Owners call for 'right to challenge' property service charges after fees treble

A group of apartment owners are calling for the "right to challenge" property service charges after their annual fees have more than trebled since 2018.

Some residents of Lisburn Square say their service charges were about £1,400 per annum in 2018, but the figure has risen to more than £4,300 for the last financial year.

The owners of the leasehold flats pay a service charge to the managing agent, Ambit CRE, for the maintenance, repairs and management of shared or communal areas as well as insurance.

Lisburn Square No 2, the apartment owners' landlord, said it was the "largest individual contributor to the service charge" and that all expenditure was audited.

Sheila Hughes, 97, who bought her apartment in 2010 has called on Stormont to "strengthen the law" to protect apartment owners.

"It just seems an awful lot and on a widow's pension, really it doesn't go very far," she said. "I try to have some savings but they have long since gone."

There is currently no legislation dealing specifically with shared property in Northern Ireland and no regulation, according to the Department of Finance.

Deborah Anderson bought her apartment at the mixed-use residential and commercial development in 2018.

She said the service charge fees increased suddenly in 2020, due to a "change in the apportionment" or share of costs, set by the landlord.

"It's not because a lot of money is being spent on maintenance of the apartments or the communal areas that the residents use."

Anderson said residents had found it difficult to find out "exactly" what they are paying for and the annual budget they were provided was "quite vague".

She also claimed that in 2023 residents were told they had to pay a greater share of the development's car park costs.

Heather Jackson bought her apartment more than 20 years ago and said the increase in service charges had left her feeling stressed.

"That works out at £365 per month, which when you're a pensioner is a lot of money to be paying extra," she said.