The Housing Team of Bradford Council is presently reaching out to social housing tenants potentially impacted by historical rent miscalculations, now under rectification.
A comprehensive review of services within the Council’s Housing Revenue Account brought to light historical inaccuracies in the calculation of rents and service charges. Consequently, 259 tenants were collectively overcharged £344,000.
In response, corrective measures have been swiftly implemented to align rent and service charge settings with the regulatory framework governing social housing.
Upon the identification of these issues, immediate consultation occurred with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), who expressed full satisfaction with the council’s adherence to their advice and recommendations.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Planning, Transport and Regeneration, said: “An historic technical error, made inadvertently, has led to some Council tenants being over charged. As soon as the Council became aware of this issue, Council officers took professional advice, referred the Council to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and undertook immediate and robust action to remedy the situation.
“A way forward has now been agreed with the RSH, which is satisfied that the Council is aware of its requirements and obligations. We sincerely apologise to any tenants who were incorrectly charged, and the Council is working hard to contact everyone affected to refund them.”
The Council’s internal audit function rigorously verifies identified overcharges to ensure accuracy. A systematic process is now in operation to locate and notify tenants and former tenants who have been overcharged. All those affected can expect refunds before the end of March.
