The following letter was sent to the Chief Executive Officer and Group Director of Housing on 7 March 2016
Dear
I am writing on behalf of the tenants of Kennington Park Estate as Chair of its Tenants’ & Residents’ Association.
KPETRA have a number of questions and concerns about the way in which the Hyde Group has notified tenants about the 2016-17 rent levels.
We believe the letters tenants have received to be misleading and confusing. We have received numerous queries from residents to which we have been unable to respond and to which we require answers.
- Why has Hyde separated notification of rent changes from changes to service charges?
- Is this because the service charge estimates for 2016-17 are not yet ready?
- If this is not the reason, what is?
- Is it because Hyde wants to give the impression that tenants will pay LESS in total from 4 April (we note your website considers this enforced reduction ‘good news’), when the service charge 2014-15 actuals statements we recently (belatedly) received have already advised us to expect to pay MORE for last year’s charges because of Hyde’s failure to estimate them accurately and that this deficit (overspend) will be added to bills from 4 April.
- What consultation took place with residents about this change?
- The Residents Handbook (p12) states: “We send residents details of the budget, broken down into clear headings. We do this each February for charges that will start from the following April. We will ask for your views on the budget and consider any comments before we agree the budget. The letter sent with the budget will show how much you will pay and when you must pay it.” Why have residents not been informed that you are not complying with this? When will you comply with this?
- What guarantees can you give that the service charge estimates will be provided in sufficient time for those tenants who choose to pay by Standing Order to notify their bank prior to the due date of 4 April of the total new amount they will be required to pay in 2016-17?
- Why has it not been made clear that those who pay by Direct Debit will be charged in May for any difference between the current and new amount due in April as well as the new amount?
- Previous years’ notifications have advised tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit to give their local authority a copy of their letter and then goes on to explain how to contact Hyde’s Benefit Support Officers if they need help. None of that information is provided this year, just a blunt “it is your responsibility to ensure that your local authority is informed…..”. Is Hyde no longer providing appropriate information and assistance to its residents in receipt of benefits?
- In previous years, tenants have received a legal notice in addition to Hyde’s letter about rents/service charges in line with the requirements of Section 13(2) of the Housing Act 1988. We note that previous years’ notices have referred to new rents, not just increases, so why have we not received this legal notice? Have you received legal advice that tenants no longer have to be advised of their rights?
- Do you consider it adequate to provide essential information about the new rent levels on your website rather than providing it to residents in individual letters, given that at least a third of social housing tenants do not have access to the internet and that English is not a first language for many on estates such as KPE?
- Do you consider it adequate to advise tenants to visit your website if they have questions when neither the information they may be seeking nor a link to its page can be found on your Home Page?
I note your letter states that email queries will receive a response within 48 hours and I look forward to receiving a speedy response.
Yours sincerely
Chair, Kennington Park Estate Tenants’ & Residents’ Association
The following response was received from the Head of Income on 9 March 2016:
I am sorry that you and members of KPETRA are unhappy with the recent rent notification letters; I will answer your points in turn, which will also clarify the decision to separately send out rent and service charge notifications this year.
Points 1-3
The rent and service charge notifications were split this year to improve accuracy. Rents require a legal notice period for any change, a calendar month or 4 weeks depending on which tenancy agreement/lease you hold. Annual service charge changes do not require the same legal notification period.
I have been advised that members of KPETRA are aware the Home Ownership Team are carrying out more detailed analysis of the service charge budgets and this timeline would have impacted on the legal notice period for rent changes. The planning for the service charge letters is that will be sent by the end of March. The service charge notification letter will include the new rent charge too.
Point 4
No, this is not to give an impression that tenants will pay less in total from 4 April 2016. The service charge notification letter will show both the new rent and total service charges chargeable from April 2016.
Point 5
The rent notification letters were reviewed and signed off by residents, which we do each year. This was led by the Resident Engagement team. Concerns were raised that service charges were not going to be included as part of the rent notification letter. The rationale for the approach was fed back to the residents involved in reviewing the letter, as detailed in point 6 below.
Point 6
We are working to improve the accuracy of our service charges, this you will be aware of. This work has meant that we are carrying out a very thorough review of the service charge budget setting process. As stated in points 1-3 response; we have split out the rent and service charge notification letters. There is no legal requirement to serve service charge budgets ahead of the financial year. Service charge notification letters will be with all residents by the end of March.
Point 7
The service charge notification letters will be sent out the week commencing 28th March 2016. This will provide residents with sufficient time to amend Standing Orders.
Point 8
Thank you for your feedback; we will use this to improve next year’s Rent notification letters.
Point 9
Hyde will be advising all Local Authorities (LAs) on new Rent Charges, so that Housing Benefit can be assessed correctly. Previous years’ letters have asked residents to take copies in to their LAs however a number of local authorities have requested we remove this sentence. It is important for Hyde to still inform residents of their responsibility to manage their Housing Benefit Entitlement.
Point 10
For all Social Rented properties, rent this year has reduced by 1%. The service of a Section 13(2) of the Housing Act 1988 is not required when there is a reduction.
Point 11
Essential information about Rent changes is provided in the notification letter. A number of our residents do have access to the internet and therefore we provide further information on our internet pages. Hyde can provide this information by post to anyone who contacts us that is unable to access the internet.
Point 12
Hyde appreciates that the information on the website is not immediately visible. The Hyde Group is about to implement an updated website that is planned to go live next week. Therefore, changes to the current site have been limited. Your comments are noted and we will use it to ensure that the information is more readily visible on the updated website.
Again, I am sorry for any confusion the recent rent notification letters may have caused and we will use your feedback to improve this process for next year. I hope that the above helps to provide the clarity you need.
If you require any further assistance on this matter, please do not hesitate to let me know.
For more correspondence click here.