Crest Nicholson Avis 

I thought I was alone in the financial morass that is First Port with the assistance of Crest Nicholson.
I now see that far from being alone im just one of many suffering of being robbed.
As others have mentioned, I was assured by CN that service charges would reduce in real terms. Sales persons chanting the company line!
I wish I had known 11 years ago what I was about to suffer.
My investment is haemorrhaging cash each year.
Steer clear of any CN/Firstport property.

Avoid buying leasehold. Since Crest appointed Frist Port to manage Southampton development I live in annual service charge went up massively. Over the years has risen 300%. Additional invoices for previous years 2024 and 2025 deficit to pay this year is over £3000 on top of £3200 for 2026. There is no transparency of what we are paying for, work isn't done on time or at all. When it's done very often it is poor and not adequate to the money spent on it. Crest isn't really keen to take a closer look at managing company and make situation better for us residents. Maybe both CN and FP benefit from it. Who knows...

Buyer beware – escalating service charges and unanswered complaints

I am a leaseholder at Centenary Quay in Southampton, a development built by Crest Nicholson and managed by FirstPort.

My experience of owning a property here has become increasingly frustrating and financially concerning.

In October 2026, I received an unexpected additional service charge invoice of £809.63 for the 2025 financial year, on top of the substantial service charges I already pay.

According to FirstPort's own year-end correspondence, the entire development recorded a deficit of £575,693, including an extraordinary £443,561 overspend on buildings insurance alone.

What concerns me most is the lack of financial transparency.

I first requested a detailed reconciliation and supporting documents on 26 May 2026. After receiving no satisfactory explanation, I submitted a formal complaint on 17 July 2026. As of 9 October, both cases remain unresolved.

I have now submitted a third formal complaint challenging the latest additional charge and requesting evidence to justify the expenditure and its allocation to my property.

As a leaseholder, I believe it is entirely reasonable to expect transparent accounting, properly justified expenditure and meaningful responses to formal complaints.

Crest Nicholson developed Centenary Quay, while FirstPort manages the estate. I am not suggesting Crest Nicholson personally calculated these invoices, but I believe prospective buyers deserve to understand the ongoing management and service charge issues affecting this development.

My advice to anyone considering purchasing a Crest Nicholson property is simple: examine the lease carefully, request the full service charge history, investigate previous year-end deficits and speak to existing residents before committing.

Buying a home should not mean facing repeated unexpected financial demands without clear explanations.

A word to Crest Nicholson buyers. I'm a leaseholder in a Southampton development they built,
managed by FirstPort.

Communal energy bills that make no sense. Residents' concerns unanswered.
Maintenance that doesn't match the charges. Check the service charges before you sign they will only continue to double year after year.

Building quality is also poor, rainwater flooding lower level for the last 10 years, numerous emails to Crest Nicholson legacy manager and customer service team, still no fix just a damp blocked communal stairwell. They are only interested until they receive your money.

I advice anyone to think hard before purchased anything built by Crest Nicholson or managed by first port

My daughter has already bought one of your properties and I’m very satisfied with the build quality also the aftermarket care

A once-affordable home has become financially unsustainable due to rising service charges and poor management

I purchased my home from Crest Nicholson in Southampton in 2013, and at the time I was given the understanding that service charges would reduce as the development grew and more residents shared the costs. Unfortunately, the reality over the last 13 years has been the complete opposite. The charges have continued to rise, with particularly significant increases over the last three years, to the point where living here is becoming financially unsustainable.

I am now paying just short of £3,000 a year in maintenance and service charges, yet the level of service provided does not remotely reflect the amount being charged. This year alone, I have already paid an additional £900 to cover a previous service charge deficit, and I am now being asked to pay a further £700. This is the second time this year I have been asked to contribute towards a deficit from a previous year’s service charges. These unexpected and substantial additional costs make it almost impossible to budget or plan financially, and raise serious questions about how the development is being managed.

A significant part of the problem is the management company, FirstPort, which was appointed by Crest Nicholson. Crest Nicholson’s involvement in the management company responsible for the development makes it particularly disappointing to see the situation deteriorate to this extent. Residents are left facing ever-increasing costs, repeated demands for additional payments, and little confidence that the money being collected is being managed effectively.

Communication and customer service are equally frustrating. When issues are reported to FirstPort, they are frequently marked as resolved or closed without any meaningful response, even when the problem clearly remains outstanding. This leaves residents feeling ignored, powerless, and expected to accept a poor standard of service despite paying substantial sums every year.

What makes this situation even more concerning is the impact on property owners’ ability to sell their homes. The level and uncertainty of the service charges are affecting the saleability of properties, with some mortgage lenders reportedly unwilling to offer mortgages on properties within the development because of concerns surrounding the service charges. This is deeply worrying. A home should be a secure investment, not a financial burden that could prevent an owner from selling or a prospective buyer from obtaining a mortgage.

When I bought my home in 2013, I did not expect to find myself in a position where the ongoing costs had become so excessive and unpredictable that remaining here was becoming increasingly difficult. Nor did I expect these costs to potentially jeopardize my ability to sell my own property.

Crest Nicholson needs to take responsibility for the long-term consequences of the developments it builds and the management arrangements it puts in place. Residents deserve transparent accounting, reasonable and justifiable service charges, effective management, and a standard of service that reflects what they are paying.

