Pensioners living in a sheltered housing say they fear they could become homeless after service charges on their homes shot up.
Three residents of the Dingle Grange flat block in the Dingle area of Liverpool 8 said they are angry and worried after they were told the service charges they must pay alongside their rent would rise suddenly – going up by more than double in some cases.
The block is owned and managed by social housing provider Torus, who say the main reason for the surge in costs is related to rising utility charges affecting the whole country.
But this is of little comfort to pensioners Billy Bell, Billy Sage and Eddie Cunningham, who are all now worried about how they will be able to pay the new charges.
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Mr Sage, 70, said: “The service charge has gone up to £64 a week on top of my rent. I just can’t afford it. It feels like one day there is going to be a bailiff knocking at my door because I can’t pay it or a letter. It feels like I am basically being forced out and maybe even becoming homeless or the extra costs of moving.
“I came back here, to my roots, after working abroad and all over Britain because I had done my time and I wanted to settle back here and be comfortable. I’m not asking for luxury, I just want to be able to live. But the anxiety this is causing me is terrible.
“We don’t really know what this is paying for. One of them is a management charge, but there are never any managers around. The grass is really high and we are getting charged for garden maintenance.
“All we want is a bit of shelter and security and to take the pressure off. We don’t want to be dealing with all this at our age. f I can’t pay it then I can’t pay it. It feels like I might have to leave.”
Mr Bell, 77, said: “If I have to pay this, then all my savings that I worked all my life for will be gone in a year and I would have to go back on benefits. I retired and thought right this is what I have to live on and I’ll be ok – but now this is happening and so what I have will be gone next year.”
Mr Cunningham, 67, said the rise in charges will see him unable to afford basics. He added: “It will just mean a massive cutting down on everything really. The pension is all I have coming in. We were expecting it to go up but not by this much.. I think there will be a lot of people wanting to move.”
The tenants at Dingle Grange are being supported by local councillor Steve Munby, who has urged Torus to change course.
He said: “Torus need to think again. I recognise the financial pressures they’ll be facing but to increase service charges by around 50% for pensioners on fixed incomes at this point in time is not acceptable. At the very least they should be staggering the introduction of increases. And it’s likely that fuel and food prices will come down or at least stabilise in the near future.
“As a city we need to stick together and look after each other and social housing providers have a responsibility to do that too. We need to find out what other housing associations in the city are doing and make sure they don’t simply pass on the costs to pensioners.
“In the Dingle we’ve worked with community anchors like Wheel Meet Again, the Florrie and Riverside Learning and Education Centre to help pensioners access support with fuel bills. The Citizens Advice Bureau helped us access the Household Support Fund administered by the Council. It’s a bit of a shock if while we’re doing that, housing associations are doing the opposite.”
Paul Warburton, Torus Group Housing Director said: “We have responded directly to customers affected by the increase and understand how upsetting and worrying these changes can be. We apologise that customers felt they were not kept informed, but we communicated with residents as quickly as the situation would allow.
“The main increase to the service charge is due to increasing utilities and energy costs affecting the whole country. We appreciate that some tenants are struggling now, and we have been absorbing some of the heating charges and not passing on the actual full cost to the tenants.
“The figure charged is still 20% less than the rate quoted by the energy supplier this was in anticipation that the Government Support would continue, helping to protect individual tenants from the worst impacts of the increase. As the utilities market is currently very changeable, we are planning a half-yearly review so we can adjust charges as necessary.
“At Dingle Grange, along with other schemes, following a year of consultation with residents, we have started to bring services and charges in line for all Torus customers. When Torus formed, services provided in schemes varied in different geographical areas, with residents in different areas paying full or partial costs, where others were not charged so paid nothing towards those costs.
“To make this fairer for all, we looked to standardise service charges so that everyone, no matter where they live, would be treated the same. This year we have started to introduce several new charges for communal services not charged for previously such as Grounds Maintenance, Fire Safety and Door Entry. It is being phased in over five years for existing residents and this is the first year, with residents being charged 20% of the actual cost of the services they receive.
“In response to these increases, we have offered support from our Tenant Support Scheme in place with Torus Foundation, as well as carrying out welfare benefit assessments for those struggling due to the current cost of living crisis and rising energy costs.”
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