xVvSQINI
type: Answer
type: WrittenAnswer
answer has question: 7GdaRpeu
answer has answering person: Hxki00jc
answer text: The law is clear that service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, these must be of a reasonable standard. Where leaseholders feel that the increase in the level of service charges which they are asked to pay is unreasonable, they can make a complaint to one of the Government-recognised redress schemes: The Property Redress Scheme or The Property Ombudsman, which all managing agents are required to belong to. They may also make an application to the First-tier Tribunal to make a determination on the reasonableness of their service charges. In October 2018 the Government established an independent Regulation of Property Agents working group, chaired by Lord Best, to raise standards across the property sector, which also considered how fees such as service charges should be presented to consumers. The working group published its final report to Government on 18 July 2019. The report recommended that a new regulator be given a statutory duty to include provisions to ensure transparency of service charges in its regulatory code, as well as responsibility for enforcement action where infringements by managing agents take place. We are considering the report’s recommendations and will announce next steps in due course. The Government also announced plans in January 2019 for a new Housing Complaints Resolution Service by establishing a single point of access to all current redress schemes. The Service aims to provide housing consumers with a clear and simple route to redress. We have established a Redress Reform Working Group with existing housing redress schemes and consumer bodies, and intend to develop the Service in collaboration with them.
answer given date: 2020-01-16+00:00
answer has answering body: fKqMNz79
written answer has answering body: fKqMNz79