At present, the costs do not reflect the service provided, the repeated deficits are unacceptable, and the financial implications for homeowners are becoming increasingly serious. This situation cannot continue indefinitely, and I would strongly urge anyone considering purchasing a property on a Crest Nicholson development to investigate the service charge history, management arrangements, and potential mortgage and resale implications very carefully before committing.

I own a flat in Southampton which Crest appointed Firstport to manage.
Avoid at all costs buying from them, ever increasing service charges, year on year deficit costs and extremely low maintenance across the site
Please think long and hard before committing yourself

I bought a flat from Crest Nicholson in 2017. In the nine years Ive been living here i have experienced a litany of unresolved building issues and water leaks from flats above. The basement stairway has been sufgering from water ingress for the whole time. No repair action from Crest! The managing agent First Port are very poor and constantly put up service charges which are now at an unafordable level. The high insurance charges are very concering given the insurers Aviva are also the landlord. The whole Crest set up goes yet they take no action to remove First Port. Be aware of these circumstaces before you buy from Crest.
These are my personal experiences and do not reflect the views of others

Very disappointing experience with Crest Nicholson and its management company, FirstPort, in Southampton.

I genuinely regret buying my apartment due to the ongoing issues with excessive service charges, lack of transparency, and inadequate maintenance and upkeep, which is now having a direct impact on property value.

If you’re considering buying a property involving Crest Nicholson, I strongly recommend doing your homework and carefully investigating the service charges, property management, maintenance standards before committing.

​Thinking of buying a Crest Nicholson flat? Read this before committing.
​I am a leaseholder in a Southampton development built by Crest Nicholson, with property management handed directly to FirstPort without resident consultation. Potential buyers need to be aware of the ongoing costs and operational issues involved:
​Unjustified Service Charge Increases: Driven significantly by insurance costs far above market value, alongside a lack of transparency regarding commission structures.
​Disproportionate Communal Energy Billing: Utility costs for shared spaces bear no logical connection to actual usage or square footage.
​Maintenance vs. Value: Overall upkeep remains consistently poor despite continuous rate hikes.
​Unexpected Deficit Demands: Unsubstantiated year-end deficit charges are routinely issued above original budget forecasts.
​Lack of Accountability: Repeated attempts by residents to address these issues directly with @CrestNicholson and @FirstPort have yielded no constructive response.
​While Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 stipulates that service charges must be reasonably incurred, enforcement relies entirely on leaseholders pursuing costly and time-consuming action via the First-tier Tribunal.
​Essential pre-purchase due diligence checklist (request in writing):
​Five years of service charge accounts and budgets.
​History of all deficit/balancing charges demanded during that period.
​Itemized insurance premiums, including broker fees and commissions.
​Clauses governing managing agent selection and replacement rights.
​Reserve fund balances and planned capital expenditure/major works.
​Unwillingness or delays in providing this information should be treated as a serious warning. Based on my experience, I would not purchase another Crest Nicholson property and strongly advise prospective buyers to exercise extreme caution.

Paul from Customer Service has been very helpful in practically resolving 'snagging ' issues following the purchase of new house in Cringleford Heights, Norwich.

Thinking of buying a Crest Nicholson flat? Read this first.

I own a flat in Southampton. Crest Nicholson built it and appointed FirstPort to manage it. Leaseholders had no say in that choice. Here is what ownership has looked like:

• Service charges that keep rising, driven by buildings insurance costing far more than the open market appears to offer, with no disclosure of the commission taken from our premiums
• Communal energy bills that bear no obvious relation to the size or use of the communal areas
• Poor maintenance despite the higher charges
• Repeated year-end deficit demands on top of the budget, with little supporting evidence
• Resident concerns raised again and again, with no meaningful answer from @CrestNicholson or @FirstPort

The law says service charges are only payable where costs are reasonably incurred (s.19, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985). Enforcing that falls on leaseholders, at our own time and expense, through the First-tier Tribunal. That is the reality of what you are buying into.

Before you reserve or exchange, ask in writing for:

1. Five years of service charge accounts and budgets, not just the current estimate
2. Every deficit or balancing charge demanded in that period
3. The buildings insurance premium and all commission or fees paid out of it
4. Who appoints the managing agent, and whether residents can replace them
5. Any planned major works and the reserve fund balance

If the answers are slow, vague or refused, treat that as your answer.

Based on my experience, I would not buy from Crest Nicholson again and I cannot recommend that anyone else does. The purchase price is only the start of what you pay.

Lovely sales team, helpful and knowledgable. Followed up with a phone call.

The previous staff has been replaced. Mark and Kate have communicated efficiently right from the start. Would definitely recommend anyone looking for a new build house !

I didn’t end up purchasing a home with Crest, as my circumstances shifted. However I had been dealing with Jane at Campbell Wharf in Milton Keynes over about 4 months. She is fantastic!!

She was welcoming, engaging and took great time and patience helping me explore options available and was fantastic with my little boy too.

Based on Jane’s interactions with me, I’d buy a Crest home in a heartbeat. She’s an asset to your company.

Great customer service. Very helpful 👌 providing right information 👏

Great house, loved it

Really helpful team at Dalton Gardens. Mark was very approachable and did everything to help move my reservation forward. No pressures, lots of helpful information. Great service

We moved into our new house in Highlands park Henley on Thames last October . From the first point of sales to the final moving in and a few minor snags after , everything has been very professional , so giving a five star review is well earned and deserved