LAMBETH TENANTS HEAT CAMPAIGN

LAMBETH Tenants FACE EVICTION WHEN THEY CAN’T PAY THEIR HEATING AND HOT WATER BILLS

Tenants in buildings with communal heating systems currently pay some of the highest energy costs in the country & cannot switch tariffs or lower their heating costs through usage. These rates can be as high as 50p/kWh – which is double regulator Ofgem’s average price of 24.5p/kWh.
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Heating and hot water service charges in Lambeth went up, without notice, for some tenants by a staggering:

%

Campaign for fair treatment of Lambeth Council Tenants

LAMBETH TENANTS SUFFERING 350% PLUS INCREASES ON COMMUNAL HEATING AND HOT WATER SERVICE CHARGES AND EVICTION LETTERS!
Some tenants have been told by Lambeth that the evictions won’t be pursued. But as the council refuses to confirm or deny this statement in writing, and to our knowledge have recently taken one resident to court (unsuccessfully), residents have been left in an awful state. The written threats of eviction to tenants, already suffering from the cost of living crisis, further destroys their mental health and drives them further into spiralling debts.
​Something must be done. Lambeth Tenants Heat Campaign - LTHC
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ADVICE TO TENANTS in ARrears

If you have problems paying your rent and or service charges we advise tenants to prioritise their rent payment portion of your weekly or monthly bills to Lambeth.

Other notable advice we can offer is:
  • Notify Lambeth as soon as you experience any trouble paying for your rent and or service charges,
  • Do not pay for your rent or service charges using credit cards or loans, especially NOT pay-day loan agencies,
  • Enter into a repayment plan with Lambeth and it is worth noting that they must allow you to enter into a plan / agreement that leaves you with enough money to be able to purchase food.
  • And your payments plan should not affect or require you to use or lose your other benefits such as diability payments to help fund the repayment plan.

We would recommend that you approach Citizens Advice for further information, additional help and advice.

Watch the BBC Morning Live report from 24th January 2024.

LIsten on SOund CLoud

Lambeth Tenants on BBC Radio London (17th January 2024)
A distressed Lambeth Council tenants and Fuel Poverty Action discuss heating and hot water charges and the possibility of being evicted from their homes.
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OUR DEMANDS

Lambeth Tenants Heat Campaign's demands are quite simple and aim to protect low income faimlies, the vulnerable, disabled and the elderly. Something that Labour's Lambeth Council have promised but failed to do.
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STOP THE THREATS OF EVICTIONS

​Lambeth Council has been quietly harassing its most vulnerable residents by sending out notices of seeking possession based on tenants inability to keep up with 353% increase in heating & hot water bill. Some tenants have been told that the evictions won’t be pursued. But as the council refuses to confirm or deny this statement in writing, residents have been left in limbo. We cannot count on unsubstantiated words and even just the threat of eviction destroys our mental health. And presses tenants to pay what they can’t afford by cutting down on other daily essentials or going into expensive debt with credit cards and loan agencies.


Several tenants have now had a red letter notice saying “case in court for possession…”


LAMBETH COURT CASE UPDATE ​

We know of one Lambeth tenant who has now been taken to court over service charge payments falsely dubbed as rent arrears. You can see the courst cases outcome here in this 
​LATEST NEWS POST

STOP SAYING RENT ARREARS

​Inability to pay heating bills should not be deemed as rent arrears. Renters not on heat networks don’t have their heating and hot water as part of their rent. When their energy costs increase, they aren’t threatened with eviction due to their gas or electric company charging more. Why should those on heat networks face eviction? Rent increases are capped, so if heat charges are part of rent how can they shoot up over 350%? And how can heat charges be counted as rent when we can’t receive Housing Benefit for them?


If you are insisting heating and hot water charges are a part of tenants rent then these should be covered by increases in Housing Benefit.

​STOP SETTING HEAT PRICES AS IF LAMBETH WEREN’T GOING TO GET A DISCOUNT ON THE GAS PURCHASED

Like households with private boilers, heat suppliers are also entitled to government help to deal with the huge increase in gas prices. We understand Lambeth has applied for this discount but hasn’t yet received it. Yet tenants are charged as if the discount doesn’t exist. And then tenants are being threatened with eviction if we can’t pay them!

The government launched the Energy Bill Discount Scheme on 1 April 2023. The previous scheme ended on 31 March 2023 - this was called the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.


If the heat network supplier gets a discount they must contact tenants to tell us how they will pass the discount on. They should have been in touch within 30 days of receiving the discount.


Why were tenants not contacted?

​STOP FLEECING TENANTS FOR YOUR MISTAKES

​In the financial year (FY) 2022/23 Lambeth underpaid for communal heating – that is Lambeth officers’ administrative error. In the FY 2023/24, Lambeth TRIPLED bills to cover Lambeth’s mistakes! They decided to recover their losses in ONE YEAR at a time when gas prices are at an all time high! This included low income housholds, vulnerable people, the disabled and the elderly.

