I'm trapped in a retirement flat with a £20k service charge. I fear I'll never sell

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAngus CrawfordBBC InvestigationsBBCMichael Fraser, 88, says he's trapped in what now feels like a "golden cage"When Michael Fraser moved into his retirement flat, he could hardly believe his luck. A stable conversion nestled in the landscaped gardens of a Grade I listed country house in Devon. But six years after moving in, Fraser says he's trapped in what now feels like a "golden cage". "I feel stuck here because I can't see myself selling and probably I'm very unlikely to get a fair value for it," he says. Fraser is one of more than 400 people who contacted BBC News after families told us they were being left with hefty bills when inheriting retirement properties. In February, they said they were spending thousands of pounds per year on service charges for empty homes and were unable to sell up. That report highlighted the problem of high service charges and low resale prices affecting thousands of properties across England and Wales. In 2020, the 88-year-old was finding his cottage increasingly difficult to cope with and moved to Audley Group's Flete House to be closer to his daughter. Audley Group builds and manages retirement villages across England. The former school teacher paid £140,000 for a two-bed flat with a service charge of about £12,000, less than 50% of his annual pension. However, from 1 January 2026, the charge has risen to £20,000 a year, an increase of 66% in six years. "It's like something squeezing, it's getting tighter and tighter year on year," he adds. Despite his love for the flat and its "pretty splendid" grounds, he thinks the service charge could put off any future buyers. For Fraser, the fees aren't good value as he says there are "hardly any" services on offer. He fears that if he should need to go into a care home, he and his relatives simply wouldn't have the money for both if his flat sat empty and unsold. "I'd still be paying £1,600 a month for this, plus the care, and all of that would be way over 100% of my pension income. So I seriously feel I'm stuck," he says. Audley Group told us that the individual flat owners decide what services they want, and while accepting costs at Flete House have increased significantly, it's not representative of its other developments. "We recognise that some owners have concerns and we remain committed to supporting them," Audley Group said. Our earlier reporting found thousands of retirement flats across England and Wales were vacant. Families blamed high service charges for making the properties unattractive and complained of a collapse in the value of the flats. Sarah Woods inherited a flat from her late mother Iris in 2024, and although the property remains empty, service charges and ground rent still have to be paid. "It's very humbling, it's very scary… you know I'm nearly 58 and never thought I would be in this situation," she says. After taking legal advice, Woods made plans to move in, but was then told by the management company she was too young to live in the property. The flat in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, has been on the market ever since but there have been no serious offers. Woods is being asked to pay service charges and ground rent, with the possibility of a debt recovery agency being brought in to collect the money. "I was shocked. It didn't make sense; I'd inherited it, the title was legally mine, I was willing to pay the fees and I was over 55." Woods now lives two and a half hours away and can only afford to rent a bedsit. In a statement, Firstport Property Management said it is working with Woods "to support her at this time". But insisted that despite the death of her mother and the flat remaining empty, service charges still apply. "We are required to pursue recovery to ensure these funds remain available." Elsewhere, we also found more evidence of flats in desirable locations which have lost tens of thousands of pounds in value. One development, Goodes Court in Royston, Hertfordshire, stood out. It's a block of 52 flats for the over-70s run by McCarthy Stone, the biggest supplier of private retirement developments in the country. It has extra facilities such as a dining room, on-site manager and cleaners. The service charge is typically £10,000 per year for a one-bed flat. By analysing Land Registry records we found that of 27 flats sold since 2014, 24 fell in value, losing a total of more than a million pounds. For example, Flat 33, which first sold for £208,000, was bought two years ago for just £70,000. Another, Flat 25, had an original asking price of £192,950 and resold last year again for £70,000. And Flat 36, which first sold for £189,950, is now at auction with a sale price of just £9,000. McCarthy Stone is building another development of flats for the over-60s, 400 metres away in the centre of Royston. The company told us many of its properties retain or go up in value but recognise that that hasn't happened at Goodes Court. It sa

I'm trapped in a retirement flat with a £20k service charge. I fear I'll never sell

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