Hike in charges at retirement flats ‘an absolute disgrace’

Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter

A pensioner says elderly residents living at seafront retirement apartments are being “held hostage” over a decision to increase service and building charges.

Cwrt Sant Tudno flat owner Peter Thompson, 77, said he and fellow residents were shocked to receive notice of an imminent rise of between 18 – 21% in monthly charges.

The apartments on Clarence Road, Llandudno, are run by First Port, an independent later living development provider of assisted services for residents that need them.

Some residents of the 66 apartments, Mr Thompson says, are on fixed incomes and will struggle to find the extra cash.

Originally from Llanrwst, Mr Thompson, a father and grandfather, said his own monthly bill had gone up from £808.69 to £957.53, a rise of £148.84.

A Firsr Port spokesperson said the firm was “committed to providing value for money for home-owners,” and that the new service charges reflectlected the “actual costs of managing” the flats.

TMr Thompson, an RAF veteran and former civilian police trainer, has lived at the apartments for 14 months.

He returned to the UK after living in America, following the death of his wife, and purchased his flat for around £140,000.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Residents have little choice in this matter and feel they are being held hostage by this decision. “Being on fixed incomes, many will struggle to find the extra sums demanded.

“I am fortunate that I can find a way to pay the extra but some here will suffer to do so. It is absolutely disgraceful.”

At a meeting on August 20, residents raised their concerns with a representative from First Port.

“There were around 40 residents present at the meeting, which was rather stormy,” he said.

“Many others were unable to attend because of the short notice of the meeting. The upshot of it all is that the property has been underfunded for a decade and more.

“In order to update costs of staffing, etc and to put funds towards a contingency fund for things like window replacement, furniture replacement, new carpeting and lift maintenance, we, the current residents, must pay becuase of the neglicence of others…”

“I questioned why First Port did not finance these deficits and pay to balance the new budget instead of off-loading it on all in these sudden huge increases in monthly fees.

“We, the residents, now face paying these inconceivable monthly fees to pay for years of absolutely terrible budgeting.

Mr Thompson says he also asked on paper “why the contingency reserve had doubled from £20k up to £40k, why the communal cleaning area charge had gone up £3k from £1,800 to a whopping £4,800.

Although praising the housekeepers for doing an “excellent job,” he wanted to know “who was paid, and why the housekeeping budget was up from £26,968 to £41k.”

A spokesperson for the property management company said: “We are committed to providing value for money for home-owners, and service charges are set to reflect only the actual costs of managing and maintaining the development and the day-to-day services that help make Cwrt Sant Tudno a safe, well-maintained and enjoyable place to live.

“A residents’ meeting was recently held to consult home-owners on the budget for the forthcoming year, providing them with a valuable opportunity to share their views and ask questions.

“During the meeting, we explained that the proposed budget reflects a detailed review of current expenditure and anticipated future costs across the development, including staffing, day-to-day services and increased contributions towards reserve funds for future major works.

“These include the resident-requested window replacement work as well as the lift refurbishment, helping to ensure the continued provision of a reliable service that many residents depend upon.”

It also noted that the staffing budget has been “reviewed to better reflect actual operating costs and avoid deficits arising from under-budgeting in previous years”.

That increase in the communal cleaning budget reflects “a reallocation of costs, rather than a significant increase” in cleaning services.

The reserve fund is built through service charge contributions and held separately for the development to help fund future work and projects.

Funds were also “being accumulated” in anticipation of planned improvements, including a lift refurbishment and resident-requested window replacement.

It added it offered direct debit payment arrangements to assist residents.

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