Excessive heating bills in Southwark affecting property sales, says frustrated would-be seller

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A Walworth woman’s property sale fell through after her flat was slapped with a £2,900 charge for heating and hot water by the local council.

Lucy Gould, 32, had found a buyer for her two-bed flat on the Brandon estate in Southwark in early 2023 when she found out Southwark council was putting up the price of her heating and hot water by £1,500.

After sharing information about the additional expenses with the purchaser, they pulled out of the sale saying they feared they wouldn’t be able to cover mortgage payments due to the extra costs.

She said: “We were looking to sell at the start of 2023 and we got a buyer around February 2023. We hadn’t seen the estimated service charge at the time and then when we received it, it had shot up.

“The buyer said the service charge is too high and they wouldn’t have been able to afford the property and make the mortgage repayments. They explicitly said ‘we want to buy it’ but they weren’t able to afford it. The charges are pretty unsustainable with the change in mortgage rates. We have cut back on the holidays and the nicer things just to afford everything.”

Ms Gould is one of hundreds of leaseholders across Southwark whose home is connected to a council managed district heat network, where a communal boiler supplies heating and hot water to properties via a network of pipes.

Unlike most people with individual boilers in their property, residents whose homes are on district heat networks are not currently covered by regulator Ofgem’s price cap. As a result, residents on heat networks can be charged thousands more for heating than those with individual boilers.

Town hall officials have previously blamed huge bill increases for residents who are connected to district heat networks on the increased cost of gas linked to the Russia-Ukraine war. But Southwark leaseholders have raised concerns about inefficiencies with district heat networks.

Earlier this year, North Peckham estate leaseholder Max Templer revealed flagged up the fact a district heat network his property is connected to was using three times more energy than average to heat the flat.

Councillor Sarah King, Southwark’s cabinet member for council homes who is responsible for district heating, said: “The cost of fuel has risen exponentially over the past years, meaning prices are very high. As we buy in advance, the more recent reduction in price is not yet reflected in bills.

“There are outstanding repairs to some boilers which need to happen and our older properties are not as efficient as more modern ones. The council is implementing metered systems across the borough and prioritising our heat networks in need of investment to improve their efficiency.”

She added: “If anyone is struggling to pay their heating bills, please get in touch with the council so we can support you.”

Pictured top: Lucy Gould in her flat on the Brandon estate (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)