Finance and Charges

This is the Association’s published record of how it is funded and what it charges. Where anything here differs from the constitution, the constitution is the authority.

The estate charge

MOSA owns the private roads, the verges, the twittens, the roundabouts, the land drains and the Greensward. No council maintains them, so the cost of maintaining and repairing them falls to the Association.

That cost is met by a single annual charge, made up of two elements. The constitution calls it the Association Charge and says it “is divided into two separate elements payable by the residents”.

A fixed element, the Estate Management Charge. It is the same for every property and it covers everything the estate holds in common: general administration, insurance premiums, corporate and communal legal and professional fees, and all the work that is not specific to any one road.

A road element, the Roads and Associated Asset Charge. It varies, because it covers the infrastructure and other costs specific to a particular road or road group, and the five private road groups differ in length, drainage and condition. Sea Lane is not one of the five.

These are the names used in section 6 of the constitution. An invoice or a letter may use them, so they are worth recognising.

How the estate is divided into road groups, and where Sea Lane and Middleton Road sit, is explained on roads and verges.

Both elements are billed together and are payable by 1 March each year.

Charges are set by the relevant Road Representative or road committee in liaison with the Management Committee, and the Association’s charges are put to members at the Annual General Meeting.

What the charge pays for

• The private roads, resurfaced and repaired. The largest single cost.
• The land drains, including the east-west pipe the Association took on in 2018.
• The verges, the five twittens and the roundabouts, mown, planted and kept passable.
• The Greensward, a Site of Nature Conservation Importance and part of the England Coast Path.
• The slipway, cleared of shingle each year.
• Insurance and professional fees, including the auditor and the Association’s solicitor.
• Litter bins, dog bins and notice boards.

There is a fuller account, with the current figures, on what you pay and what it buys.

How the money is looked after

The Treasurer manages the finances of MOSA, pays accounts as directed by the Committee and reports at meetings. At the end of each calendar year the Treasurer prepares an Income and Expenditure Account and a Balance Sheet for the auditors.

The auditor, who must be a qualified accountant, is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting. The auditor reviews the books and records and certifies that the accounts give a true and fair view of the Association’s transactions.

Current auditors: Messrs. Adams, Beeney and Co.

The accounts, once adopted, are published on AGM and accounts.

Special levies

Where a road group’s account has insufficient funds to pay for repairs or other works, the shortfall is collected by way of a special levy. It is agreed with the Management Committee by the Road Representative or road committee after consultation with residents and property owners, and is payable by the property owners in that road group.

Access across Association land

Residents who wish to have access to or to cross Association land, and who do not pay a road charge, may be liable to an Associate Road Charge. It is determined by and agreed with the Association, rather than set by a road group, so there is no standard figure. This is the charge that applies where a property reaches the road across Association land without being in one of the five road groups.

Building works

Heavy vehicles do measurable damage to roads that were never built for them, so the cost of that damage falls on the project causing it rather than on every household’s annual charge. A Building Works Charge applies, in the form of a non-refundable financial bond, and is set out in an agreement between the Association and the developer along with the conditions that protect neighbours and the environment.

The schedule is also set out in plain English, with the current figures, on the building works charge page.

Conveyancing enquiries

Enquiries from solicitors and estate agents are handled by the managing agents, who set their own fee for them. See information for buyers and solicitors.

If charges are not paid

The Association has a written procedure, Recovery of Outstanding MOSA Charges: Enforcement Procedures. A copy is available from the managing agents.

If you are having difficulty paying, please speak to your Road Representative or the managing agents. That is a far easier conversation to have early than late.