The Trinity

Located in South-West London, The Trinity comprises 109 flats in a 10 year-old development.

Facing out-of-control annual service charges and a managing agent that offered no consultation, residents were uncomfortable with the prospect of upcoming major works being managed by the agent.

There was also a perceived conflict of interest, as the managing agent had been appointed by the freeholder.

In 2017 residents approached HAUS for help with a Right to Manage (RTM) application.

Notable Achievements

Helped the owners take over the management through a Right to Manage process, and reigned in spiralling service charge costs. Demonstrated a significant saving on a major works programme which we took over mid-project.

Our Process

HAUS kicked off a series of meetings with owners, including over weekends and evenings, and used Facebook groups and door knocks to track down and engage with owners. After three months, we amassed the numbers needed to undertake a RTM application.

We set up two RTM companies to cover the two buildings at The Trinity, a move that was contested by the freeholder, who argued that four RTM companies would be needed because there were four separate entrances. However, after hiring a barrister, we took the case to a tribunal and were successful in defending it.

HAUS presented residents with a budget proposal so they could see better value for money from the service charges. To date, we’ve reduced service charges and achieved significant savings on the annual budget.

As managing agent at Trinity House we also made a range of improvements to the building. We changed all contractors and our preferred lift contractor was able to rectify a longstanding issue with one of the four lifts that had been causing headache and expense. Residents had been plagued by ID theft because of the external postboxes they relied on, so we oversaw a project to bring them indoors.

We replaced almost £9,000 of emergency lighting and also achieved a massive saving for residents on the building’s exterior, as our supplier was able to use a specialist steam-cleaning technique to clean the render. Residents had previously told the exterior would need to be painted, at double the £19,000 steam-cleaning cost.