Bradford Council agrees to repay overcharged tenants

Bradford Council overcharged 259 social housing tenants on rent

Bradford Council has agreed to repay several social housing tenants after they were overcharged on rent.

A review of the council's housing revenue account identified that some rents and service charges had been calculated incorrectly.

The mistake meant that 259 tenants had been overcharged by a total of £344,000.

The council apologised for the error and said it was "working hard" to contact those affected to refund them.

The error, which had affected tenants since April 2020, has since been rectified, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

One issue identified by the report was that, in some cases, service charges had been added on top of affordable rents, instead of being included in them.

The report also found that some properties had not been revalued before new tenants moved in, which meant that rent was calculated incorrectly.

'Immediate and robust action'

A process has been put in place to identify the tenants and former tenants who had been overcharged, which the council hoped would be done by the end of March.

However, the report warned of delays concerning tenants who had moved out of its properties.

"The process of tracing former tenants may in some cases be lengthy, as it is not always immediately possible to ascertain current whereabouts," it said.

"In the case of deceased former tenants, refunds to the deceased's estate or beneficiary will be arranged."

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Planning, Transport and Regeneration, apologised to those affected.

He said: "As soon as the council became aware of this issue, council officers took professional advice, referred the council to the Regulator of Social Housing and undertook immediate and robust action to remedy the situation.

"We sincerely apologise to any tenants who were incorrectly charged, and the council is working hard to contact everyone affected to refund them."

Details of the overcharging would be given at a meeting of Bradford Council's Executive next Tuesday.