foster carer prog - Council meetings - Lewisham Council

Findings
44. Following our two evidence sessions we asked Lewisham Homes
and Regenter B3 if any consideration was being given to letting
leaseholders pay their service charge over 12 months by direct debit?
Lewisham Homes informed us that, at present, the way in which the
service charge accounts were managed meant that they were not able
to offer direct debit. However, a new service charge module was to be
implemented later in the year which would allow direct debt to be
offered and they would consider offering payment over 12 months at
that stage. Regenter commented that it had to follow the Council’s
policy and procedures which only allowed Leaseholders to pay over ten
months. However, if the Council amended its policy, they would amend
the repayment terms in line with any change in policy.
45. What opportunities do leaseholders have to challenge the cost
of repairs? Do they have the opportunity to check and verify that
costs are accurate and reasonable?
Lewisham Homes
Should a leaseholder wish to
challenge the cost of repairs included
in their statement of actual cost, they
have 6 months (from the receipt of
the statement) before they are asked
to pay any additional sums.
If a query or challenge is made they
are provided with a breakdown of the
repairs included in the actual
statement. This is not provided as
standard with the statements due to
the volumes involved and the
administration and the increased
costs to leaseholders.
Leaseholder service charges also
undergo an annual sample audit
inspection to validate the
methodology and accuracy of the
charges applied. This is carried out by
the Council’s internal audit service
(this service has been externalised by
the Council).
Regenter B3
Leaseholders wishing to
challenge the cost of repairs
are provided with a
breakdown of cost for the
item they are querying. They
have 6 months from receipt
of the bill in which to do so.
All actual service charge
accounts are audited and
signed off using the council’s
audit service.
RSL
L&Q: A full breakdown of
costs is provided.
Hyde:
Leaseholders are able to:
Check details of what they
have been charged in their
statement;
Go to Hyde’s offices and view
the service charges file and
see actual invoices; and
Ask for further information on
costs where invoices are not
very detailed.
Hyde also arranges to meet
with leaseholders on
particular schemes to go
through costs in details.
Explanatory leaflets are sent
out with every budget
statement.
Hyde explains that
leaseholders have the right to
go to the Leasehold Valuation
Tribunal if they are not happy.
28 The Council’s obligations to leaseholders