Shocked at the service charge on a council flat in RBKC!

[Hellopello3]

I've just seen this on Facebook and I don't know how people manage to pay this if they are in social housing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/391520164531031/permalink/2091465004536530/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

Over 50 quid a week for heating!

Where's getting heated for 50 a week? The communal area?! That's awful having actual bills on top, but bloody hell the cost of private renting there!.

It's extortionate but I'm not sure why you think just because people are in social housing they'd struggle more to pay it?

They're not all on benefits or low wages.

Mine is £200pm and that doesn't include heating, hot water, security, outside lights... anything

It does include
Gardeners who make a complete hash job and turn up too often so my grass is destroyed (I can ask them not to do it but still have to pay)
Once a month window cleaning
"Maintenance" - the hallway has been painted once in 17 years
Cleaning communal area (it's 4 apartments...) once a week
Buildings insurance

It's an absolute scam and I know the government are looking at changing stuff, currently they can charge basically what they like and if you complain they threaten your home even though you own it

I’m more shocked at the rent being UNDER £300 while you’d be paying £1400 for the cheapest studio in that area on the open market.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142919330#/?channel=RES_LET

I know private rents there are a rip off, but they have been steadily rising for years. A lot of the private properties are ex council.

RBKC has one of the poorest wards in London its called Golborne Ward and that's where Trellik tower is based.

You have to be in desperate need for the council to even consider putting you on their housing list. So I'm shocked that you would be forced to pay £55 a week non negotiable heating charge, all year round even in the summer.

According to the letter someone received there, you cannot use housing benefit to pay for it even though its part of your rental agreement.

@vintedSeller123 that “under 300” rent is per week, not per month! And you have to live in a tower block.

Its under £300 a week not a month.
You have to come up with that heating money every week aswell.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-s-widening-poverty-gap-should-be-causing-outrage-at-the-start-of-the-election-campaign-10016052.html

About Golborne Ward

My rent is £400 a month my service charge is £11 a month.

The tenants in this flat are paying that amount in a week and a half.

Its over £14,000 in rent and service charge a year. To live in the poorest ward in London.

It’s the Trellick Tower!

I don’t think that high earners stand much chance of getting council accommodation.

It will be for a communal heat system. The cost of these has shot up in recent yesrs as the contracts for the fuel to run them are commercial so not subject to the energy price cap.

Trellick Tower is also not really typical of social housing , for a start it's grade 2 listed.

All rents are silly in London. Are council tenants paying this or is it private renters? I know that Trellick is somewhat an iconic building which will make it desirable for some but I find it a bit of a strange area with almost no green space. The building is just so imposing. Who knows why the heating is so high. Is there one huge shared boiler that needs constant maintenance?

Yes. See my post above. It will be the fuel costs.

I would find these communal charges stressful in that I would have no control over efficiency. My dad lives in an old block with communal heating and has found it impossible to turn the heat off or down to a level he wants it at. He often has all the windows open while the heat pumps out.

I suppose it would wouldn’t be possible to install individual boilers in a large block and is more efficient overall. So about £220 pm for the Kingston example for heat and hot water. Not that terrible.

£55 a week is too high for communal heating all year around. I think I would start growing tropical plants if I was forced to pay that amount every week.

Yes, Trellik is iconic. But it's still a council block.

It's been a huge issue for people with communal heat systems since the energy crisis.

I suspect everything at Trellick Tower is expensive. I would not live there.

But RBKC is one of my least favourite areas of London. I am happy in my much less desirable but more affordable and greener South London borough

They aren't necessarily paying the charges. Some residents may be getting UC. Other residents may have very high incomes and be paying that charge but saving a fortune in comparison to private renting in London. I know people in social housing in zone 1 with a combined household income of around 80k. Some residents may be subletting to people willing to pay to be in that area.

We couldn’t turn our communal heating off either (also London). It was included in rent, but those who owned flats in building paid around £6000 a year in service charge to include renovations like roof and heating. We often had windows open in April as they hadn’t turned it off yet. This was 2008-2016 approx, and it was £1450 a month for a 1 bed (non council)

More modern systems have temperature controls in each flat.

But I would not want to live with one.

There's someone on there who posted the letter they got and it says that UC or HB won't cover the heating cost.

So if you're working part time and recieve reduced HB then aswell as paying the top-up rent you have to pay the £55 a week aswell.

The life expectancy in that part of the Borough is almost 20 years lower than the richer side 20 min down the road.

Also some people have no choice where they are housed. It says on the council listing that if you are in temporary accommodation and the council offer you a property, refusal of the proper will mean the council will discharge their duty to house you.

So, some people are forced to accept these high rates.

I would also like to say that a lot of people who live in Trellik have been there for over 35 years, before the area was gentrified beyond recognition.

We also should remember that this is the same Borough where Grenfell happened. Its not very far from Trellik Tower aswell. So you came imagine how the people in the Borough feel about the council.

It will be for their own flats heating & hot water too, not just communal.

You can't get UC to pay for your gas bill which is why UC won't pay for your communal heating charge either as it's the same bill, just included with your rent.

Communal heating schemes aren't capped like your energy bill is at home as they are commercial ventures. However, even with these the prices are starting to come down so hopefully the bill won't be as large next year.