Housing Association - Audit of Community Fees

Leodogger

JWhite wrote: »

We are unhappy with the Housing Association as they seem to automatically take the quotes THEY think are the best value, although it seems that they get less and less for the money, plus they use British Gas to service our central heating system but did not include the gas fires as I said because the majority of residents have changed to electric fires and THEY wanted it removed from the gas contract despite the fact that we have it included in our lease. When I said I wanted it done, they said they would go back to the residents to ask them if they wanted it included. I also said if they wanted it removed from the contract, they should have issued new leases, they then said it would cost the residents too much money for new leases, when I promptly reminded them that this was THEIR lease and it was their responsibility to pay themselves to get it changed and reissued. They charge us £112 per month for the following :

Buildings insurance, Servicing of the Central Heating, Window Cleaning once per month, Landscape Gardening (lawns only once per 2 weeks during the summer), all exterior maintenance (including painting gutterings and soffits and any roof repairs (supposedly, as if you ask them to carry out pointing, they find an excuse not to). Our central heating boiler is 18 yrs old but they have not got it down for changing for another 3 yrs ! Originally it was down for changing when it was 30 yrs old but they brought it forward as some residents have changed their own.

To be honest I think they take advantage of the residents, many of which are elderly and some sick, so they do not question the accounts or understand how the housing association actually arrive at the costs they do. They have now said they will issue me with copy invoices for the work they undertook year before last but this year's (for work done last year)are not available until September when the accounts are audited and signed off (or so they say!).

They use "friendship" tactics too by sending round a site housing manager who takes residents out to their spouses and friends in care homes to visit them and generally does favours for them so the elderly residents do not want to rock the boat as they rely on her to stay friendly, despite some of the items in the accounts not being value for money.

For a start I am sure there are far more cheaper quotes for servicing the central heating than British Gas ! Also they pay a landscape gardener for doing the lawns only, they do not touch any of the residents borders to hoe, only twice per year, they never touch any dividing hedges and they never even removed some hedging my husband took out of our little front garden but mowed the lawn, putting back the hedge clippings on the lawn!!

I do not think they are bothered to get good value for the residents as it is easier to employ large companies who "supposedly" offer a group discount for servicing 100's of their properties instead of one.

Can we argue for them to shop around for cheaper quotes ?

Just checked the budget for this year and they (gas contract and landscape gardening), between them costs £343 per property, that's £7 per week approx. We are also connected to 24 hr support which costs residents £28 per week approx. all the rest is management charges (appro. £3,500), window cleaning, blgs ins., communal electricity, hsg mgr's salary etc., plus they retain approx. £6,000 for the provision fund. It seems to me the "overheads" take most of the communal fees we pay.