, London Mayor Sadiq Khan launched a formal probe into "spiralling" service charges. The investigation was triggered after reports showed the average annual service charge in London hit £3,912, with many leaseholders paying significantly more. The probe aims to determine how these fees are impacting the housing crisis and the delivery of affordable homes.

• "Wild West" Crackdown: The Housing Minister has described the property management sector as a "wild west" and promised reforms to enforce transparency and protect leaseholders from unexpected repair bills and hidden administration fees. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

How to proceed:
If you are currently facing similar issues, you can check if your management company is part of a redress scheme (like The Property Ombudsman) or seek advice from the Leasehold Advisory Service to challenge unreasonable costs at a tribunal.”