‘Our estate pays £9,000 a year for grass to be cut’

The private estates model is becoming increasingly common as strapped-for-cash local authorities, that would in the past have taken on public areas, are seeking ways to avoid extra costs.

Instead of the council paying for upkeep of things like grass cutting, car parks and lighting, it is outsourced to a private company like FirstPort.

About 1.7 million homes are thought to be managed under the private estates model.

Eighty per cent of new homes sold by Britain’s eleven biggest builders are now subject, external to estate management charges.

A report, external by the government’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accused companies of not allowing homeowners to switch providers, giving “inadequate information upfront”, delivering “shoddy work” and adding “unclear management charges”.

Affected residents have dubbed the model “fleecehold”.

Additional reporting by Laura Hammond