Local Authority heating charges.

PaderB

I live in a tower block with a communal boiler system supplying heating and hot water. I have long been in dispute with my Landlord because of the high cost and method used for charging. My one bedroomed flat has only two radiators in it and should have an evaporation type meter attached to each. Neither of my radiators have a meter attached. Apart from the totally inefficient meters (they continue to evaporate from ambient, solar gain and convected heat from other flats even if you have the radiators turned off), the current charge is £9.75 per week. Having no meters, the Landlord still decided that I should have to pay a £70+ surcharge for additional heating usage last year. My Landlord said that he cost had been extrapolated from previous usage despite getting a rebate in previous years when I had a meter on one radiator (this was not replaced when they fitted a new radiator two years ago). The Landlord says that the meters are no longer available, I cannot believe that it is legal to assess usage without a proper means of metering nor to charge on the basis of average usage across the board. If petrol was sold by the 'bucket' I would not go into a Service Station without knowing how big the bucket was.

I understand from the internet that over 80% of all buildings in the UK are over 60 years (long before environmental building) yet the average heating cost is £884 based on a 3 bedroom semi-detached. My flat is only 42 square metres and the two external cavity walls have been overlaid with fibreglass quilt and 6" of polystyrene foam which give a calculated 'U' value of 0.17 which is exactly twice the efficiency of current insulation standards required by Building Regulations for NEW build properties. Of the two remaining boundary walls, there is zero heat loss from one as it is a party wall with another flat and the remaining one wall is to a lobby/stairwell which are closed to the outside air and further heated from the central plant room below. Obviously there is no heat loss to the floor and ceiling as there are flats above and below me. I, in fact, seldom have my heating on at all except in very cold weather. Even if I wanted to in the Summer months, I could not because the heating system is controlled by the ambient temperature from a single point in a large city and that means that there is virtually no heating available even if required. My hot water usage is minimal as I am a single person and only need a small amount of daily hot water.

I hope I have not bored everyone with the preceding as I have to seek your advice on a couple of things:

1. Does anyone have up to date access to the Sutherland Tables (Recognised UK data for heating costs)? I need the current national averages and also for the south west.

2. Can anyone suggest a way that I can legally challenge these charges on the basis of unfair contract or other means? I am living on Pension Credits and do not have the money to pay for large legal fees.

Thank you in anticipation.

Premier_2

PaderB wrote: »

... I cannot believe that it is legal to assess usage without a proper means of metering nor to charge on the basis of average usage across the board. ...

Where communal heating is supplied, it is common that no individual meters exist.

The only basic rule is that LL's may not re-sell energy for a profit.

If you are not happy with the way the property is being managed, and enough of your neighbours agree, you could possibly look at the right to manage scheme ... but that will cost some money to set up too.

PaderB

I appreciate that it may be common but my block consists of 82 flats, most of which DO have meters (albeit inefficient). I have an email from the Housing Officer that the £9.75 payment is an advance payment and that the idea is that nobody has a large bill at the end of the year. Therefore, meters are essential in assessing the amount of rebate or surcharge to individuals. If no metering was in place, people would tend to leave their heating on all of the time and control temperatures by opening windows. My main beef is that the level of charge is far too high for the amount of heat loss through the building fabric. The other problem is that we have no control over the system other than turning the radiator on or off. That of course, is a moot point in the Summer when the heating is mostly turned off altogether. The landlord has removed all gas supplies from the block, forbidden the use of bottled gas heaters and electric heaters are too expensive and dangerous to use. However, the alternatives are irrelevant when we are already paying all the year round for heat and only have access to it when the remote EMS system says that the ambient temperature is low enough. Considering that the sensor is situated in just one part of an area that is many square miles, there is considerable room for temperature variation especially as these blocks are 15 storeys high and on top of a hill.