News

‘Good practice guide’ plan for estate management fees after complaints from Rushcliffe residents

By Latifa Yedroudj, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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Private companies managing shared spaces in new housing developments could get new rules on best practice after complaints by some residents in Rushcliffe.

Rushcliffe Borough Council has created a guide to encourage developers and contractors to better manage public areas which the council does not control – such as greens and parks and other facilities in new developments.

It comes after some residents and councillors in Rushcliffe raised complaints about poor maintenance and value for money in some areas.

Issued raised include “transparency and fairness”, “quality of maintenance” and “customer service and rights of redress” when residents are paying fees to companies to look after shared services – instead of the local council.

The council has now created a guide, called the Good Practice Guide, to encourage developers and management companies follow better practises and improve services.

Council officers presented a draft of the guide at Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Growth and Development Scrutiny committee meeting on Wednesday, March 26.

Rushcliffe Borough Council stopped ‘adopting’ and funding the maintenance of new open spaces in developments May 2024 due to a “significant financial burden”.

However, the new Good Practice Guide is not a legal or enforceable commitment – leading to some councillors including Hetvi Parekh (Con) to question its effectiveness.

She said: “The guide is really good, but I worry about the adoption of the guide by the developers and management companies. Can they completely commit to it?

“The report says it is not mandatory, and that is my biggest worry.”

Leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council, Neil Clarke (Con) said it is an “evolving situation” – but claimed developers are on the council’s side.

He said: “We absolutely want to encourage them to sign up, and they have given the right noises that they are prepared to enter this guide.

“The industry is starting to realise there is an issue and that they need to self-regulate.

“What I will be pressing to the Baroness (Baroness Taylor, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing) is that some regulation is drawn up.”

Cllr Keir Chewings (Rush Ind) questioned why residents need to pay for the maintenance of open spaces in new developments in the first place.

He asked: “Is it not true that the borough has failed residents in not undertaking those responsibilities?

“I pay council tax, and those residents pay council tax.

“My grass is cut by the council – so surely isn’t it right that those who live in those properties pay their council tax receive the same service as I do?”

Cllr Clarke said: “The decision was made to ensure that we were acting in the best interest of the residents because costs were increasing quite substantially.

“To [say that money] will come out of council tax is not viable because the council tax is paid for by the tax payer.

“And if we have to then after several years suddenly have to bear that additional cost, then council tax would have to go up to reflect that additional cost.

“There will be extra burden on council tax when that cliff edge comes.”

Councillor Chris Grocock (Lab) suggested an amendment raising concerns over the level of detail in the guide.

He said in the meeting: “What I would need to support it is if we add in [something] about exploring through the deployment of the Good Practice Guide and further consultation with management companies and resident groups, and parish councils.

“The idea of adding in some specifics at a point in future that are brought to this group.

“I don’t want to stop the adoption of this guide, because something is better than nothing.

“If we can add in a [part] that says that we’ll continue to investigate how the Good Practice Guide can be augmented and improved with some specifics.”

The majority of councillors voted for this amendment to move forward to the council’s cabinet, who will consider it further before deciding whether to make the guide official.

In March 2024, several residents in new developments in Rushcliffe told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they the felt bills from some management firms were unfair.

Management companies and developers involved responded by saying fees are communicated clearly with residents, who sign up to clear agreements when they buy homes.