Many owners of ex-council flats are facing huge repair bills

Charity Shelter is "concerned" some people face ruin because of unexpected bills for work on neglected blocks.

It is lobbying for reforms to the scheme to be included in the current Housing Bill.

Repairs are often needed to comply with the government's Decent Homes Initiative to improve council homes.

It is thought up to 400,000 people could be affected.

The worst case I have heard of is at a council-owned mansion block in Camden, where leaseholders were asked to pay �200,000 for repairs John Paterson, London Leaseholders' Network

Reg Adams, a resident in Bromley, Kent, said he was facing a bill of up to �17,000 for major works on the building where he lives in his three-bedroom flat.

"That...was my entire savings from my working years," he said.

Mass repairs

Average repair bills can fall anywhere between �15,000 and �40,000, according to John Paterson, who has set up the London Leaseholders' Network.

"The worst case I have heard of is at a council-owned mansion block in Camden, where leaseholders were asked to pay �200,000 for repairs," Mr Paterson said.

We had been particularly careful with savings and pensions, but that would probably [be] wiped out Reg Adams, homeowner with a �17,000 repair bill 'My savings have been wiped out'

"This has been negotiated down to �104,000 and is still being argued."

Often, people who buy property in estates and blocks own the leasehold on their flat or house - but the council or other social housing body remains the freeholder responsible for repairs.

Many purchasers do not check in advance the likelihood of repair bills, and councils are not warning them in advance.

Because of the manner in which they are funded, councils often do mass repairs only every few years, and in the meantime properties fall into neglect.

'Incompetence'

By then, the blocks can be in severe disrepair and require many hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of work.

Adam Sampson, Shelter director, said people needed to understand the longer term risks, to avoid getting into a situation where they were unable to afford their home because of renovation costs.

He said: "Ultimately it is important that both parties are realistic about whether it actually makes sense for a council tenant to buy their home and whether it is in the longer term interest of the wider community."

There is the feeling in the public sector that right-to-buy was wrong, that people bought on the cheap so why are they moaning Peter Haler, Leaseholder Advisory Service

He said there were provisions within the scheme for people to offset bills against the increased value of their property, but there could be occasions when there was not enough equity in the home to cover all the costs.

Peter Haler, chief executive of the Leaseholder Advisory Service, a government-funded body offering free legal advice to leaseholders, said: "We can and do criticise councils for this.

"Some are models of efficiency, but some are a byword for incompetence.

"But councils are not really set up to manage leaseholders and they work under incredible inhibitions and difficulties.

Many of the flats are on their third owner since the original leaseholder bought them Peter Haler Leaseholder Advisory Service

"Complying with regulations, such as using scaffolding when maybe a private landlord would not bother, also raises the cost of repairs," Mr Haler said.

"There is also the feeling in the public sector that right-to-buy was wrong, that people bought on the cheap so what are they moaning about?"

However, he pointed out that the issue also affected people who have bought former local authority flats on the open market.

"By now, many of the flats are on their third owner since the original leaseholder bought them.

"The average person buys by location, the view and whether the property has a nice bathroom. Very few take much notice of who the landlord is."