Flat owners 'face £1m lifts replacement bill'

Flat owners say they are facing a "frightening" £1m bill after their buildings' managing agent told them six lifts needed to be replaced.

Leaseholders in the Grainger and Stephenson blocks at Gateshead's Staiths South Bank development say they have been told each may need to contribute about £18,000 on top of their annual service charges, which are almost £3,000.

Managing agent Brannen & Partners said the current lifts were installed in 2004 and of an age "where the reliability will continue to deteriorate".

The buildings were managed by another firm, RMG, until 2017. It said it left the lifts in "good condition, with an appropriate amount of reserve funds for any unexpected or long-term issues".

As well as his service charge, resident Stephen Dean says leaseholders also make yearly payments of £480 towards lift maintenance.

"You would hope that covers everything, managed correctly," he said.

"You know a lift has a shelf life. Twenty years has been mentioned, so for the last 20 years Brannen & Partners and RMG have known that.

"My understanding is we'll get invoiced for the replacements and will need to find it. It's frightening.

"They're relatively modestly priced apartments. You're talking £120,000 to £150,000, maybe a couple of the bigger one's are 200-and-something, so the lifts bill is a huge cost in comparison to how much the apartment is worth."

Leaseholders were invited to an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) with Brannen & Partners in December to discuss the issue.

Mr Dean says he understands there are 68 leaseholders across the two buildings and he was one of 19 people who took part in a vote, with the result being 10-9 in favour of moving forward with the proposal to replace the lifts.

A number of owners are subsequently contesting it, he says, on the grounds they did not receive sufficient communication in advance.

He said: "One resident was talking about the impact it will have and asking what happens if they haven't got £18,000 or can't get it added to their mortgage.

"[Brannen's] said they'd try to facilitate a support plan, but what does that look that?

"There were more questions than answers. It's unfair in my view."

Brannen & Partners told the BBC the type of lift used in the buildings was no longer being manufactured.

Having been told by experts that lifts had a lifespan of 20 to 25 years, it said there was a "need to consider a replacement programme before parts do start becoming obsolete" and that the issue had been "very much on the agenda for many years".

It also said residents had been provided with minutes from three meetings held during 2023 and 2024, which included details of all maintenance matters discussed.

Additionally, "all applicable leaseholders were invited to both EGMs held in 2024 and that they were afforded more than the statutory notice for those meetings".

It told the BBC: "As was stated at the EGM [in December], any lift replacement programme is many months off as legal consultation processes must be followed."

RMG said it had "sympathy for the position these residents now find themselves in".

It added: "Our management of these properties ended eight years ago and we left them in good condition, with an appropriate amount of reserve funds for any unexpected or long-term issues.

"During the last two years of our contract, residents were actually directors for the management of the buildings which means they themselves set the budgets and approved the accounts so were fully across and in control of finances."

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