Residents slam '£5,000' service charges in building where 'electricity use rises by fifth every year'

More residents living in city centre flats managed by Rendall & Rittner have blasted the company over their ‘super-worrying’ service charges.

Last month, the MEN reported that leaseholders in the Skyline I building, on Rochdale Road, slammed their building managers over the ‘obscene’ fees. They claimed that the high charges made it impossible to sell their homes, and said they were ‘more than London rates at the minute’.

Following the report, more residents have come forward to express their anguish against the firm. Owner-occupiers and leaseholders in the Lumiere building, on City Road East, say ‘Rendall & Rittner are a horror story’.

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“I have lived here for 10 years as an owner-occupier,” Matthew Harris, an owner-occupier, said. “[Rendall & Rittner] have let the building go in to disrepair. It gets worse [as time goes by].

“When I moved in it was £180 per month in about 2013, then it was £200 by 2017 and since then we saw big jumps and big projects done. Now, I pay £420 per month, for a two bed.”

Mr Harris is not the only one to rail against his fees. One leaseholder, who used to live in the building but now rents it out, said: “Typically we get a huge increase in service charge. From when I moved in it was £1,500 a year, now it is almost £4,000 for a one bedroom apartment.”

Another owner-occupier, who does not want to be named, added: “When we moved in our service charges were £2,000 per year. There's a small gym and a concierge five days-a-week, from 8am-4pm — there were reasons that it was higher than other buildings. We thought it was within the market range.

“Four years later that's now above £5,000