We have taken the decision to pause our consultation with freeholders (Home owners) of former GCH homes in order to undertake further work.
We will consult directly with those home owners who are beneficiaries of services provided by GCH later in the year, sharing an accurate estimate of what the individual charge would be linked to the services received.
We recognise that the letters received over the last few days are not sufficiently clear to provide enough information for a meaningful consultation and we offer our apologies for any worry caused.
What is the consultation about?
We have identified that an estate service charge for the maintenance of nearby communal land to some privately owned properties has not been previously charged to local homeowners, where we maintain the immediate area. This relates to non-council land that is located near your property. As part of this process we wrote to freeholders across the City, opening a consultation however we have now temporarily paused this consultation.
What costs does this include?
Currently the costs associated with the delivery of services enjoyed by the occupants of all homes on a street or an estate, such as, estate cleaning, landscaping, general maintenance, rubbish removal and management of fly-tipping, are funded solely by GCH tenants and leaseholders, in effect tenants and leaseholders are subsiding those services for homeowners. Our proposed approach, in line with common practice, looks at spreading the cost of services delivered across all households that benefit from them.
What are the next steps?
We will undertake further work to ensure that we have more accurate information about which homes are impacted and can provide individual cost indications. When we get to this stage, the consultation will re-open and we will welcome feedback.
Need to get in touch?
We appreciate your patience and assure you that all feedback will be carefully considered before any final decisions are made. If you need to ask any further questions please get in touch with us via leaseholders@gch.co.uk
Does this impact GCH customers?
No, there is a separate consultation underway which impacts some GCH customers and this continues as planned, it is not linked to the freeholders consultation. Please share any feedback on this consultation via servicechargeconsult@gch.co.uk