Fourteen MPs led by Rachael Maskell MP have sent an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer MP, Angela Rayner MP, and Matthew Pennycook MP urging them to launch a fast-track and fairer dispute resolution scheme to end service charge abuse.

The scheme would allow tenants and residents with disputed charges to pay their money to a court or similar body instead of directly to the landlord or managing agent. The money would be released to the landlord or managing agent only if they were able to prove that the charge was legitimate within a specified timescale. Otherwise it would be refunded to the tenant or resident.

The scheme would mirror the successful deposit protection scheme designed to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords who unlawfully held onto deposits on rental properties.

SHAC Secretary and Cofounder Suzanne Muna explained: “Getting landlords to acknowledge and then refund overpaid service charges is a war of attrition in which tenants and residents have both arms tied behind their backs, even when it is blatantly obvious that the charges are not warranted.

“Among the many examples we have are charges for concierges and lift maintenance in blocks of flats where neither exist, and landlords charging for services provided by the local council.

“Once a tenant or resident has paid their landlord, the landlord has very little incentive even to engage properly with the tenant or resident, never mind refunding overpaid monies. Landlords know that it is almost impossible to get information about service charges, or to enforce the law that requires them to be reasonable and reasonably incurred. This scheme would put an end to such abuse by giving each party equal power and setting up independent adjudication.”

The letter was signed by MPs as part of a broader SHAC campaign to end service charge abuse.

SHAC’s End Service Charge Abuse Campaign can be seen here.   

SHAC is a campaign group linking tenants, renters, shared owners, and leaseholders living in social and private housing. It campaigns to improve the conditions of homes and neighbourhoods, and to reduce the commercialisation of housing. www.shaction.org  FB: www.facebook.com/groups/www.shaction.org Twitter/X: @SHAC_Action Insta: @SHAC_Action Bluesky: @SHACAction