SHAC receives frequent and sometimes shocking reports about problems with service charges and led SHAC to launch its End Service Charge Abuse (ESCA) campaign. A briefing on ESCA is available to download.
A Call to Action!
We have launched a Parliamentary Petition with a series of demands on government aimed at helping to end service charge abuse.
If we achieve 10,000 signatures, Michael Gove will have to respond to the petition in writing. If we get 100,000 signatures the issue has to be debated in Parliament which will hugely increase visibility of service charge abuse. This is therefore a big opportunity for us.
These thresholds might seem high, but two years ago SHAC launched a petition to get the UK Housing Awards cancelled which attracted 54,000 signatures – significantly above the 10K threshold, and more than half the number we would need for a debate.
Sign, share and chase! It can be done, but we urge every member to sign, share with neighbours, colleagues, friends and family. Then chase to check that the people you shared with have signed too!
George Howarth MP Letter to Michael Gove
We are delighted to report that Sir George Howarth MP agreed to write to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, calling for measures to end service charge abuse. He was supported by 34 other MPs. Thank you to all members who contacted their MPs to sign. You can download the letter here.
The Evidence
Some landlords are clearly worse than others. However, across the sector it is evident that tenants and residents are getting a raw deal. Housing associations appear unable to manage this aspect of their business responsibly without stronger enforcement from government and democratic control over the provision of goods and services by tenants and residents.
“Living in an NHG shared ownership property has probably shortened my life.”
Service charge abuse victim
Many articles published on this issue tend to read as though incidents of overcharging are scattered and isolated.
But contrary to this narrative, SHAC and campaign partners Find Others have collated evidence which demonstrates that overcharging by housing association landlords is widespread and systematic. All too often it also appears deliberate; even when they are alerted to inaccuracies, they continue overcharging.
Two reports and a presentation have been produced as a result of our research. A Summary of our evidence was also presented to the Housing 2023 Conference on 29 June, A fuller version was presented to Baroness Scott and officials from the Department for Levelling Up, the National Audit Office, and the Regulator of Social Housing.
Research
Click images to download reports:
Our Full Evidence Bundle:
- SHAC – Housing Association Service Charges Abuse – Issues and Impact A report combining research by SHAC and Find Others on housing association service charge abuse and its impact on tenants and residents.
- SHAC Report on the Abuse of the Service Charge System by HA Landlords. This report maps various ways that HAs overcharge. It uses case studies, but each case typified numerous complaints reported to us by SHAC members.
- Whistleblower: Housing Association Overcharging is Deliberate – This article was written following evidence presented to SHAC by a company that manages various estates on behalf of housing associations.
- Peabody Scrutiny Panel Service Charges Report – This is a report compiled by Peabody’s scrutiny panel which investigated service charging by the landlord and found widespread overcharging and malpractice. Normally such reports are published by the landlord, but they initially refused, and it was then leaked to SHAC for publication.
- Insight on service charges and the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction – this report by The Housing Ombudsman provides insight on where landlords have gone wrong on service charges, as well as indicating which complaints can be brought to the Ombudsman. It also references some key cases from the First Tier Tribunal.
- Campaigners reveal tenants have been overcharged almost £2 million for service charges – A Big Issue article in which our campaign partners, FindOthers, reveal how they have uncovered almost £2 million in overcharges in the space of just a few months from just 27 incidents.
