Property Service Charge Abuse Petition Gains Momentum

The Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) has secured over 10,000 signatures as at 16/04/24 to require a parliamentary debate on excessive service charges levied on tenants of social housing in both the local authority and private sector.

To get a petition debated in the House of Commons requires a minimum 10,000 signatures and this has now been achieved.

What is SHAC seeking?

The government to establish a new regulatory body that is empowered to monitor and regulate private, council, and housing association service charges, and impose meaningful penalties for unfair or unreasonable service charges.

SHAC argues that for some, tenants are left wide open to service charges that increase over and above inflation regularly with many of the services charged for not being provided.  It is calling for a new regulator to oversee the sector to protect tenants and for their to be a dispute resolution service in place as well as a facility to fine, order refunds and compensation payments to be paid by any property manager not complying with any new ‘regulations’.

Comment

We agree with the principle of regulating the sector to protect tenants from extornionate service fees but equaly there should be protection for the property manager/owner if tenants are not paying any ‘reasonable’ service charges.  Regulator’s should also be given power to authorise eviction which would reduce pressure on our already ‘clogged up’ court system.

It could even be that regulatory powers are extended to cover the public and private rental sector as a whole as well as ground rent and leasehold charges/disputes/valuations againts freeholders and builders for leasehold properties.

You can view/sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/659647