Bracknell Tenants Face £4.5 Million Repair Bill

Abri, the biggest housing association in Bracknell, has won a tribunal bid to pass the cost of roof repairs and redecorations on to tenants.

It became one of the area's largest landlords after taking over Silva Homes in October 2023, acquiring 10,000 homes, with more than 6,000 in Bracknell Forest. Abri also manages shared ownership properties and long-leaseholders.

Leaseholders were told earlier this year that Abri had applied to charge for roof repairs and decorations carried out by Silva Homes before the merger. Affected locations include Jevington and Kimberley on the Birch Hill estate.

The dispute centred on whether Silva Homes carried out the required Section 20 consultations. If consultations were defective, Abri would normally be limited to recovering £250 per leaseholder for qualifying works unless it obtained dispensation from a First Tier Tribunal.

Tenants organised on Facebook and a series of tribunal hearings took place in September and October. The Tribunal granted Abri dispensation, allowing charges above the £250 cap.

Leaseholders must now contribute to a roofing bill of £4.5 million for works over three years, and £1.477 million for redecorations over four years.

A member of the group posted: "I've just received a decision email, has anyone else? Mine said Abri won, and of course I'm extremely unhappy with the decision. So they've let them off consultation failures, yet we still don't know what bills we're facing. Has anyone received an invoice for roofing and decorations? I haven't. Without proper consultation, under Section 20, Abri would ordinarily be limited to recovering £250 per leaseholder for qualifying works, unless it obtained dispensation. The Tribunal has granted Abri unconditional dispensation, meaning the £250 statutory cap arising from defective consultation no longer applies to those works. But Abri still has to demonstrate that the charges are reasonable, properly incurred and recoverable under the leases. Leaseholders can challenge those charges separately."

Mike Burnell, Abri Group homeowner services manager, said: "The tribunal found that Silva Homes had consulted leaseholder customers effectively and followed a fair tender process. This means that leaseholders will be asked to continue contributing towards the cost of any works carried out in accordance with the terms of their lease. We understand that some of our affected leasehold customers may have concerns about the Tribunal's outcome. We have contacted all impacted leaseholders to explain what the outcome means for them, what the next steps are and what help is available."

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter