Retired renters face 400% rise in energy bills

Keith Sturgess says he will either have to move out or use up his savings to pay his new monthly charges

Retired social housing tenants are facing a "totally unaffordable" 400% increase in the amount they pay for energy through their landlord.

Pembroke House residents in Salisbury have told the BBC they will have to use all their savings or move out.

The landlord, social housing provider Stonewater, says it will support anyone struggling to cope.

The leader of Wiltshire Council said he is "absolutely furious" and has urged the landlord to rethink the hike.

A former infirmary, Pembroke House is a block of 37 social housing flats in Fisherton Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Utility bills are tied into the monthly rate alongside rent and running costs, so residents are unable to shop around for the best energy deals.

From April 3, the amount paid in rent will rise by 11%, and the amount for energy for some tenants will rise by more than 400%.

Stonewater said residents have so far been shielded from the worst of the energy rises, and points out communal energy supplies such as theirs are not covered by the government's energy price cap.

There are 37 flats of various sizes in Pembroke House, intended to be affordable social housing

"We just really don't know what to do", said 73-year-old resident Keith Sturgess, who lives in one of the flats with his wife Lulu.

His weekly charge for energy will rise from £29 to £138, alongside his rent going up by £16.

Mr Sturgess told BBC Radio Wiltshire he does not want to move, but is considering that option over fears of "paying all my savings to Stonewater".

Like council houses, social housing is intended for people with fewer means, providing lower rents and more security than the private-rental market.

But unlike council houses, the landlords are housing associations often with large property portfolios, in this case the charity Stonewater.

Another resident, Nell, said their total monthly charges are rising from £790 to £1,300 in April.

The 67-year-old said: "This leaves me a pound short, it leaves me nothing for food nothing for anything else, nothing to live on at all".

Diane (right) says their whole family are worried about the rising bills facing her mother, Muriel

A 94-year-old Pembroke House resident, Muriel, will also see her monthly charge rising from £600 per month to £1,100.

"She can't just up sticks and move somewhere", her daughter Diane told the BBC; "It's a real worry for her and the family."

Jean Pert, 84, who recently had a major operation and is undergoing chemotherapy, said: "At the moment I'm trying to work out how I'm going to pay it."

Resident James Munro, 78, described the rising costs as "totally unaffordable" and feels he will "have to move out".

Mr Munro said he felt his only hope was to get the attention of Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State for Housing, who Mr Munro said "appears to be the only person willing to take on these housing associations."

Resident James Munro says he hopes government ministers are able to intervene, before he feels he needs to move out

Stonewater's Director of housing operations David Lockerman said: "We absolutely stand with customers over these concerns.

"We do not make a penny of profit from service or energy charges and are committed to ensuring that no customer should ever be at risk of losing their home because of energy debt.

"We will always support anyone struggling to find workable solutions."

Wiltshire Council's leader Richard Clewer said Stonewater should use its reserves to shield residents until it can negotiate a better energy package

But the leader of Wiltshire Council, Conservative Richard Clewer, is urging Stonewater to rethink its approach.

He said: "I'm absolutely furious, you can't do this to tenants like this, you cannot impose that on vulnerable retired people who have no way of addressing that debt."

Mr Clewer is calling on Stonewater to absorb the cost increases for a six-month period in the hope of renegotiating a better energy deal as market costs start to fall.