\n<\/p>\n
Heather Jackson bought her apartment more than 20 years ago and said the increase in service charges had left her feeling stressed.<\/p>\n
“That works out at \u00a3365 per month, which when you’re a pensioner is a lot of money to be paying extra,” she said.<\/p>\n
Leaseholders in England, Scotland and Wales can challenge service charges through an independent tribunal.<\/p>\n
Anderson and other residents are calling for a change in the law to allow leaseholders to “challenge fees that are seemingly unreasonable” in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
“We know when you buy an apartment, you have to pay towards communal areas,” she said.<\/p>\n
“What we want is to know that we are paying a fair and reasonable amount, and here we have nowhere we can challenge this.”<\/p>\n
Lisburn Square No 2 said it “inherited all legal leasehold arrangements that exist between the landlord and leaseholders, to which both parties are bound” when it purchased the development.<\/p>\n
“This legal document details the operation of the service charge and the covenants of both parties.<\/p>\n
“Every leaseholder is required to confirm they have received their own independent legal advice prior to entering into the legal agreement.<\/p>\n
“All service charge expenditure is audited by a firm of chartered certified accountants. A summary document detailing the residential expenditure is provided to each leaseholder by the managing agent.”<\/p>\n
The BBC contacted the managing agent, Ambit CRE, which said the landlord would “be responding directly on the matter”.<\/p>\n