Furious residents say their annual service charges have soared to £3,100, despite their homes being plagued by a raft of unresolved security and safety issues.

Those living in apartments in Ingress Park, Greenhithe, say their lift breaks down all the time, the intercom system is inadequate and there is a leak in the underground car park where vehicles have been reported stolen.

And while their list of maintenance problems increases, so has their service charge with a 24% hike over the past five years alone, up £600 from £2,500 in 2019 to £3,100 this year.

Residents say they would be happy to pay the maintenance fees if they felt they were getting value for money but have instead been left feeling ignored and out of pocket.

First Port, the service provider for the properties, says it is doing all it can to control costs but some are beyond its control “following the rise in the cost of living”.

Ehsan Hamadani, 43, has owned a flat in Clarinda House, Clovelly Place, since 2011.

He said: “The service charges are going up but the service we receive is going down.

“The leak in the underground car park is damaging the structure of the property and is very serious.

“I have emailed First Port and they always just say it is under investigation. It seems like the issues are not being taken seriously.”

Meanwhile, he says the lift on the seventh floor of the building is often out of service.

“It causes a lot of discomfort for residents and it takes weeks and sometimes months to fix because they say the part is not available,” he added. “They must know the sort of parts they need to have in stock.”

The leaseholder has also complained about issues with security as the underground car park gate is generally broken and left open.

“Our neighbour had his motorbike stolen recently so it doesn’t fill us with much confidence that it is safe,” he added.

Mr Hamadani said when he first purchased the property it was a relatively new build and he did not see himself encountering so many issues.

“We counted on everything being in working condition,” he said. “It should not have gone downhill so quickly.

“We are paying this money, why are things not working? Why do they keep getting broken? Why are they not getting properly fixed?”

The software engineer has been renting out his apartment for the past 18 months.

He said he would be happy to pay the service charge if he felt he was getting value for money.

“It’s a good amount of money we are giving and I don’t see the value of the service we are receiving at the other end.”

Zoltan Kozma has been living in Clarinda House since 2018, and he is furious at the escalating service cost as he also feels residents are not getting value for money.

“I wouldn’t mind paying the money if I thought we were getting a good service,” he said.

Instead, he said residents are plagued by leaks, faulty lifts, problems with the intercom and damaged car park gates.

Do I have to pay the estate management fees for my new home? Click here for all you need to know

“We are paying the management company but they are just trying to cut costs,” he said.

“We have to wait three months for a broken component for the lifts. These things should not take forever. It’s all about cost-cutting.”

The 36-year-old said if someone’s intercom gets knocked off the wall in one of the 70 flats in the building it disables the whole system.

“We can’t let anyone in and our packages get bounced back,” he said.

“Surely they could pay to upgrade the system so this does not happen. But they say that’s not something that is covered by the service charge as it only covers general maintenance.”

And the software engineer says there is a constant leak on the ground floor near the car park.

“It’s damp and mouldy and smelly,” he said. “The plasterboard has been permanently taken away from that area.

“There are signs saying they are working on it but it has been like that for years.

“They seem to patch things up to cut costs. There is no holistic principle where they systematically investigate, find the problem and then fix it.”

The residents also complain that the fire alarm system in the car park is constantly beeping.

A spokesperson for the property management company First Port said: “Our main priority is to ensure that Ingress Park is a well-maintained and safe place to live, and we understand the importance of providing value for money for homeowners.

“We regularly communicate with residents to update them on upcoming works and to hear any suggestions they have to improve our services.

"Whilst we continue to do all we can to control costs, some cost increases, such as electricity and gas, are beyond our control and have increased following the rise in the cost of living.”

Meanwhile, Dartford MP Gareth Johnson is backing a new bill announced in the King’s Speech on November 7 aimed at redressing poor performance from management companies and has been out canvassing residents.

The proposed Leasehold and Freehold Bill is aimed at giving people the chance to change their management company if they feel they are not up to the job.

Mr Johnson told Kent Online: “Residents will be able to say ‘this management company is not up to it, we want to change to somebody else’.”

The Tory MP said he has delivered thousands of leaflets around Dartford and had hundreds of replies, with 98% of residents saying they are unhappy.

“It’s time to change the setup,” he said. “The party is over for management companies.

“They have had a licence to print money more or less for far too long and it’s time the system changed.

“We need to put the power back in the hands of the residents. At the moment they are subject to inflation-busting increases in their fees at short notice. And not only that they are getting poor services as well.”

In September, residents on a new-build estate in Ashford said they felt like they were "being robbed" when their annual maintenance fees soared to £700 despite rubbish piling up and weeds growing out of control.

In 2021, people living in Sandalwood Court in Barming went on a payment strike after their service charge suddenly went up by £100, to £405 a month.

Greenhithe and Knockhall councillor Cally Gale has lived in Ingress Park since it was built more than 20 years ago.

She said it’s not fair that some residents are using food banks yet still being forced to pay rising service charges.

“People don’t realise but 50% of Ingress Park is social housing. The people who live here cannot afford to keep paying out money to the management company and not seeing any results.

“They are getting despondent and they are getting angry. They are using food banks and we are trying to support them in other ways but it’s just not sustainable in a cost-of-living crisis.”

She added: “These charges are coming through again and again and again and we are not seeing the buildings repaired properly and we are not seeing things that are supposed to be done happening.”

Last July, a fire broke out on an Ingress Park balcony and resident Clare Hughes and her neighbours told how they had been fighting for almost three years to get housing developer Crest Nicholson to carry out remedial work necessary for their apartment block to meet adequate fire safety standards after it failed a safety assessment.

Four months after the fire the work is still not completed.

In a letter given to one leaseholder to show to her mortgage lenders, and seen by Kent Online, Crest Nicholson wrote: “We expect the works to commence in Autumn 2023 (on the basis the Works Contract and any other required licenses are approved and in position), and to be concluded by Autumn 2024.

“We confirm that these works will be carried out by Crest Nicholson at no cost to leaseholders.”

Clare, who has lived in Ingress Park for nine years, said: “Despite the fire a few months ago and the commitment by Crest to start works in the autumn, no communication was received by us and no works have started.

“Such a lengthy delay shows a blatant disregard for the impact on residents and given Crest publicly committed to starting works this autumn following the fire to one of our buildings, demonstrates a de-prioritisation of human safety and life by both parties.”

A Crest Nicholson spokesperson said: “We are engaged in an ongoing dialogue with all parties and are making progress to finalise the required legal agreements to undertake remedial works at Ingress Park.

“Procurement for these works at Oarsman and Darbyshire House has been completed with works due to start early next year.

“Investigations are required at Clarinda House and Bessborough House and these will also begin once the necessary legal agreements are in place.

“We remain committed to carrying out the works at no cost to residents or leaseholders.”