Campaign Demands
SHAC believes that tenants and residents rights should be strengthened so that they have easy access to:
- More stringent requirements on landlords to be accurate in their service charging;
- Extend the legal entitlement to service charge invoice packs to tenants;
- For service charges to be explicitly included within the remit of the Regulator of Social Housing for tenants, leaseholders and shared owners;
- Provision for tenants and residents to submit evidence of service charge inaccuracies directly to the Regulator of Social Housing;
- Restoration of Legal Aid to cover housing issues;
- Democratic control by tenants and residents when procuring goods or services from suppliers;
- The right for tenants and residents to trigger a forensic audit of their service charges if a landlord provides inaccurate service charge bills;
- An end to management fees based on a percentage of sub-contractor charges;
- Legislation to clearly distinguish between services which are included in rents and those which can be billed separately through service charges;
- Mandatory itemised billing with supplier receipts;
- Mandatory reporting through regulatory returns on overcharging and undercharging errors;
- Automatic reporting to a regulatory body when overcharging exceeds a certain level;
- Automatic compensation to tenants and residents (beyond like-for-like refunds) when overcharging occurs;
- Automatic compensation to tenants and residents when landlords are slow to reimburse tenants after overcharging;
- Set timescales for refunds; and
- A mandatory requirement to pass on efficiency savings to tenants and residents when supplier costs reduce.
It is only through such measures that the system of service charging can be made transparent, and tenants and residents can be sufficiently empowered to address errors.
Take Action
Withhold Payment of Disputed Amounts
Many tenants and residents are choosing to withhold payment of disputed amounts (starting a service charge strike). If you decide to take this path, SHAC is able to provide support. We would recommend a number of steps to make sure that it is done as safely as possible and to make it harder for the landlord to retaliate with legal threats. If you can do so with others from your estate or neighbourhood, the strike will be more powerful.
Our advice and guidance on rent and service charge strikes can be found here.
Demand a Forensic Audit
We have been lobbying housing associations to carry out forensic audits based on a sample of three estates, preferrably chosen with SHAC’s involvement.
To support ths process, we have produced a Forensic Service Charge protocol after being asked to do so by one of the larger housing associations. The protocol has been written in a way that makes it applicable to all landlords, whatever their size.
Click image to download
If you are having service charge issues, please feel free to send it to your landlord and ask them to use this protocol to check your accounts (click the image to download the document).
Write to Your MP and Landlord
Writing to your MP can be very useful, and we are encouraging everyone to ask their MP to press for our recommendations to be included in their manifestos as we approach the next general election.
- Template text for a covering email here and attach the report above.
- Landlord letter templates here.
One of our members wrote to her MP, who in turn put her concerns to Baroness Scott of Bybrook (the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities). Baroness Scott replied, and noted:
“… the Government’s rent policy states that registered providers should endeavour to keep any service charge increases for tenants within the limit on rent increases (which is 7% in 2023-24), to help keep charges affordable. Service charges should relate to costs and it would not be acceptable for Registered Providers [housing associations] to increase service charges simply as a means of making up for the effect of the 7% rent cap.”
Baroness Scott of Bybrook replying to Catherine West MP on 17th August
This may be useful as a quote when contacting your landlord.
Help and Support
SHAC and FindOthers have teamed up to develop a unique online tool to request and chase service charge packs. It is part of a long term campaign to end service charge abuse by housing associations.
Films
Our films include speakers from the ‘Challenging Service Charge Abuse’ meeting on 15th February 2023, plus members speaking out.
Unfortunately, my MP is utterly useless; too busy after the main chance. What are my options?
Generally the system is stacked against us, so a campaign should shame all into supporting us. I always include campaigns, unions political cllrs MP’s from all parties, trades councils when I send anything around. Give them template letters to write to your housing association (read purpatrator) as just like us, they have a lot to do.
Truus
Unfortunately so many of them are! We would still encourage you to write to them. If enough people lobby them, they will ultimately be forced to act, or will be replaced by someone who will. You can also ask to meet them (virtually or in person at their surgery) so you can stress the need for them to support what we are trying to do – make housing associations accountable. Outside of this, we need as many people as possible to get involved in campaigning so that our collective action can’t be ignored.
In 2018 this Government issued a white paper saying it would “ CRACKDOWN “on Managing agents . ( MA) In 2919 Lord Best submitted his final report recommending strict mandatory regulation of MA’s. 3 yrs later and NOTHING! Why? I believe because the corrupt Residential property sector I’d the Tory Party’s largest donor.
