ServiceChargeInsights

Uncovering data around leaseholder service charges in Lambeth.
By empowering people with data we hope to expose issues of overcharging or poor service delivery.

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

@lambeth_council @dannyadilypour Wasting £527.65 on pointless letters might go some way to explaining why my service charge this year is over £8000 per year (of which over £1100 is a "Management Fee").
None of this is reasonable.

#LambethHighStandards

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

@lambeth_council @dannyadilypour
I've just received a generic letter from you, addressed "Dear Resident", telling everyone in the block to use the bins properly.
Why did you send this "Signed For 1st Class"?
£3.05 per letter. 173 flats in the block. What a waste of money!

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

Are children running Lambeth council?
Why is there no standard HR procedure to deactivate cards as soon as an employee leaves?
Seeing behaviour like this and a lack of oversight, it's no wonder people believe there is corruption throughout the council.
#LambethHighStandards

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

@lambeth_council @clairekholland @dannyadilypour
For over a year your council has prevented this poor woman from using the bathroom in her own home.
The contempt you show for your residents and their right to a basic quality of life is beyond belief.

Do better!

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

Surely any competent authority would have an escalation process.
- Weekly metrics on repairs that are not complete within a week.
- Immediate escalation once targets are broken.
- Direct phone call from senior officer to head of contracting company to ensure the issue is fixed

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

@lambeth_council @clairekholland @dannyadilypour
How can you preside over such awful treatment of your residents?: https://t.co/Ilx15KG23v
A week without electricity would be bad, but 3 months is just unbelievable.

Do you not track any metrics about repairs at all?

[SHAC @SHAC_Action]

The housing assoc sector strengthened it's grip on govt with the election of several new MPs who were previously executives for the likes of @Clarion_Group, @SouthernHsg_UK, and @sovereignha.

https://t.co/qintNQtsBP

They will resist us, but we cannot let up the fight for housing justice. We just have to shout louder!

#GoldenWeb#

[Lambeth Council @lambeth_council]

Lambeth Council statement:

“Bayo Dosunmu has stepped down as Chief Executive of Lambeth Council with effect from Monday 15 July, 2024.

“Fiona Connolly is currently Acting Chief Executive and the Council will shortly begin the process to recruit a permanent Chief Executive.”

[Lambeth Homeowners Association (LHA) @LmbthHomeowners]

In case you missed it - the BBC London news report on poor work by Lambeth Housing, and the NDAs they make people sign before they give money back https://t.co/JY2OvDkbmQ

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

This excellent report really exposes the depths of how Lambeth uses NDAs to gag its residents, the scale of problems with their handling of major works, and hopefully some inspiration that leaseholders can fight back.
https://t.co/Nftga71gJc

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

This excellent report really exposes the depths of how Lambeth uses NDAs to gag its residents, the scale of problems with their handling of major works, and hopefully some inspiration that leaseholders can fight back.
https://t.co/Nftga71gJc

[SHAC @SHAC_Action]

SHAC activists and others fighting to #EndServiceChargeAbuse have forced @SouthernHsg_UK - one of the biggest associations in Britain - to reform its service charging systems. Others will no doubt follow.

https://t.co/1mgtNZTPxc

An important development not just for tenants and residents of Southern and L&Q (also featured), but right across the housing movement. We can't let up the pressure though.

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

Look @lambeth_council @dannyadilypour , it is possible for a landlord to fix their broken service charge processes.
I hope one day you too will do the right thing.
We're all ready to work with you to show you what needs fixing.
https://t.co/SbdS8BJ6X6

[Alasdair Ross @londonskeptic]

Excellent work by @SHAC_Action helping raise awareness and get @SouthernHsg_UK to reevaluate their service charges and processes.
If only all landlords showed this humility to admit mistakes and willingness to improve matters:
https://t.co/IuSt7xa6lT

[KC | Leasehold Property Advisor 🏡 @leasedbykc]

We were shocked to have come across the story that we have shared below🫨

Here is our insight and thoughts.

We are working closely on a similar case at the moment and this will help other leaseholders in similar situations 🤯

For the full article:https://t.co/50EgR6SGak

[Robert Firth @robjfirth]

@busbf11 @londonskeptic @Tarahwelsh 10 months ago but BBC’s piece does include new reporting. Happy it’s being covered more widely as feel like slightly got lost at the time!
https://t.co/6y4rPOH2e6

[ServiceChargeInsights @SChargeInsights]

@LibettaLinda @PeoplesAudit @Tarahwelsh In Lambeth at least, tenants are charged completely differently to leaseholders in the same blocks. There is no obvious link between the charges applied to a block and what tenants pay.
I expect if more knew how charging errors impacted their monthly bill, there would be uproar.

[ServiceChargeInsights @SChargeInsights]

@LibettaLinda @PeoplesAudit @Tarahwelsh You're quite right. I suspect it's because leaseholders have more options for challenging the charges.
I sense that tenants are more cautious of repercussions from their landlord if they complain.
I'd love to see tenants use the data at https://t.co/teVTt6tdsW too.

[ServiceChargeInsights @SChargeInsights]

Excellent reporting by @tarahwelsh into the issues residents face from extreme major works and service charges.
https://t.co/EHvd2Mprmi

Don't forget, you can compare your charges to those across the borough and identify billing errorsat:
https://t.co/lzNIjyCDLZ

[Zach Mendelsohn @mzach8]

Guess who? Lambeth Labour Council refunded £1.5m to 'gagged' leaseholders https://t.co/d0xnUb4UgG #roguelandlord #shambeth #scambeth #labourfailure #labour