Bermondsey residents are outraged after they received bills of up to £10,000 each for roof repairs they claim should have been carried out under warranty years ago.
Residents of Hestia House, Antonine Heights and Vesta Court of City Walk criticised the companies involved with developing the properties for not trying harder to have the warranty honoured.
The development was started in 2004 by Galliard Homes, who in turn contracted building company Ardmore to construct the roofs.
But since residents moved into the homes they claim they have had persistent leaks and no luck in getting lasting repairs completed.
Nikolai Marangozov, one of the residents, said: “There are constant leaks going through the building. With the leaks I suppose there’s not much we can do, but with the roof they [Ardmore] are not getting back to us at all.
“More than one hundred of us now have £10,000 bills to fix the roof. Everyone is getting charged.”
Galliard Homes say they no longer have anything to do with the property after a company called Plainseal Limited, which they own, sold a 999 year lease to Parkbrace Limited in 2008.
A statement from Ardmore also said they had no more to do with the property as they had “completed all works in a proper manner for which it was liable at the property”.
Anita Klein, another resident, said: “I’ve been sent a huge bill and they expect us to pay? We can’t afford it and we feel powerless.
“We just can’t afford to battle them as they have big legal teams. We bought these places with a 25-year guarantee. It is outrageous.”
Residents say they have tried to get Estates & Management Limited (E&M), who manage the buildings for Parkbrace, to pursue warranty repairs to the roof but with no success.
A spokesperson for E&M said: “Two residents meetings have taken place relating to this matter and the current status has been explained to all that attended.
“We are continuing to pursue legal avenues to resolve this issue and are committed to maintaining an open dialogue with all our lessees throughout this process.”
I represent one of the properties concerned. So far we have managed to legally avoid paying these outrageous roofing costs. Should any other resident wish to join our battle, please email me at lloyd@propservuk.co.uk. Our investigation continues as we feel there is something untoward going on.