Maintenance charge on new build.

[Buyingahouseihope]

I’m currently looking at new builds, never bought one before.
On every development I’m told the properties are freehold but there is an annual maintenance charge for “ the green areas”
Is this usual now? And if you pay this does the charge increase annually?

We found that on a couple of developments, we also looked at an older property (as in 5 years) and they hadnt had the roads adopted by the council so that was an extra charge. We didnt buy on either! My understanding is that the maintenance charges will / can rise annually.

i think there have been commons debates about this as it’s a contentious and problematic issue. As far as I am aware, there is no limits on these charges and they do not have to ride in line with inflation. It put us off enough to not buy a new build as our local estate has had huge bills recently with no justification/accountability for cost rises. Our local councillor and mp have been trying to raise the issue in the commons.

There's no way I'd buy one with an annual service charge like this. You only have to read some of the stories on the press.

Thank you very much for your responses.
Part of my head was saying it’s only £300 a year …… but part of my head was saying £400 next year, £500 year after and so on.
Back to searching RightMove.

Wow, yeah I wouldnt agree to paying £300 a year to mow a bit of grass! .... plus Ive read all sorts of issues about whether the work gets done and to what standard etc etc . Wise to move on I think OP!

We have this on our property which was a new build 20 years ago. Ours is £180 a year. It hasn't increased massively so I wouldn't be concerned on that front. But I get that it is annoying to have to pay on top of council tax. Damn cheek to be honest but I think this is the case for all new builds nowadays.

We just pulled out of a newbuild purchase because of this. There may be a few developments with decent management but they are few and far between. Basically you are signing away any rights with a place like this. We asked a LOT of questions about these charges before reservation, turned out the developer lied in all their (written) answers, and there was much not disclosed. We are pursuing them for breaches of the Consumer Code and mis-selling. We currently rent on a newbuild development where residents have formed a group to fight RMG, the notorious management company. They have added on maintenance of a public footpath (not on the development at all) because the rich landowner just wanted to not pay maintenance on his own land (was forced to make the path as a condition of planning permission). Etc etc. They also add random 'deficit' amounts for residents to pay at any time, here just added £12k (for 200 properties). Also the total charges are not divided fairly - 'affordable homes' may have little to no charges, same for housing association properties, which means all other residents are subsidising them. Often the title deeds say the management company can apply for possession of your house if you fail to pay these charges in case of dispute etc. It's a minefield basically, and they rely on people not knowing enough before purchase to question anything. There's a FB page HORNET (Home Owners Rights ...) which is very helpful.

Forgot to add, charges went up here by 20% this year, (although they do very little of what they are supposed to) on top of the £12k 'deficit' amount payable. Also, you have to pay them a 'transfer fee' when you later sell your home - £500 here. They are all bastards in my opinion and it is completely unregulated.

Don't touch a new build, absolute rip off.

Drops 20% of its value the second you put your key in the door.

Thrown together by sub-contracted trades who are paid a daily rate and don't care about the quality of their work.

Ground rent is a scam.

Cheap materials and bodies everywhere.

Wow. Thank you for the warning.

I call it the new fleecehold-yes freehold house but you have to pay these stupid charges and the local roads never get adopted as-guess what-the council still charges full council tax but doesn’t have the responsibility of maintaining them. Appalling in my view.

I'm paying £134 a year for a new build two bed. This is supposed to cover the cost of grass cutting for all communal areas, except it isn't being done so it's all overgrown and looks awful. The roads still haven't been tarmacced either, so we're going to complain.

I'd be wary if I was you to ge honest.

I've lived in 4 new builds since 2000. Each one has a charge for a factor to maintain green space and play parks.

Completely normal.

Our current house was a £500 deposit and we pay about £45 quarterly.

I’ve just told my new build for £100k more than I paid for it seven years ago.

It’s freehold not leasehold so no ground rent.

The management company charge is £77+VAT a year. The shared spaces are well maintained.

Not all new builds are terrible.

Yeah it’s getting more common. I think it’s an American import where certain communities, usually gated ones, have homeowner associations (HOAs) and so you pay a monthly or annual HOA fee that pays for certain things. Many gated communities will pay for professional gardeners for everyone’s gardens and communal areas as there will usually be a private playground and park /jogging trail just for community residents. The upper communities will have their own swimming pools, golf course, yacht club & marina, clubhouse for entertaining, business centre and so on.

Oh, I forgot the obvious. Also pays for armed security and gate guards in the US.

Some people get freehold payments on (some older) newbuilds confused with the maintenance charge for greenspaces.
Our maintenance charge is £160pa although it doesn't become payable until the developer shuts up shop and leaves, currently the developer covers all maintenance.
Of course it is our hope that in time the roads & open spaces will be adopted and the charge no-longer made.

@ginghamstarfish I used to own an apartment where RMG held the management rights - they were definitely not the easiest company to deal with.

Oops.
Of course I meant leasehold. 🥴

Wise thoughts. Avoid. A friend had this, is just another ruse that the council offload their normal responsibilities on the council tax. Meanwhile charges go up like to pay. Also watch out for things like structures such as walls classed as communal assets. My friend lived on an estate with a retaining wall which collapsed and wasn't covered by insurance as they said it was wear and tear. Was extremely expensive to repair and costs shared between each freeholder.