Southwark Council Overcharges Leaseholders for Years, Lib Dems Reveal

Southwark Council overcharges leaseholders and takes years to send over final bills for major works, according to data the Liberal Democrats publicised on Thursday.

The research showed that, where it has overestimated the cost of major works, the council typically owed leaseholders £1,130 that it would then return without interest.

The council, on average, also took three-and-a-half years to send leaseholders final bills for major works that were less expensive than initially estimated.

When the council needs to undertake major works on properties where it owns the freehold, leaseholders can be liable to pay a service charge for the improvements.

Leaseholders first make these payments based on the council’s estimates before the work is undertaken and they only get final bills after the project is completed.

Southwark Council billed leaseholders for major works at least 13,664 times between 2016-2022 and has overcharged for 73% of these invoices.

The Southwark Liberal Democrats, in response, demanded that the council and its Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) review how the authority handles charges.

The group originally received this information from Borough and Bankside resident Pam Murphy.

She acquired the data, which spans the financial years between 2016 and 2022, through freedom of information requests to the council.

Commenting, Cllr Victor Chamberlain, Southwark Liberal Democrat Group Leader said:

“It is shocking to see from Pam’s thorough research that Southwark Labour is making our residents’ lives harder amid a cost-of-living emergency. Leaseholders are already struggling with inadequate housing repairs and poor customer service. At the very least, Labour should have the decency to ensure the council pays any debts it owes to residents quickly and fairly”