In some, though not all, local authority areas there is pooling of service charges. This means that some tenants are paying for services they do not receive because the costs are spread between all of the landlord‘s tenants. The Housing (Wales) Act will end this practice with service charges in future being disaggregated and clearly identified. The changes may result in increased service charges for tenants who do receive eligible services.
The new policy, including the requirement to fully de-pool service charges is a good opportunity to ensure that costs are fully and correctly identified and take into account any changes that may be needed in view of welfare reform so that the Council can be certain of securing the maximum revenue possible. This is very important given the current financial climate and also a good opportunity to engage with residents as this is an important part of implementing the new rent policy.
The paper summarises the issues and includes sections on:
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