Tenants fearing eviction after energy bills triple

Residents of Macintosh Court have no control over their energy bills

Elderly sheltered housing tenants in south London say they have been left "scared" and "anxious" after their energy bills tripled.

Residents of Macintosh Court, in Streatham, were told by their landlord, Lambeth Council, that if they did not want to meet the £2,000-a-year rise, they could move out.

They are among thousands of Lambeth Council tenants with communal heating systems hit by big increases in their service charge payments since April.

Lambeth Council said the rise reflected an increase in the price it paid for the energy.

'It’s outrageous'

Many of the tenants live on a state pension and say they are struggling to find the extra money, according to the Local Deomcracy Reporting Service.

Residents each received a letter in February informing them of the rise from April, but some tenants have said they did not understand it.

Macintosh Court has a communal heating system managed by the council.

Resident Linda Lee, 86, described the situation as a "mess".

“It’s such a large increase that it has put me in the red. I’ve not been in the red in years. 

“We are all hanging on by our teeth. I’ve had to cut back on all the good stuff in life to pay for this."

She said she had tried to contact Lambeth Council but had only been able to get through to an automated message.

"It’s totally disorientating, Ms Lee said. "I’ve not been able to talk to anybody. I just get threatening letters saying they want more money.”

Unlike households with individual boilers, the tenants cannot control the heating system. This means they are each billed the same amount, regardless of how much they use the heating and hot water.

Resident, Antonio Tsimpinos, 72, said: "It’s outrageous. I don’t have any control over the bill.

“They shouldn’t charge the flats the same amount of money because some people want it on 24-hours-a-day, but me, I hardly have it on."

He questioned why the bills had gone up by as much as 300%, considerably more than the rise experienced by private domestic customers.

He added he had been left overdrawn when the bills rose.

Macintosh Court, a Grade II-listed building, contains 45 sheltered housing flats

Lambeth Council said the energy was bought in advance under a deal negotiated before the cost of energy rose significantly in April last year.

A spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, these contracts are now over, and our suppliers prices have gone up a lot which is why bills have gone up.

However, some Macintosh Court residents believe Lambeth Council has not provided them with a clear breakdown of its calculations.

'We understand the strain'

Lambeth Council is also accused of not doing enough to support vulnerable residents before the bill rise.

Janet Gayle, who has lived in the complex for six years, told a recent council meeting:

“Although Lambeth knows many of us receive basic pensions, no attempt was made to lessen the impact of this phenomenal increase.

“Rent officers didn’t reply to concerned tenants who’d contacted them in March trying to verify the information.

"Instead, harsh communications left tenants shocked, scared of evictions, anxious for their financial futures and saddened by the lack of empathy that had been shown.”

The Lambeth Council spokesperson added: “We understand the huge strain that rising bills and the cost-of-living crisis have put on households with the least, and will act on Macintosh Court residents’ concerns about the way the council has interacted with them about this challenging situation.

“This year we’ve put support worth another £10m together, with a specific portion of that set aside to support council tenants hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.”