RESIDENTS of flats in Lyde Green want their money back after paying for shared services that are not being delivered.
People living in Harebell Road say they have had next to no gardening service and an unreliable cleaning service from Trinity Estates Management at their block, despite paying £96 per month.
They say outdoor areas have become overgrown with weeds and some indoor communal areas are being left uncleaned.
People who bought leasehold flats are obliged to pay for “landscape maintenance” and cleaning every two weeks by Trinity, which holds a contract from freeholder Taylor Wimpey.
Resident Rebecca Sparey, who bought her flat in June last year, says one patch of grass behind the building was cut only once between then and July this year.
She said: “There are still some areas of the grounds that have never been tended to.
“The weeds and thistles are out of control, covering the path to communal bins, and some cars have been scratched in the rear car park.
“Cleaning of the communal areas did not take place until January, after numerous complaints. My neighbour said a stain on the second-floor carpet has never been cleaned, suggesting that the cleaning company do not clean this floor.”
Rebecca said that since last August, she and several other residents have complained to the Hertfordshire-based estates company but their first acknowledgment was in July – a few weeks after they were told Trinity was planning to raise its charges by £22 per month.
In the meantime Rebecca contacted dispute resolution service the Property Ombudsman, which logged a complaint in December last year but said no-one had been assigned to look at it because of backlogs.
She said: “If some services don’t get delivered Trinity are supposed to credit us, but we’re still waiting for refunds from 2023.
“I don’t know how they think it can be OK to charge us for services and not bother providing them.”
The Voice asked Trinity and Taylor Wimpey to respond to the residents’ complaints.
Trinity said the issues would be “reviewed with the management team for this development”, adding: “We would encourage any resident who has queries or concerns relating to the managed areas of this development to contact us directly.”
A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: “We are aware of the concerns that local residents have raised regarding maintenance at our Lyde Green development and are sorry that the gardening and cleaning services have not matched the high standards we expect.
“We have instructed the management company, Trinity Estates Management, to resolve these issues as soon as possible and we will continue to monitor progress at the site.”