I am pleased to say that the planned weekly service charge increase at Roxburgh House has been reduced by nearly half.
Earlier this month, residents received a letter from Hyde Housing, who manage the property, stating that their weekly service charge was rising to as high as £49.95.
I met with residents on Saturday who were deeply concerned by a large increase in the amount they pay each week for service charges. Following a further meeting I arranged on Wednesday, Hyde Housing have suggested lowering the proposed weekly fees from as high as £49.95 to between £22 and £26.
Hyde Housing have also committed to a number of works on the property, including repairing a security door, exterior signage and a new washing machine and two tumble driers. They also reassured residents that they were liaising with Fareham Borough Council to ensure that the increase in service charges will continue to be paid by Fareham Bough Council for residents in receipt of housing benefit.
I am pleased that Hyde Housing have not gone ahead with the planned rise. The fact that the weekly service charge estimate has been halved really shows that it was unreasonably high, and Hyde Housing have rightly committed to making some improvements to the property to ensure it is safe for residents, like repairing the security door.
I will continue to talk with Hyde Housing and represent the residents of Roxburgh House until we finalise all the details.
Darren Fisher, Head of Service Charges at the Hyde Group said: "we are very sorry for the upset caused by the recent service charge estimate. We met with residents on Wednesday and explained that we will be reducing their service charges and are looking at other ways of bringing costs down. We are committed in helping and supporting our residents and will work with them to agree the services they need at their scheme. Residents will continue to pay their current service charge until we have revised their estimate."