Estate residents blast council for adding hundreds of pounds to maintenance bills

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents have demanded answers from a council after it hiked charges for cleaning and maintenance on their estate by more than 100 per cent – adding hundreds of pounds to some of their bills.

Leaseholders on the Brockwell Park Estate were stunned when their estimated service charge bills for the current year included increases 10 times inflation, with some price hikes totalling hundreds of pounds each.

Leaseholders who own flats in the blocks, between Herne Hill and Brixton, are expected to stump up for the bills in advance, before the council issues a final invoice 18 months later.

Xanthe Whittaker, 46, who has lived on the estate for 16 years, said the council had failed to justify the price hikes that it was billing leaseholders for.

She said: “It’s clear Lambeth council is increasing service charges for leaseholders on a whim, with no explanation and no clear connection to the services delivered on the estate.

“Lambeth is taking leaseholders for a ride and twisting the knife on families suffering through the cost-of-living crisis.”

After teaming up to challenge Lambeth council on the bills, tenants found strange discrepancies, with residents in some blocks having to pay 35 per cent extra for cleaning, while others in identically sized buildings were expected to cough up 60 per cent more.

Meanwhile, leaseholders living in one block on the estate saw just a 12 per cent increase in their repair and maintenance bill, while residents in another block saw the same bill rise by 136 per cent.

Leaseholders on the estate have already succeeded in getting the council to drop a £1,000 bill increase for a door entry system from the estimate, after officials accepted the charge was wrongly included.

Sarojini Ariyanayagam, another leaseholder on the estate, said there was a lack of transparency from the council about what the large bill increases were paying for.

Ms Ariyanayagam, who has lived in her flat for 17 years, said: “When something goes up a lot, we don’t really know why.

“If the cleaning goes up, it’s not like we are noticing an increase in the frequency of the cleaning. Why are we paying so much more for it?”

Leaseholders on the estate are currently waiting to hear back from the council about whether they successfully challenged the cleaning costs in the bill.

A review of the cleaning charges was due to be completed by the end of July, but residents have yet to hear back from the council about the decision.

Lambeth councillor Maria Kay said: “Leaseholder charges are worked out on the basis of work carried out and services provided, not on the previous year’s bills. This is set out in people’s leases.

“We know that some people are struggling with their bills at this time and we encourage residents who face pressure on their household budgets to phone the council and discuss their payment options.

“Bills are rising because of inflation and increasing contract costs. Price rises in the building sector have been running at more than 20 per cent in some areas.

“In the case of leaseholder charges, initial estimates are for guidance, and actual costs can be higher. But where there are significant discrepancies these are investigated, and credited back on their accounts automatically where savings are found.”

Pictured top: Xanthe Whittaker, one of the leaseholders on the Brockwell Park Estate (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)