In the middle of January, an extraordinary meeting was held between tenants and residents of Hyde from the Stockwell Towers estate, the Stockwell MP who helped facilitate the meeting Bell Ribeiro-Addy, and Hyde chief executive Andy Hulme alongside other Hyde staff, plus local councillors. The meeting was extraordinary because Hulme is notoriously shy about engaging… Continue reading Familiar Stories from Hyde’s Meeting with Stockwell Tenants and Residents
The Regulator of Social Housing has reported that service charge income for housing associations soared by 15.8% to £1.9 billion in the year to March 2024. Also in 2024, service charge disputes brought to the First Tier Tribunal concurred that tenants and residents had been overcharged in over 70% of cases. Taken together, these figures… Continue reading Tribunals Research Finds Overcharging in 70% of Cases as HA Service Charge Income Soars
By Lindsay Bush Isn’t it interesting, and a coincidence, that Matthew Pennycook MP (Minister of State for Housing and Planning) made a statement just one day ahead of the BBC publishing a major investigation into leaseholders suffering inflated charges and lack of services for the privilege?! Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State for Housing and… Continue reading Leasehold and the Enforcement Gap
Residents of One Stratford say they are trapped in a system of financial abuse by One Housing Group (OHG), a housing association which merged with Riverside Housing Group last year after falling into financial difficulties. At least 40 residents at One Stratford are now withholding service charges or ‘balancing charges’ after receiving a series of… Continue reading OHG-Riverside Residents Strike Back
By Anne Jones* Ten years ago I used to catch an evening bus to go from the city to my village. I had this new bus driver for the first time. I had asked him for a single to my destination. It was cash and a paper ticket in those days as opposed to the… Continue reading The Service Charge Scam – An Insider Speaks
A petition launched by the SHAC Secretary calling for measures to end service charge abuse has received a reply from Michael Gove's department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) after exceeding the first target of 10,000. See the Petition and government reply. At the present time, the petition has gathered 16,100 signatures and has… Continue reading Gove’s Lame and Lying Reply to Service Charge Abuse Petition
As major announcements go, this year's statement on the social rent cap (SRC) has to be one of the quietest in history. A page on the Regulator of Social Housing's website confirms government's return to the social rent cap formula. Unlike last year, there was no fanfare heralding its arrival. It means that the majority… Continue reading Social and Other Housing Assocation Rents to Rise by 7.7% in April
Residents of One Housing Group from different but comparable blocks on the same estate (One Stratford) have pooled information about their service charges and found a level of randomness that defies explanation. It highlights what happens when landlords are allowed to impose charges without any external oversight or regulation. A survey across flats in George… Continue reading Residents Expose One Housing Group’s Service Charge Abuse
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says that service charges must be reasonably incurred, and incurred on services or works completed to a reasonable standard. Apart from the fact that certain parts of the legislation apply only to leaseholders but not full renters, and that there is also differentiation in the protections that apply depending… Continue reading Service Charges: Unreasonable Laws
Tenants of Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH) embroiled in a long-running dispute over mismanagement, the managed decline of their homes, and serious overcharging for services, are now voicing staunch opposition to a proposed takeover by Poplar HARCA, another local housing association. Peter, a tenant of THCH explains: "We have real worries about the financial situation… Continue reading THCH Tenants Protest Against Merger
