The dispute by the Royal Mint Court Residents Association (RMCRA) in east London is now underway after their landlord, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing Association (MTVHA), failed to fully address their issues. A small group of RMCRA members notified MTVHA of their intention to strike at the end of 2022 unless a series of concerns over… Continue reading Some Success as MTVHA Residents’ Strike Grows
By SHAC with additional commentary by Carl Davis KIM in this context stands for knowledge and information management, and is the subject of a new Spotlight report by the Housing Ombudsman. The report is a combination of casework data and fresh, specially commissioned research. The report is well-evidenced and reaches 21 logical recommendations for social… Continue reading Housing Ombudsman on Good KIM
Tenants and residents of Leeds Jewish Housing Association (LJHA) have reported to SHAC with further concerns about their landlord’s conduct, and have announced that they have begun a service charge strike. SHAC published an article in May 2022 (Leeds Jewish HA: a Cause for Concern) which highlighted concerns over the landlord’s service charging mechanisms. The… Continue reading Service Charge Strike Starts at LJHA
A Clarion tenant has become the first to secure restoration of her previous year’s service charge through strike action. She will no longer need to pay the increase applied by her landlord on the 1st April 2023. Earlier this year, Clarion notified Anna that from 1st April, her payments would rise from £16.39 to £107.96 per week,… Continue reading Clarion Service Charge Strike Victory!
Challenging service charge inaccuracies is a long, bitter annual struggle for housing association tenants and residents. The process appears to be designed to confuse, wear down, and frustrate any attempt at scrutiny, even though the service charge bills are often for hefty payments that households are obliged to make, even when they know they are… Continue reading Challenging Service Charges: Following The Money
Almost 30 households from an estate in the London Borough of Newham have begun a partial service charge strike, and are withholding payment of retrospective charges. The strike is in protest at the actions of their landlord One Housing Group, and managing agents Haus Block Management. Simon*, who lives on the estate explained that the… Continue reading Newham One Housing Group Residents Join Service Charge Strike Wave
A group of A2Dominion tenants from the Bridge Court estate in Harrow are to suspend payment of rents and service charges indefinitely pending remedial actions to fix pest infestations, potentially discriminatory processes, and disrepairs. They describe their housing association’s actions as “negligent, inhumane, and ableist”, and assert that the problems have dragged on for years.… Continue reading A2Dominion Tenants’ Indefinite Rent Strike Over ‘Inhumane’ Treatment
The service charge strike wave continues. A significant number of households from the same Hexagon estate in London are the latest group of housing association residents to inform their landlord that they are withholding payment in a dispute over service charges. The residents describe being forced to take this step as a last resort “in… Continue reading Hexagon Households Start Service Charge Strike
A ‘Notice of Service Charge Strike’ has been sent to the Peabody executive, signed by the residents of 42 flats on an estate in central London. The residents are withholding all or part of their service charge payments over concerns that: Some of the charges appear to be opaque, completely unjustified [and] plucked out of… Continue reading Service Charge Strike Notice Served on Peabody
REGISTER DONATE rents pledge Service charge survey Shocking evidence from a whistleblower has confirmed the suspicions of tenants and residents, namely that housing associations (HAs) are not just overcharging them for services, but that the overcharging is deliberate. For almost as long as SHAC has been operating, HA tenants and residents have been reporting problems… Continue reading Whistleblower: Housing Association Overcharging is Deliberate
