Southwark (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Southwark Council has introduced online access for leaseholders and freeholders to view detailed breakdowns of their service charges, boosting transparency.
Leaseholders could already request an itemized breakdown of all service charges, but doing so required completing a web form or sending a printed letter, which might take up to 28 days.
By accessing the MySouthwark site, leaseholders can now view a breakdown of their service rates. To view their breakdown, homeowners simply need to register on the platform.
Following multiple high-profile instances of homes being hit with service costs for nonexistent work, leaseholders launched an unrelenting push to make itemized invoices the standard.
For instance, the tale of Janet Wertli, a resident of Bermondsey, who was wrongfully charged hundreds of pounds for lighting in a random parking lot was made public by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Wertli assisted in organizing a petition that received over 1,500 signatures and was submitted to the Southwark council in January, requesting that itemized bills be publicized by default.
“It’s a great step in the right direction,”
Janet Wertli told the News.
“For all of the charges I have personally ever had to question I can now see it online without having to apply to get the bill sent through the council.”
“Everything I wanted to see is there. For the council it now means they have 19,000 leaseholders who can alert them for any potential mistakes by contractors.”
The council claims it is the first time this service has been provided by any council in the country.
Cllr Michael Situ, Southwark Council’s Cabinet Member for Council Homes, said:
“We’re working to become a good landlord and to provide a good service to leaseholders and freeholders.
Our pioneering new online service will make it simpler for leaseholders and freeholders to check their charges.
Anyone can now use their smartphone or computer to see what they owe, plan payments, and check if there are any charges they want to query or talk to us about.”