Yup, I am paying approx 5k a year in Service Charges and "Ground rent" on top of my council tax and mortgage and other bills. Luckily, we aren't affected by the doubling ground rent every 10 years issue that some other people are suffering from - but its still a joke.
Our housing agencies want to pass on any costs for remedial work by increasing our service charges, and we really have no leg to stand on to oppose this. I just hope the government help and increase the funds available to support people in my situation - but post covid, and with all the debt that has been accrued, that may not be likely.
I bought 10 years ago, I really should have done a bit more research on what leasehold actually meant - I never though I would be trapped with an illiquid asset that is losing value.
How awful, that must definitely been a nightmare for you. Thank you for sharing your experience.
On a related note, Scotland seems to be more progressive on the leasehold/freehold front however - I believe they abolished it so we don't have young people stuck in "fleecehold" properties like in England with doubling ground rents and restrictive clauses in the lease.
Quite why people did not read the lease beats me, but then they believe 'property always goes up'. The Crash of the 1990's has been forgotten.
If you think the freeholder is ripping you off you could always form an RTM company.
My flat is leasehold, I initiated RTM (cost was £450 between 11 flats so nearly free) and we take over on 21 February.
As director, I decide what the service charges are.
I'm not really sure how freehold would help the OP. There must be an obligation to pay service charges for the work to communal areas and to get rid of the cladding etc.
In my experience. Leaseholders are pretty much empowered to do what they want - with the possible exception of the ground rent issue - which doesn't apply here and is negligible for most properties.
All property in Scotland is freehold. The developer who did the development my house is on has claimed for years he owns the freehold of the land the buildings sit on, but all of our solicitors have said this is not possible (he likes to think he's the big "I am").
What some developments have in Scotland are management companies referred to as Factors. They are supposed to look after general maintenance of the buildings and things like communal landscaped gardens and apportion fees to each property for this, plus a share of the buildings insurance. Most of them are just barefaced thieves, take the money and do very little in return. I had a roof leak into an upstairs cupboard 2 years ago and the only way I could get it fixed without paying a roofer myself was to threaten the Factor with non payment. My sister has the same problem with the Factor where she lives.
I saw the footage on the BBC the other day of that poor girl in her 20s. Believe me, trying to deal with subsidence when you're living overseas is one thing, and I feel very lucky we weren't caught up in the cladding situation because the agencies the government hands these things over to are a shower of incompetent idiots IMO. They are just administrators, paid to save the government money.