A young couple in Redhill, Surrey, find themselves trapped in their leasehold flat due to a soaring service charge that has reached £7,500 annually.
Sam and Evangeline Thorn, both aged 33, originally bought their two-bedroom flat for £245,000 in 2018 when service charges were around £2,800.
Despite having the property valued at £300,000 last year, no buyers have come forward even after the couple dropped the asking price to just £220,000 — below what they paid for it.
The couple, who wish to move to a larger home to accommodate their growing family, have had to put plans on hold, reflecting a wider crisis affecting leaseholders across England and Wales.
What is a service charge
A service charge is a mandatory fee paid annually by leaseholders, owners of flats under leasehold arrangements, to cover the shared costs of maintaining and managing communal parts and services within a building or estate.
The service charge typically encompasses a broad range of expenses:
- Maintenance and repairs of common areas such as hallways, gardens, lifts, and communal heating systems
- Cleaning, landscaping, and gardening services
- Building insurance, covering damages or liabilities
- Utilities shared across the development (e.g. heating, lighting)
- Management fees paid to property managers or agents
- Compliance costs related to health and safety regulations
- Reserve funds contributions intended for major refurbishments or unexpected repairs
Sam, an account manager, said: ‘We’ve had maybe 10 or so viewings with estate agents.
‘Every single person that liked it, when they were then made aware of the service charge cost, the estate agents told us that people didn’t want to go for another viewing.
‘They just weren’t interested.’
He added: ‘We haven’t got enough room to have more children, so literally our lives are on pause at the moment.’
The couple, who had a daughter two years ago, want to sell up and move to a bigger home with enough room for a second child.
Their flat is part of the 18-year-old Park25 development, managed by FirstPort, and is heated by a communal heat network.
According to FirstPort, 51% of the service charge goes towards energy costs, a factor that has significantly contributed to the price escalation.
But Sam highlights that even excluding heating costs, maintenance expenses like lawn care and lift upkeep push the bill to nearly £4,000 annually.
Recent unexpected costs also arose from a reported £80,000 overspend in the previous year’s general maintenance budget.
Sam said: ‘They budgeted £16,000 and it cost over £90,000. It’s just figures they seem to pluck from thin air.
‘They’re supposed to be looking after people’s properties, but what they’re actually doing is ruining peoples’ lives.’
To pay the increasing service charges, Sam says he and Evangeline, an events co-ordinator, have had to cut back on luxuries, such as holidays.
FirstPort attributes the rising charges to the ageing heat network’s inefficiencies and increasing biomass fuel costs, factors beyond their control.
A FirstPort spokesperson said: ‘We remain committed to finding solutions, working with the government to provide the best outcome for our customers.
‘This includes exploring innovative options such as recycling waste heat from a neighbouring data centre to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
‘We have also secured an initial Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) grant to investigate how the heat network can improve for the benefit of residents.’
They added: ‘We have met with residents and the local MP Rebecca Paul on several occasions to explain how service charges are calculated, what they include, and the significant impact of the heat network on total costs.
‘We’ve also taken steps to improve transparency for homeowners around costs, introducing clearer invoices, detailed cost breakdowns, and more opportunities for residents to ask questions and provide feedback.’
The Thorn family’s predicament underlines a much broader trend affecting leasehold property owners.
Industry data from estate agent Hamptons reveals that the average service charge for leasehold flats in England and Wales rose by 11% in 2024 to an average of £2,300, marking the sharpest increase in eight years.
In some regions like the North East and North West, costs have ballooned by over 50% since 2019, exacerbating affordability problems and impacting property market demand.
Such statistics reflect not only rising costs but also the broader challenges faced by flat owners, including difficulty selling properties due to the burden of escalating fees.
The Thorn family’s situation starkly illustrates the human impact behind these statistics, as the spiralling service charges leave them unable to move forward with their lives.
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