Hundreds of homeowners say they’re being ‘held to ransom’ by a housing management firm over a £650,000 maintenance bill that ‘dates back to BEFORE their properties were built’
- Two hundred and fifty homeowners in Norfolk have to pay £2,621 each
- The charge from Flatland Management Ltd is for the maintenance of public land
- Five residents are believed to have paid the money so they can sell their homes
Hundreds of homeowners have claimed they are being ‘held to ransom’ by a housing management firm over a £650,000 maintenance bill which ‘dates back to before their properties were built’.
Two hundred and fifty homeowners in Norfolk have been told they need to stump up £2,621 each to a management company, after being informed that they could face legal action if they don’t pay up their share of the cost of maintaining verges and public land.
Flatland Management Ltd insists homeowners in The Glade housing estate in Little Plumstead, near Norwich should pay up dating back to 2004.
However furious residents said company director Russell Edwards did not own the land until 2010 and that in some cases the charges date back to before their houses were even finished being built.
Russel Hill (pictured above) is one of the residents of The Glade housing estate who has been asked to pay the £2,621 fee for the maintenance of public land and verges
The housing estate in Little Plumstead, near Norwich where residents are considering taking legal action against Flatland Management Ltd
At least five residents are believed to have coughed up the cash in order to sell their homes.
One resident, Russell Hill, 44, said his house sale fell through last year after refusing to hand over the cash, despite not having actually moved into his property until 2006.
He is now considering taking the company to court in a bid to get the matter resolved.
He said: ‘I’ve tried on several occasions through multiple methods to resolve this. We’ve asked for evidence, but nothing ever came back.
‘It’s only fair that if he’s asking for that sort of money from people, that we should see how work has been completed. That’s never been the case.’
Minutes from a parish council meeting last year reported sellers on the estate ‘were being held to ransom’ and police were investigating the issue.
The dispute began in 2010 when Mr Edwards’ other company – Alexander Grace Homes – took over the management of amenity land around the estate.
Mr Hill said he first received a letter in 2015 asking for maintenance fees but thought it was a scam.
A warning sign which states that the area ahead is under construction and that people should enter at their own risk
He added: ‘We did some research and looked up the website but it didn’t exist.
‘We thought it must be a scam and if it was real, we’d get a reminder in 28 days but we heard nothing.’
Then on April 6 last year, he received another letter stressing he was ‘duty bound’ to pay £2621.54 in 21 days or face legal action.
Another letter was delivered three weeks later but Mr Hill said there has been no communication since then.
He said: ‘We haven’t been able to get in touch with him since. Emails to the Gmail address just don’t get a reply.
Russell Hill (pictured above) has tried to contact company director Russell Edwards on numerous occasions
‘Unless you want to sell your house, you don’t hear from him.’
Now Mr Hill says he is exploring his options in order to resolve the matter as speedily as possible.
Mr Edwards said maintenance work had been carried out free-of-charge since 2010 as the majority of residents have not paid their fees.
He did not respond to a request for comment on the ongoing dispute.
A Broadland District Council spokesman said they had received a small number of complaints from residents.
Now the local authority is attempting to arrange a meeting with Mr Edwards.
He said: ‘Alexander Grace Homes had indicated to the council that not all properties had been paying the annual management fee, which had impacted upon their ability to effectively manage the land.’