Reservations Remain as Council Concedes on Itemised Leaseholder Bills

Southwark Council have made some concessions in making leaseholder bills more transparent, following a campaign from leaseholders and the Southwark Liberal Democrats. 

Following a series of scandals relating to billing – including issues around district heating and major works - a petition to make itemised bills the default gained 1,442 signatures. 

The Regulator of Social Housing, whose remit does not cover leaseholders, nonetheless highlighted access to information and transparency as one of their key concerns. 

The Southwark Liberal Democrats supported this campaign, and secured a recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and raised it directly with Labour bosses through questions at council assembly.  

According to a report going to Cabinet today, the council is now taking steps to issue itemised bills for 2024/2025 later this year, along with some other measures to improve accessibility and transparency.  

However, speaking at the Cabinet meeting, campaigners behind the petition had reservations about the proposed new system, and pushed the council again to ensure that the information will be genuinely clear, and questioned why the timescales where so protracted.  

In his contribution, Gary Blackwood added that “trust in the council is at an all time low”. 

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Opposition Leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:

“I’m pleased that thanks to relentless campaigning, we’re starting to see some movement in improving service to leaseholders, but it’s nowhere near enough. There’s so much further to go to ensure full accountability and transparency, which we’re still seeing Labour resist. That such a small, common sense change took so much effort demonstrates the scale of failure that needs to be fixed here in Southwark, and it’s clear that Labour are simply not interested in getting it right.”