Sir Gavin Williamson is calling on the Government to review increases to service charges imposed by social housing landlords, as some are using increased charges to bypass the rent cap.
Sir Gavin met with residents in Featherstone, Staffordshire, who were concerned about the unprecedented amount they were paying to their landlords in service charges. Service charges cover costs such as cleaning, lighting and the maintenance of shared areas in social housing. Each year, most service charges increase, however, the government has stated that service charge increases should ideally not surpass 7%.
However, there are concerns that some social housing landlords have been excessively increasing service charges to bypass the rent cap, which limits any increase in rent to 7.7%. The rent cap is set in law, unlike limits on service charges, which are recommendations.
Sir Gavin said: “It is disappointing that some social housing landlords are using this loop-hole to bypass the rent cap. The rent cap was put in place to remedy the cost-of-living crisis for those who are struggling the most. Social housing is there to help people who need affordable living. Service charges are of course necessary to maintain social housing facilities, however, to increase them so blatantly is to take advantage of the system. I’m calling on the government to address this injustice.”
