Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey Council's £656,600 in tenant service charge increases
Lobby Haringey Council against £656,600 in tenant service charge increases
7.00pm, Monday 25 February
Outside Haringey Civic Centre, Wood Green High Road, N22 8LE
Haringey Council delivered its tenant service under budget this year, with a surplus of £209,000.
But now the Cabinet wants to increase its 21 weekly tenant service charges by £656,600 (6.2% overall).
Tenants have been refused consultation on the increases, which were also excluded from the Council’s Budget docuuments during the Budget Consultation period.
The increases are due on 1st April – they must think we are April fools.
The big hits include Concierge +7.4%, Grounds maintenance +8.5%, Good neighbour cleaning service +28.0%, and Converted properties cleaning +89.2%.
These increases will drive up the Net Rent (i.e. Rent plus service charges) for thousands of tenants. The real damage will be done in the longer term, when service charges will be added to future rent increases, affecting those in low paid and insecure work, and lower-income families with children.
Haringey’s Cabinet now includes an Executive Member for Insourcing.
However, it is the outsourcing companies which will benefit the most.
Veolia’s income directly from Haringey Council tenants will go up by £633,000 (+40%) in just the two years 2017-19.
With much more to come from leaseholders.
It’s great news as well for SCCI Amtrack and Openview Security, who do the TV aerial work (+72.2%) and door entry work (+41.2%).
This is Robin Hood in reverse.
Please support our deputation to the Full Council on Monday.
More at www.haringeydefendcouncilhousingblog.wordpress.com
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by kotkas on
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At c. 20k council properties that’s an average monthly increase of c. £2.5 per household. Hardly a headline...
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Permalink Reply by Paul Burnham on
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There are 15,034 Haringey council rented properties; and 4,800 of them are houses, whose tenants rarely have to pay service charges. Remember that we have 3,400 pre-1945 houses, e.g. at Tower Gardens and Noel Park.
The service charges are disproportionately paid by residents on estates, in sheltered and supported housing, and especially on high rise estates. The impact will be in the longer term when council rents start going up from next year, under current government policy.
A high service charging strategy permits managers to book-on work that is paid for 100% by resident service charges. There is a built-in risk of inefficiency here. So the refusal to consult is a big problem. And much of the costs are eventually paid through general taxation via Housing Benefit.
The outsourcing companies are the ones who benefit the most. Some of the biggest increases this year are for outsourced services: Street Sweeping (Waste Management), TV Aerials, and Door Entry Systems Maintenance.
We have some Freedom of Information requests lodged with Haringey Council to find out how leasehold service charges fit into this picture. Haringey Council has just under 5,000 leaseholders, and most of them pay for estate services too.
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