THE company which manages council housing has given up its attempt to force leaseholders to hand over thousands of pounds for building repairs.

Ascham Homes has failed in its fourth bid to overturn a ruling which denied the company permission to avoid consulting people who had bought houses under the Right To Buy scheme.

Many residents who share blocks with council tenants faced financial ruin after receiving massive bills with little warning for repair work they say was unnecessary.

They took their case to the Leasehold Variation Tribunal, which ruled in their favour, but Ascham Homes used tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money in a bid to overturn the decision.

The company has now confirmed it will not seek a judicial review against the latest ruling by the president of the Lands Tribunal, but a £5million council contingency fund will now have to be used to continue Decent Homes programme improvements.

Charted accountant Michael McGough who was billed £32,000 for unwanted work on his property in West Avenue Road, Walthamstow, has led the leaseholders' battle.

He said: “This has come as a great relief to all the leaseholders who have been worried about whether they have to pay or not.”

The leaseholders can only now legally be charged up to £250 for the work.

Mr McGough added: “Taxpayers have lost out because of mismanagement.”

It is not yet clear whether leaseholders who have already paid the bills will be refunded.

Ascham Homes is yet to comment on the decision.