We need mass peaceful robust protest. We are treated as as SERFS. ENOUGH!
I have emailed my M.P. Mike Freer for years about this. His latest reply was he had nothing more to add than he already has and to seek litigation. I sought advice from a solicitor it is not legally aided and the cost is £350 per hour for their services. Because we have fixed charges, which they are not as they vary from tenant to tenant and have an array of errors every year, the First Tier Tribunal refused to correct my service charges on the ground of the Rent Act 1977 and that the service charge is fixed and therefore reflects the actual costs. I wouldn’t have been trying to go to court if it was not for the fact that they are incorrect and do not reflect the costs!
What is even worse is when you have a social landlord that harasses you and illegally convicts you of criminal behavior (3 years worth so far), it makes every waking hour a misery and costly to defend against lies and made up accusations.
It took us a year and a half to get Anchor Customer relations to withdraw an illegal criminal behaviour order against us because we asked for basic compliance from them regarding the tenancy contract.
Their Head of Customer relations a type of stasi – was forced/pushed to resign/fired.
What a disgrace that a UK Housing authority can break the law and convict innocent tenants and get away with it.
These landlords conduct business on tenants in an incivilised, criminal manner and we still have to pay to be illegally convicted of criminality just because we speak up within the law.
Sick system……. sick housing slumlords.
I’m with clarion housing they entered a contract with the scummy ark pest control adding it as a service charge on peoples rents in April ark came around and put 3 bait stations outside the block near me and one poison bait station outside a residents window I was disgusted by that we are surrounded by forestry with tawny owls bats woodpeckers crow’s magpies fox’s badgers hedgehogs and other species a dead poisioed dead rat is going to cause secondary poison to the wildlife animals I listed above. I had a row with my housing officer he did not care. Typical clarion then not long ago on Monday ark retuned placing 6 more bait stations . outside the same block and one around mine Clarion are paying ark pest control out of the charges that the Tennants are paying by dumping bait stations everywhere to try and wipe out our wildlife animals we have. Clarion and ark are both disgusting and vile I got the wildlife crime officer involved he expressed his concerns about this to Clarion but they ignored him I want both ark and Clarion exposed. I have emailed my local MP about it
I ‘m a freeholder on a mixed estate currently paying £500 plus annually to Firstport in service charges. The street I live on has been adopted by Somerset council and I pay £2000 plus council tax to them. I’ve written to Firstport on several occasions asking why I have to pay for the same thing twice. They have replied that I signed an agreement when I bought the house. This is true, but if I hadn’t signed then I would not have been able to buy the house. To me this amounts to signing under duress.
Firstport do absolutely nothing by way of maintaining the the road I live on.
I have written to my MP James Heappey twice on this matter, receiving an acknowledgment but no proper reply.
I know this is a scam, as do they. It’s an unethical and cynical way of screwing cash from tenants and freeholders.
I have a chronic illness (autoimmune) and havent been able to work since, so DWP pay housing benefit covering my rent and service charge (though I pay them from my account!).
As I understand it I have no rights to challenge the service charges because nder these circumstances.
Yet my Housing Association went almost 9 months without hoovering communal spaces whilst charging everyone for bimonthly cleaning. its at least high thousands they took for nothing in that time.
They also charge for window cleaning but they dont do the top floor. I asked the window cleaners about it and they said they could easily do them, but were explicitly told not to include it in the contract. And yet the top floor flats all pay the same service charge!
Thats just two examples!
Almost everyone in this small block are ill/disabled and the only person i know who pays their service charge isnt up for figting on their own.
Its a disgrace. Ive paid my taxes all my life until i got sick and I want to hold them to account, but it seems the government has explicitly denied me and many others the right.
The tribunal service is not fit for purpose as management companies can just ignore verdicts. I would like tenants to have options to change management company if majority want change based on majority vote , not as now going to expensive legal process that many can’t afford, especially small tenements this would help reduce costs and improve quality services.