One of London’s biggest housebuilders is offering to cover leaseholders’ service charge bills in the latest sign of a slowing new-build market.
Berkeley, a London and South East-focused developer, said buyers would benefit from a two-year “service charge holiday”, which could range from £400 to £5,000 a year.
It comes after leasehold sales fell to their lowest level since 2008 last year.
A social media post from the developer, seen by The Telegraph, advertised the incentive. The offer also included a stamp duty holiday, deposit assistance and even a train season ticket contribution.
Property experts have warned buyers against the scheme, which “risked storing up problems down the line rather than solving them”.
Paula Higgins, of the Homeowners’ Alliance, said: “Incentives like stamp duty contributions or furniture packages aren’t new in the new-build market – developers have long used them to help get deals over the line.
“But a shift into covering ongoing costs, like service charge holidays, is far more concerning.”
Berkeley Group would not confirm how long the offer was available or which developments it applied to, but insisted that it was receiving “very strong levels of enquiry for our homes”.
A one-bedroom Berkeley flat for sale in Haringey, North London, for example, was advertised with an annual service charge of £3,029.
A spokesman said the market had been slowed by higher taxation and that “like most homebuilders, we offer a range of buyer incentives which vary by development and are within the normal range for the industry”.
Housebuilder incentives to lure buyers are commonplace. Developer Barratt London currently offers mortgage rates below 2.29pc with its Rate Reducer scheme on new-builds. Meanwhile, Taylor Wimpey is offering to boost a 10pc deposit with an extra 5pc. Galliard Homes, another developer based in the South, offers to “contribute to your service charge to help get you started with your new property”.
