A Bristol city councillor has been swamped with more than 80 complaints from ex-council tenants over painting and repairs to their homes.

The former tenants bought their homes under the Government's right-to-buy scheme but the city council is still responsible for the upkeep of them externally.

Many of them are furious that they are being presented with bills for work which they claim are vastly inflated and were not properly consulted about.

The Bristol Evening Post highlighted a group of leaseholders in Sturminster Close, Stockwood, who each received bills for hundreds of pounds.

Now Councillor David Morris (Con, Stockwood) has tabled a motion to a full council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue.

He says: "Leaseholders are up-in-arms over what they perceived to be prices which have been plucked out of thin air."

He said in one case, a leaseholder received a breakdown of work charged which does not relate to the actual maintenance carried out.

He says: "Contractors claimed to have washed down the building, used scaffolding and the application of a colour wash and two coats of masonry paint.

"None of this in fact took place.

"Is this not fraudulent? I have also received numerous complaints about the overall lack of supervision, little preparation and the poor quality of workmanship undertaken.

"I have been contacted by 84 leaseholders in Stockwood who all feel aggrieved by this charging policy. Quite understandably, they all feel they are being taken for a ride.

"I know of one elderly person who has been told that the roof to her building block must be replaced this year.

"She is now having sleepless nights worrying about how she is going to pay her contribution towards this work. This lady has not been consulted about the need for this new roof – she has simply been told that she will have to pay her share towards it.

"As the bills levied all include a 15 per cent administration charge, I feel leaseholders are entitled to expect someone from the council or their contractors to answer these allegations and furnish an explanation as to why these maintenance and repair charges fluctuate so wildly."

Mr Morris is also concerned about how some leaseholders are expected to pay the bills – particularly in a recession when many might have lost their jobs.

He says: "Like a great many, these people are now struggling to pay their bills as a result of the credit crunch. Some have been made redundant or have been forced to work reduced hours. This problem also affects pensioners and those who rely on some kind of fixed income.

"For example, whilst one pensioner was required to pay property maintenance costs of £272 in 2001/02, they have just received a bill for £663. As members will appreciate, such an escalation is simply unsustainable."

The council has told the Bristol Evening Post that the bills received are estimates of work and the final bills are expected to be "significantly less" when they are sent out next September.

It says they are not legally obliged to provide a breakdown of costs but will do so if asked.