Recover costs over 10 years not one year, or not at all

Lambeth Council and their representatives should engage with tenant representatives and discuss how best to recover 22/23 underpayment due to their error and ease the burden on tenants.

ENERGY FOR ALL

We are all entitled to energy for heating, washing, lighting, cooking, connectivity, and medical needs. Let's get the money back from the fossil fuel giants who are profiting from our unpayable bills!

Reimburse tenants for the costs they have unfairly incurred and compensate for the stress and anxiety heaped onto them

Some tenants have been forced into debt and others have gone without food and faced other hardships. There should be compensation for the anguish caused to tenants by this nightmare.
  • Immediate repairs and optimisation of inefficient heating systems
    There is government money available for this.  Tenants are not responsible for dysfunctional and dilapidated infrastructure which often breaks down, and should not be picking up the tab for it.
  • Metering will not fix our heat network problems
    Some estates are set to have meters installed instead of a flat rate charge for all residents. This is not the priority for addressing heat network issues. It could enable us to save a little money if we “choose” to freeze instead of heating our homes, but not much – a large part of the bill will be a standing charge that you can’t avoid even if you go without heat and hot water entirely. 
  • Immediate repairs and refurbishment to draughty, poorly insulated and sometimes damp homes that cost a fortune to heat and can never be kept warm.
  • Expansion of the use of solar panels, wind and other renewable options for reducing the use of expensive fossil-fuelled energy. 
  • Transparent billing information
Our landlord fails to provide us, its tenants, with a complete breakdown of costs. We need to know what we are paying for and why. To that end, external oversight of Lambeth’s heat charges must be sought to ensure calculations are correct and transparent.
  • The council must compensate tenants when communal heating and hot water services to a block break down – the rebate should duly be added to resident accounts after interruption to supply is noted. Tennants should not have to scurry and hassle to obtain our just compensation.
  • The council must also keep accurate records regarding the function of heating and hot water supplies. We ask that a transparent and straightforward protocol be adopted to compensate residents when communal heating and hot water services break down
  • The heating systems must urgently be made fit for purpose so this does not happen again and again. It is adding further insult to injury when hot water and heating is not available and the council continues to charge exorbitantly without providing an actual service. There are several words we can use for charging for a service without delivering it, including ‘theft’.
  • The council must notify tenants of changes to their service. As per the regualtions the council is obliged to inform residents of changes to their service charges in advance and changes to their energy provider.
  • Under the Landlords and Tenancy Act 1985 - Carry out the Section 20 consultation process with leaseholders as per the law, when issuing new energy contracts or significant changes to services.

ABOUt Lambeth Tenants Heat Campaign

The Lambeth Tenants Heat Campaign is a group formed by tenants and residents of several housing estates in the London borough of Lambeth. The tenants have come together to protest and campaign against the massive 350% increase in service charges, specifically in heating charges imposed by Lambeth Council. Which is exacerbated further for those living with and on inefficient and unmetered communal heating networks.

​Providing a strong representative voice for social housing tenants in London

Seeking to develop the capacity and skills of social housing tenants and residents to facilitate and promote their participation in decision-making about their homes and communities.

SOME BACKGROUND ON HEAT NETWORKS​

​For more about Heat Networks see more about heatworks on HeatTrust.org. For detailed reports about a previous issue over heat networks in Lambeth, see a report into Myatts Gield on Fuel Poverty Action.

Heat networks – often loosely referred to as “district heating” – are like central heating for a whole block of flats, a whole estate and sometimes a whole area. Heat is produced centrally and distributed as hot water, through pipes. 
Heat networks are promoted by the government as “green” because they can be converted to use heat pumps instead of expensive gas. They can work well. But when they work badly they cost the earth, using even more gas than individual boilers. 
Residents are trapped in a monopoly without legal protections or rights and are suffering a huge injustice compared to people with other kinds of heating provision. 
  • Tenants cannot switch to another heating system or another supplier and cannot even cut down their costs by not using heat or hot water. 
  • Except for metering and billing there are no regulations governing this industry. Though legislation is now pending it is likely to take years to come into force. 
  • There are no price caps for tenants. The government’s energy support plan in 2022 covered almost all households except those on communal heating (heat networks), which they deemed to be commercial businesses. In 2023 the government accepted we should also benefit from government discounts like other households. But the discounts have to be applied for and they go to the heat provider. Experience in Lambeth shows that the end user (tenant) may get no help when it is needed.  
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Fuel For Thought, from fuel poverty to climate justicE

Fuel Poverty Action

Fuel Poverty Action campaigns to protect people from fuel poverty. We challenge rip-off energy companies and unfair policies that leave people to endure cold homes. We take action for warm, well-insulated homes and clean and affordable energy, under the control of people and communities, not private companies.
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