Leaseholder’s anger as service charge for one-bed flat tops £6,000

The leaseholder of a one-bed flat in a Curo-managed block in Twerton is going to the Ombudsman after her service charge soared to more than £6,000 a year.

The flats at Wedgwood Road in Twerton

Samantha Young was horrified after Curo increased the charge for her first-floor flat in Wedgwood Road from £2,604.03 for the year 2025/2026 to £6,377.62 for 2026/ 2027.

She says the largest part of this increase is a jump in the reserve/sinking fund contribution.

Samantha has gone through two stages of the complaints process, with Curo dismissing her claim that the increase is disproportionate and unreasonable.

Samantha, who is a university student and works as a nanny, told the Echo: “This means I pay £531.46 a month for a council flat in Twerton with a service charge more in keeping with a central London block of flats with gym and concierge.

“I have repeatedly asked Curo to provide evidence, costings, surveys, contractor estimates, or any documentation to justify this increase. Despite months of correspondence, they have not provided any actual evidence of costs.

“Their Stage 2 complaint response confirms that the figures are based on internal assumptions, projections, and financial planning models rather than confirmed costs.

“They claim this increase is because of replacing the windows in the building but also admit that the window replacement programme they are charging for may not even take place in 2030/31 and is currently under review.”

Samantha Young’s bill has raised dramatically

She said Curo had offered to remove £1,610 from this year’s charge, but only by redistributing it into future years.

She continued: “I have now told them I will accept the reduction only if it is removed entirely, not added to next year’s service charge.

“I have also asked them to provide the next five years of planned service charges and major works so I can understand what future costs I am expected to face.

“I have asked whether the service charge will return to historic levels (around £1,000 per year for the sinking fund element), but I have not received a clear answer.”

Samantha was also dismayed to recently receive a letter from Curo giving her 30 days to pay an additional £900 on top of last year’s charge.

She has been told by a local estate agent that her property is now worth considerably less than the £145,000 she paid for it as a result of the huge service charge increase, and that there are others in a similar situation to her.

“I was told one property is paying over £800 a month in service charges to Curo,” she said.

Curo’s response

The Echo put Samantha’s concerns to Curo.

This week a spokesperson told us: “Bills for building repairs are part of owning a home. Paying into a sinking fund is a sort of ‘savings fund’ that allows owners to build up cash to put towards these costs when they come along.

“In this case, it helped to spread the cost of critical fire safety work.

“More essential work is planned for this block, so we’re asking homeowners to build their fund back up again.

“We regularly review how much leaseholders contribute to make sure they’re saving enough for planned work, but unforeseen emergency repairs and changes in regulations can increase costs beyond those expected.

“We know it’s never nice to receive a bill and we’re sorry for any distress caused in this case. We aim to be transparent about this process and we’re always open to helping leaseholders concerned about repair costs.

“We want to find solutions that match their circumstances and have offered to reduce what Miss Young pays this year.”