People already struggling financially are being hit with accommodation service charge hikes of up to 80% according to one leading charity.

Citizens Advice Hertsmere, which supports thousands of people in Hertfordshire, is seeing a huge spike in the number of people seeking help for rising service charge bills in rented accommodation.

The bills relate to communal areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms and living areas, as well as personal heating and hot water charges. The charity says the issue is prevalent in both the private rented and social housing sectors.

The issues are affecting many young, vulnerable people like care leavers or those who are living away for the first time, but also elderly residents who are living in apartment blocks.

Jo Ecclestone, Research and Campaigns Coordinator at Citizens Advice Hertsmere, said: “Some of the properties that we’ve had issues with are multiple occupancy, so you have three young people sharing a place and sharing electricity and gas charges.

“Additionally, social housing can only increase their rent based on inflation plus one per cent each year. So for this financial year, they’ve only been able to increase their rents by 2.2 per cent. They’re not making as much money – but they’re still seeing service charges go up by anywhere between 50-80%. There’s no governance of service charges.

“I’d estimate roughly for every one person that comes to see us with an issue like this, there are a hundred others in Hertsmere. Some people are coming forward with issues, but some are not paying these charges – and we’re seeing an increase in the number of people coming to us about evictions as a result.”

One of the property’s the issue is affecting is one where each tenant is being charged £80.61 for gas and electric each week. With multiple people living in the property, the overall bill comes in at £8,500-£12,500 a year on top of the rates for their bedrooms. The team are in contact with the landlord, who is looking into the matter with their energy provider.

Unfortunately, the charity is seeing a mixed response from landlords when pressed on the issue. Some are eager to resolve the issues, while some remain uncommunicative.

Jo added: “One of the major issues I have found is that when people are charged these extortionate rates, they don’t know how much they’re supposed to be charged. They are being told by someone in authority that that’s what they have to pay so they just accept it, or they’re terrified that they’re going to be evicted if they say anything, especially if it’s a private landlord. They often don’t know who to turn to for help.”

The team are also supporting people like Steven*, an older gentleman who does not speak English as a first language and is recently widowed. He pays a communal service charge as well as a personal heating and hot water charge. The charge for his personal heating and hot water comes to £92 a month. After investigating, the team found that figure should be between £42-50 a month – almost half of what he was paying. The team say charges are often hidden and grouped together unless the resident specifically asks for a breakdown.

Sarah Connor, Deputy Operations Manager, said: “A lot of these services charges are not covered by Housing Benefit, and if they don’t pay the service charge because it forms part of their rental agreement, they could fall into rent arrears and be subsequently evicted.

“It has such a knock-on effect. It’s not just unfair, it has a heavy impact on people because they don’t really understand what they are being charged or the implications of non-payment.”

Carolyn Buller, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We do what we can to support people. We can apply for grants and look at different organisations that may be able to help. We’ve been successful but it’s not a long-term solution. There has to be more awareness around it all.”

Jo added: “There has to be more official oversight but I also think the utility companies need to look at it and think that if they’ve got two properties of the same size, but one is being charged ridiculously higher than the other, is there a reason for that? Could that be flagged? I don’t think there’s a simple answer.”

*names altered to protect identity

To find money and energy advice local to you, please click here.