By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Esson
Furious residents in a Margate tower block claim they are being hit with “extortionate” service charges because the building has been “left to rot”.
Flat owners at Arlington House believe they are paying the price for the alleged failures of its freeholder, Freshwater, to keep the 18-storey high-rise in good shape.
The claims follow news, revealed by The Isle of Thanet News earlier this month, that regulators have denied the firm’s official building safety certificate bid after it failed to illustrate an understanding of “the full extent of the risk of structural failure in the building”, particularly “risks arising from the spread of fire”.
Freshwater has introduced a 24-hour ‘waking watch’ of fire wardens, costing a reported £48,000 per month – a levy residents fear will be passed on to them.
Now homeowners say the firm has hiked service charges from about £2,000 a year in 2024 to £3,500 for 2025.
John Moss, former chairman of the residents’ association, who has lived in the block for 22 years, said: “Everything is always left to deteriorate until it gets to the stage where it needs huge amounts of money spent on it.
“Freshwater are very difficult to deal with – they take a very belligerent, dictatorial manner in everything.”
A neighbour, who wishes to remain anonymous, says Freshwater, which took over the lease in 1969 through subsidiary firm Metropolitan Property Realizations Limited (MPRL), has neglected the building.
“If I’m paying that much money, this building should be prim and proper, it should be great,” he said.
“But they just don’t do things, and then charge extortionate fees for the privilege.
“It can be a beautiful building if it’s well looked after. It’s just been left to rot really.”
In 2023, residents at the 142-flat block spoke out about the desperate situation they faced when the lifts broke.
This month, Thanet District Council (TDC) announced it would issue a hazard awareness notice to the freeholder MPRL.
Since the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy, high-rise owners must apply for certificates confirming building safety from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
But the regulator has told MPRL its assessment of building safety risks, “in particular risk arising from structural failure” is not sufficient.
The notice highlights problems with “structural stability” related to the concrete of the building, the condition of the roof and drainage and the fire protection in place for residents.
Rising costs and demands
Since March, 24-hour fire warden patrols have been in place at the building and Freshwater is alleged to have told homeowners the cost is £48,000 a month, which they expect to be added to their service charge.
Flat owners say they informed Freshwater of a government fund it could apply for to pay for the waking watch, but Freshwater has not confirmed whether it plans to do so.
The resident says Freshwater has also informed him he must remove an immersion heater from behind a panel in the bathroom at his own expense, despite it being in the building since it was built.
When he responded, a letter from Freshwater explained that while the heater may be original, it is considered “a potential risk of fire”.
“We are insisting that you arrange to remove the immersion heater, and the matter will definitely be escalated through solicitors should it become necessary,” the letter continued.
The resident stressed he does not feel unsafe in the building, but is critical of the management.
Scaffolding has been installed around the bottom of the building for several years to prevent concrete from falling onto passersby.
TDC has written to the owners requesting a full structural survey and further scaffolding.
Tribunals
Arlington residents have previously taken Freshwater to property tribunals to recoup costs for wrongful service charges.
Mr Moss has been involved in several of those cases.
In 2019, Freshwater took him to court for £5,000 of unpaid service fees, but the case ended with Freshwater paying back £105,000 to all leaseholders due to overcharging and double-charging for works.
He also described a “nonsense” where residents received increased electricity bills as a result of telecommunications equipment installed on the roof – which Freshwater rents out to telecom companies.
In January this year, a tribunal case ended with Freshwater paying back more than £93,000 to leaseholders for 12 years’ worth of electricity bill increases, thanks to the communications equipment they allowed to be installed on the roof.
Arguing residents should not be expected to pay for the new waking watch, Mr Moss said: “It’s not our fault that they’re here.
“It’s not our fault – it’s Freshwater’s fault for not doing anything, and if the council or fire brigade had concerns, then they should have been chasing Freshwater.”
The BSR has demanded that fire and structural surveys now have to be carried out by August.
Mr Moss fears the costs will also be charged to residents, alongside months of waking watch costs.
“I don’t know where they think we’re going to get this money from,” he said.
Drastic increases
Service charge documents seen by the LDRS show drastic increases in the fees for the whole building.
Across the entire block, from 2024 to 2025, the service charges for fire-related services have jumped from £9,700 in 2024, to more than £37,000.
The same service charge document shows the “management fee” increased by almost 25%, from just under £41,000 to £51,100.
And the “health and safety” fee has risen from only £2,320 in 2024 to a staggering £70,000.
And these charges were issued before the waking watch was imposed, suggesting residents could be hit with additional costs.
Simon Pengelly, an Arlington resident since 2010, has also gone to court over service fee disputes.
“I think Freshwater have been ravaged at first-tier tribunals for charging for stuff they didn’t do, overcharging for stuff and double-charging – they don’t listen to residents,” he said.
District councillor Rob Yates, a former resident, called Freshwater’s management “atrocious” and said he is exploring the possibility of banning orders to prevent the firm from managing UK properties.
Dame Tracey Emin, a famed artist who owns a flat in the block, said: “I am more concerned about the treatment of the tenants and the fact that Freshwater have made no, or very little, improvements to the building since they have been the owners.
“Arlington House is a historic and amazing piece of brutalist architecture that should be protected and listed by English Heritage.”
Multiple attempts to contact Freshwater with specific questions about the concerns raised, both by phone and email, proved unsuccessful.
However, earlier this month Jonathan Ainsley, Director of Property for Freshwater, said: “We are working closely with the BSR/HSE together with all other relevant parties to address the issues raised in the notices. It remains a priority to Freshwater, that matters of this importance are dealt with through the relevant channels.”
TDC owns the ground on which Arlington House stands but is not responsible for maintaining the building.
