Reciepts for work carried out.

[lzusername]

Hi,

I am a long term leaseholder for an apartment in a large semi detached Victorian house divided into a total of 5 flats. Every year I receive a statement requesting payment for ground rent, electricity, insurance and works carried out (maintenance and repairs) from the management company. It consists of one page outlining costs and one page requesting payment (Dear Sir, please find attached the statement and pay cheque(s) to .....).

The question you may be able to help me with is in regards to receipts provided (or lack of) for the work carried out and insurance and electric etc. The statement is vague and lists items such as 'General Maintenance', 'Insurance', 'Electricity' and no receipts are provided and so I have to take it on face value that I am being charged fairly for costs actually incurred.

The last bill from them consists of £600 pounds for 'General Maintenance' and £95 for one years Electricity (3 light bulbs with a 30 second auto off timer switch). There is also a section which says 'Insurance' £2250, but I have no way of even knowing there even is a valid policy in place and what it covers.

Can I request that they provide me with copies of the insurance and receipts for every piece of work carried out?

If I do should this request be submitted to the maintenance company or the landlord?

I say this in regards to '152 Statements of account' in the Common hold and Lease hold reform act 2002.

"Where the landlord supplies a statement of account to a tenant he must also supply to him—

(a) a certificate of a qualified accountant that, in the accountant’s opinion, the statement of account deals fairly with the matters with which it is required to deal and is sufficiently supported by accounts, receipts and other documents which have been produced to him, and

(b) a summary of the rights and obligations of tenants of dwellings in relation to service charges. "


P.s. I have never seen any letter from an accountant or any other party apart from the maintenance company.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[kikuyu]

Short answer to your queries:

1. F/H or MA should send you a schedule of the building insurance and a certificate.

2. At the end of each year you should receive audited accounts certifying whether the accounts collected and spent are correct.

3. The MA is not obliged to send all the lessees (and there can be 100+ in some intances) the receipts of works carried out. However, they should afford you the opportunity to go and check the same, at their offices with prior appointment, and challenge them, if necessary.

If you are not happy with the MA, the best way to resolve this is by first forming a residents association and collectively questioning the MA. If you get no joy you can always refer the matter to the LVT to decide on the validity of the charges.

Finally, if you are still not satisfied then why not form a Right to Manage Company and take over the running of your flats yourselves?