Owners of flats told to pay £38k each for repairs

Residents living in a seafront tower block have been told they will have to pay nearly £38,000 each for "essential repairs".

A tribunal has ruled leaseholders with flats at Arlington House, Margate, will have to hand over the money to the owner, Freshwater. The owners of 106 flats - including artist Dame Tracey Emin - will pay in two instalments, one next month and another in March 2027.

The owners, Metropolitan Property Realization Ltd (MPRL), part of the Freshwater Group, declined to comment.

However, a company spokesman previously told Thanet councillors the repairs were necessary, adding: "We're not inventing work that doesn't need to be done."

The charges relate to repair work after the Building Safety Regulator found multiple safety issues at the 1960s tower block.

In 2025, the regulator concluded the concrete structure and panels posed a risk to residents and the public, Thanet District Council said earlier this year.

The council said it was supporting enforcement action by the regulator and said the structural integrity of the building had been "raised as an issue, should a fire occur".

Margate-based Dame Tracey Emin, who owns multiple flats in the block, criticised its management and asked why she was being held responsible for "years and years of constant neglect by Freshwater".

Resident Simon Peter Pengelly said: "I'm considering just not paying, waiting for the bailiffs and then nailing up the front doors so they can't get in."

He said: "The flat was my wife's, it's in her estate and she and I both loved looking out the window to see the waves as they continuously changed."

Resident John Moss has been attending council meetings and tribunals for more than two decades.

He said concerns went back to 2015, when a report highlighted problems.

A letter to residents said there was "currently a health and safety issue with loose fragments able to fall, which should be addressed as soon as possible".

Moss said: "It was deemed urgent, it was deemed necessary but nothing was done."

At a council meeting in February, Martin Bale, Freshwater company secretary and group solicitor, told members: "We are raising this early so that there is an opportunity for residents to seek funding.

"I will obviously take on board the concern at the amount. It is a lot, but there is a lot of work that needs doing."

A council spokesperson said the authority understood residents' frustration and shared many of their concerns.

They said MPRL was responsible for addressing outstanding safety matters and the council was doing all it could to compel MPRL to improve safety and eliminate hazards.

The council, working with Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the Building Safety Regulator, had served an advisory Hazard Awareness Notice on MPRL, met residents, and carried out re-inspections of the block, as recently as Tuesday.

The spokesperson said the council recognised service charges were a major issue, but it had no statutory power to intervene, and the authority would continue to use what powers it had.

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