In last week’s Spending Review, £39 billion was pledged for affordable housing: a welcome commitment. However, the hurdles that the government faces if it wants to solve the housing crisis go far beyond extra money for ‘affordable’ homes. In this week’s column I want to focus on just two areas where the housing system is failing – the quality of new builds, and the role of property management companies.
I recently visited the Kingsland Gate development in Hassocks. I had been invited by residents to join them at a meeting with representatives of developer Bellway Homes and property management company FirstPort.
Kingsland Gate was supposed to be completed several years ago. However, upon arrival, it was immediately apparent that it still looks and sounds like a construction site. Issues with the development include: the main road through the estate needing to be completely replaced this summer; tactile paving installed in the wrong locations; and streets being dug up because the materials previously used do not meet highways standards. The children’s playground, which was meant to be ready once 50 units had been sold, was only recently completed—despite residents having paid for it annually through their service charges. Now, children are sometimes unable to use the play area because it frequently floods.
These failings would not exist had the development been properly constructed at the outset. Whilst a certain amount of snagging is expected with new builds, what I witnessed was not ‘snagging’, but faulty construction due to the poor workmanship of a subcontractor that Bellway told us they no longer use. As a FTSE250 company and one of the country’s largest housebuilders, Bellway ought to be better than this.
The second source of frustration for the Kingsland Gate residents is the role of FirstPort who manage the communal parts of the estate for which residents pay an annual service charge. Fees for minor administrative charges are eye watering: £900 to remove a name from a title deed, or a £650 exit fee when you sell up. I was told that communication has been poor, promises broken, and requests to see service charge accounts unsuccessful.
People are willing to pay their share and contribute to their community, but they deserve better than this. Kingsland Gate isn’t an isolated case—it reflects a national problem in how estates are managed post-construction.
Squandering money, materials and labour so vitally needed to solve the housing crisis incenses me, and for too many people, the dream of a home of one’s own has become a nightmare.