Looking for some advice from anyone who’s been through something similar.
I bought a freehold new build a few years ago. When we purchased the property, we were told there would be estate management fees and were given the name of a well-known management company who would be responsible for the estate.
Instead, the developer has set up their own management company and is now demanding payment for management fees going back over the last three years.
What I’m struggling to understand is that the land wasn’t actually transferred into the management company’s ownership until last week. Can they really charge residents for managing land they didn’t even own at the time?
They’ve also added interest to the amount they’re claiming. I’ve checked my TP1 and can’t find any clause that allows them to charge interest (let alone compound interest), so I’ve asked them to point me to the legal basis for it.
Has anyone dealt with anything similar? Can a developer retrospectively charge estate management fees in these circumstances, and can they add interest if the legal documents don’t expressly allow it?
Any advice or similar experiences would be much appreciated.