Article in Surrey Comet (c) by Martin George, dated May 7, 2010:

Article reads:

Residents of a Kingston riverside housing development pursuing their former managing company for unreasonable service charges scored a legal victory last week when a tribunal ruled Charter Quay Limited (CQL) should not collect their ground rents.

Charter Quay residents last year won an 18-month battke to replace CQL, which is linked to County Estate Management (CEM) and Peverel Property Management Group, as manager after a £5m estimate for future repairs by RR Palce caused an 'uprising' among leaseholders.
However, CQL's application to allow it to collect ground rents, and avoid paying a 10 per cent collection fee to the new manager, was rejected by the leasehold valuation tribunal (LVT) on April 26.

Derek Winsor, chairman of the residents' association, said: 'In December 2007 Palce suddenly said it had forgotten to add in the outside maintenance and it would cost £5m.
'We said we are just not going to pay that, but Palce started to collect it. We appointed our own surveyors [TFT] and they estimated it would cost £2.5m.'

The tribunal, which detrmines private sector landlord and tenat disputes, appointed a new manager in June 2009, after considering 1,600 pages of evidence.

Mr Winsor said: 'While we were concerned about the many increasing costs, the outside maintenance estimate was clearly extortionate. The £5m was the easiest to see. It was a heaven-sent opportunity and we grabbed it.'
The tribunal agreed CEM had unfairly allocated charges between the residential units and commercial properties in Charter Quay. 'Invariably, it seems, to be the detriment of the residential units.'

Chairman Andrew Dutton's report also said: 'The extensive interim 10-year maintenance costs arising from the Palce Report as compared with those with the TFT report shows a lack of concern in protecting residents' welfare in respect of future costs. This is not a picture of cumulative failings, but systematic ones.'

Mr Winsor said: 'Where we are now is having got them out and having got a new company that is appointed by the LVT, it is prepared to work with us and has been able to arrest many of the abuses that occurred when the site was managed by County Estate Management.
'We are going back over absolutely every cost and questioning it. Needless to say, evrything is being disputed by CEM.'

A spokesman for Peverel Property Management said: 'The LVT has not confirmed when it will complete its deliberations on this case. Until this time, the case is in the hands of our legal advisors and we are unable to comment further.'

About 400 people live in Charter Quay's 244 apartments, and the residents' association, which was set up to fight CEM, now claims 94 per cent membership.

Mr Winsor said: 'Since HML Anderton's appointment there has been a marked improvement in all aspects of the concierge service.
'Charter Quay has been completely transformed over the past year - in fact, it's like a village now. Everyone talks to each other.'