Glasgow homeowners fear they could be forced to sell homes over £14k repair bill

Almost 30 owners who have bought their homes in Westercommon in the Possilpark area have been issued the bills from Queens Cross Housing Association for a £2.6m repairs and upgrade programme.

Many are pensioners who fear the repayments will wipe out their income and others say the cost is too much at short notice.

The work is to replace the roofs at four ‘maisonette’ blocks, put on new render and insulation and a range of other works, including repairing or replacing railings, new balustrades and other upgrading that residents said has not been done in decades.

Gordon Terris (Image: Gordon Terris)

Some owners said the blocks have been neglected by the association, leading to the one-off programme costing more than £650,000 for each of the four blocks.

While the housing association said most owners will get half of the cost met in grants.

The owners were initially told their share of the bills was £27,000, but with grants from Glasgow City Council it has come down to just under £14,000.

Queens Cross HA has put forward a monthly payment plan of £287 per month for four years for those unable to pay the full cost immediately.

One owner, a pensioner, said: “After I pay my bills, that is roughly what I have left each month. This would take all of that.”

The owner added: “With the electricity and gas bills and other costs going up, I don’t know if I can afford this.”

Craig Milroy lives with his wife Carol and their grown-up children in the property they bought a number of years ago.

He said: “The work needs to be done, anyone can see that. But the cost is exorbitant.

“My issue is it has been neglected for decades, while Queens Cross has carried out work in other areas.

“The tenants are being short-changed too, because they have been paying their rent and the area has been left to decay.”

Craig, who works full-time as a technician team leader, pointed out rotting railings and rotting balustrades on the upper balcony held in place by straps of wood.

Gordon Terris (Image: Gordon Terris)

He showed paint flaking in a stairwell to the upper homes and broken walls and pavements.

Gordon Terris (Image: Gordon Terris)

He said: “The title deeds say the association can carry out work and bill the owners but it says it must be a ‘reasonable expenditure’ and also ‘always having due regard to economy'.”

He added: “What they are asking for is neither.”

He said the roof and façade need work but said all the other work should have been done as part of a cyclical maintenance programme.

He claimed the bill first issued in July was for £27,000, which he said "put some people in a panic”.

The owners have been advised of other options including remortgaging or selling the property to the housing association.

Another owner said they feel like the housing association wants the owners to sell to it and charge them rent.

They said: “If we can’t afford this, we could be left with no option but to sell it to Queens Cross.”

Gordon Terris (Image: Gordon Terris)

Already, speculative investors have been contacting owners telling them they are aware of the works and offering to buy their property.

The work is likely to be approved as the housing association is the majority owner in three of the four blocks.

Craig, and other owners, said they accept their responsibility as owners to pay their share of maintenance and repairs, which they do regularly.

However, he added: “Expecting people to come up with the money on top of their other living expenses in a cost-of-living crisis is not reasonable.”

John Boyle, head of property at Queens Cross Housing Association, said: “There have been three attempts in the last five years to develop common repair proposals acceptable to the majority of owners. 

“In addition, the association has investigated every available source of funding and maximised the grant funding available to owners - many will receive over 50% of the total cost in grant.  

“The properties are 50-years-old and the extent of the common repairs required is now significant and include external wall insulation as well as new roofs, drainage, common area and structural repairs.

"All of these have been discussed with residents in detail and will ultimately protect and add value to people’s homes. 

“The association also has a duty of care to our tenants to carry out common repairs so that we can provide good quality homes now and for future generations. 

"We are assisting the owners as far as possible to meet their share of the costs of these essential repairs.”