After pressure from leaseholders organisation and others, the Office of Fair Trading is to investigate Service Charges.
Evidence is invited from anyone concerned and results are due by the end of 2014. The study was first announced last year to look at services for flats in the private sector only, but 250 people and organisations wrote in about its limited scope and it has been agreed to include the millions of leaseholders who rely on councils and housing associations to run their estates.
Go to www.oft.gov.uk/subscribe to register for progress updates; and email propertymanagers.study@oft.gsi.gov.uk to send them your views and any evidence about poor service; wasted spending; and high charges. For more information: http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/markets-work/residential-property-management/#.UxcnfPl_sXU
In their detailed scoping report published 4th March 2014, the OFT said that the social housing sector was, on reflection “too large and important” to omit from their study.
The study’s full title is “Market study into the provision of residential property management services”. In April, the OFT gets merged into a new Competition & Markets Authority (CMA). info from Hackney Leaseholders