The Government confirmed it is working with local authorities and lenders to make it easier for their council leaseholders to pay their share of the cost of bringing their homes up to modern standards.
Currently, there are several ways in which leaseholders can be helped to pay bills for major works to their blocks, such as through loans, extended and deferred payment schemes, and equity release. Where works are funded by specified government grants, bills are capped to no more than £10,000 in any five years, and local authorities have discretion to reduce bills to this level if they consider this is justified.
Housing Minister Baroness Andrews said the Government was working with councils and lenders to ensure that leaseholders are aware of the help to meet the costs of major works bills. She said:
"Although the vast majority of leaseholders are able to manage their bills for repairs and refurbishment, which in turn can increase the value of their home, we know in that in a minority of cases families are facing particularly high bills which they can find hard to meet. That is why the Government is working with local councils to provide a wider range of support, including developing options for equity release and equity loans, which will help leaseholders with particular problems."
Baroness Andrews added that the Government was also funding the development of an advice and dispute resolution and mediation service, and intended to legislate to improve the flexibility of loans and make it easier for leaseholders to raise cash by selling shares in their homes back to their landlords.
Social tenants who buy flats from local authorities and people who buy flats formerly owned by local authorities on the open market (council leaseholders), are responsible under their leases for contributing towards the cost of repairing, maintaining and improving the properties in which those flats are situated.
Works of repair, maintenance and improvement now being undertaken by local authorities and by their ALMOs are generating substantial major works bills - some recent ones for as much as £58,000. A recent survey by London Councils showed that of 143,000 council leaseholders in 26 London Boroughs, just over 9,000 (6.3%) were facing major works bills of £10,000 or more.
According to a new Housing Corporation publication, clear and transparent charge setting should be part of a housing association's financial strategy.
Launched by the Housing Corporation at the CIH South East Conference, Service Charges: Value for Money? is a guide that for the first time explores customer expectation and service provision. As well as providing a summary of the ways landlords set and manage service charges, the guide:
