A group of residents from Saddle Mews Village have spoken about the circumstances of its management companies that recently fell into administration.

The residents said that the owners of the site, Four Seasons Health Care, have failed to reinvest money into the village, forcing residents to put their hands in their own pockets again.

Two holding companies behind Four Seasons Health Care, which operates 322 homes, collapsed under debts of around £625m owed to a US hedge fund.

The Saddle Mews Residents’ Association’s secretary, Anne-Marie O’Connell, told the Examiner: ’When you buy a property here, you sign two contracts, one for the leasehold and the other is an agreement with Four Seasons to pay an annual maintenance fee and to pay 1% of the purchase price for every year you have owned the property into a sinking fund to pay for the regular repair and overall maintenance of the village.

’This includes the replacement of windows and doors, maintenance and replacement of boilers, the services of a resident warden, maintaining the grounds, and public liability insurance.’

She said that the management fee increases yearly in line with rises in the Manx State pension.

However, despite residents paying into the sinking fund, they say that 30-plus-year-old properties are not being maintained or upgraded. Wooden doors and windows have not been replaced, leaving some residents to pay for new doors and windows themselves.

Ms O’Connell said when they asked Four Seasons for money for the necessary works, the company said there was no money, but ’gave no explanation as to where it went’. She added that ’regular requests to the company secretary for management accounts have been ignored’.

Residents have established a bank account and told the chief executive officer of Four Seasons last year of this intention. They are now paying the monthly management fees into it, rather than paying them to the company.

Chairman of the association David Cretney MLC has contacted the Attorney General’s office regarding the bank account, which the AG’s office confirmed is legal.

Christopher Barr, a retired solicitor from Northern Ireland, has been helping the association. He said in the company had ’not been honouring its obligations’.

In an attempt to have the work carried out, the association is now exploring its options.

Ms O’Connell added: ’There are some vulnerable people here, and if we can do this, it would help protect them too. Some people are living here with old windows and doors that allow drafts and damp in their homes.’