Apartment owners say they have been told they can expect to foot a £2.2million bill for a backlog of maintenance and repair work to their rundown properties. The leaseholders of the 144 flats on the Canterbury Gardens estate in Eccles pay £186 a month in service charge but claim the property management company Onward Homes has failed to invest their money in routine fixes for years.
They complain of unpainted outer walls, neglected window sills, entrance ways and front doors which have mismatched letterboxes. Canopies, window boxes and fencing are left with flaking paint, they say, and they claim trees in the back gardens are being ‘mismanaged’, leading to subsidence in nearby flats.
The residents of Knights Court, Squires Court and Reeves Court have been issued with Section 20 notices which stipulate leaseholders must be consulted over the work. A cost analysis issued to the leaseholders amounts to £2.2m of work needed to bring the properties up to scratch, say the residents.
