Elderly South Londoners have hit out at a council after it hiked their heating and hot water bills by 300 per cent and said they could leave if they didn’t want to pay the extra £2,000 a year.
Residents of Macintosh Court, a sheltered housing complex in Streatham, are among thousands of Lambeth Council tenants with communal heating systems hit by a giant increase in their service charge payments since April.
Many of the tenants in Macintosh Court only receive a basic pension of £156.20 per week and are struggling to find the extra cash needed to cover the huge rise.
Others living in the 45-flat complex struggled to understand notices warning them about the bill increase from the council and only became aware months later after they received letters warning they were in arrears.
Macintosh Court resident Linda Lee, 86, said she’d had to stop taking her grand kids to the cinema in an attempt to save money to cover the increased charges.
She said: “It’s such a mess. It’s such a large increase that it has put me in the red. I’ve not been in the red in years.
“It’s three times as much money. We are all hanging on by our teeth. I’ve had to cut back on all the good stuff in life to pay for this. I don’t eat out any more. I don’t take my grandchildren to the cinema.
“You call the council and you get an automated message. I can’t understand them. It’s totally disorientating. I’ve not been able to talk to anybody. I just get threatening letters saying they want more money.”
Another resident, Antonio Tsimpinos, 72, said it was frustrating that he had no control over his bill unlike people with individual boilers.
He said: “It’s outrageous. I don’t have any control over the bill. I can’t control my heating.
“They shouldn’t charge the flats the same amount of money because some people want it on 24 hours a day, but me I hardly have it on. The first bill was taken from my direct debit. I don’t like to have too much money in my current account and I went overdrawn for £40 to £50.”
Energy for communal heating systems like that in Macintosh Court is bought in advance.
Bill hikes that hit many families last year due to the rise in gas prices linked to the Ukraine invasion are only now being experienced by residents with these boilers.
Despite this, some Macintosh Court residents feel the council has failed to justify the extra cost with a clear breakdown of its calculations.
They were also unimpressed that a letter informing them of the bill increases sent in February suggested that to ‘avoid paying the revised rent’, they could ‘end [their] tenancy’.
Janet Gayle, who has lived in the complex for six years, said the Labour-led council hadn’t put in place support for vulnerable residents ahead of the bill rise.
She told a council meeting on July 12: “My elderly neighbours have language, literacy, mobility, mental health or other disabilities that prohibited them from understanding the service charge notice increase letter.
“Although Lambeth knows many of us receive basic pensions, no attempt was made to lessen the impact of this phenomenal increase.
“Rent officers didn’t reply to concerned tenants who’d contacted them in March trying to verify the information.
“Instead harsh communications left tenants shocked, scared of evictions, anxious for their financial futures and saddened by the lack of empathy that had been shown.”
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “We understand the huge strain that rising bills and the cost of living crisis have put on households with the least, and will act on Macintosh Court residents’ concerns about the way the council has interacted with them about this challenging situation.
“Last year the council’s long-term contracts meant we were able to keep costs low for residents, compared to the huge increases in prices for people with private heating.
“Unfortunately, these contracts are now over, and our suppliers prices have gone up a lot which is why bills have gone up.
“While we can’t do anything about that sadly, we have directed all the support we can to people most impacted by the cost of living crisis.
“Last year, Lambeth distributed more than £8 million in financial aid to those who need support the most.
“This year we’ve put support worth another £10 million together, with a specific portion of that set aside to support council tenants hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.”
