Reference: 150 | Received: 11 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Why don't you just put a increase on the council tax instead of extra service charge?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This consultation is mostly about costs which relate to services that tenants and leaseholders of the housing department receive,  so they are costs which can be charged as a service charge. They are not part of MKCC council tax covered services.

Reference: 144 | Received: 9 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: I am concerned about the cost of living and I am worried about the rent and charges increasing. I am also concerned that our cold snap payment has not been received yet!

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Subject to the results of the consultation any new service charges that we start to charge from April will be fair, reasonable and transparent. Around 95% of these proposed charges are eligible for HB /UC for those of our customers that receive help with their rent.  For those that do not qualify, our housing teams will work with them, if requested, to ensure they receive any available help and support. MKCC Housing rents are low when compared to other housing providers around Milton Keynes, so they already represent good value for money, especially when compared to the rising private rents charged in the city.

Reference: 143 | Received: 8 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: 

Reply: 

Reference: 140 | Received: 8 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: I have been trying to call but getting nowhere. We are shared owners and have never paid any service charge, we are a bit confused as to this consultation as we receive no services? Can you advise as to how we fill in this form or if we even need to?

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  As a shared owner leaseholder you may only pay us rent.  We are currently taking external legal advice on whether we can introduce a management fee for shared owners as they do not currently pay a management fee, whereas full leaseholders do. Subject to the outcome of this legal advice, where possible we may also looking to cover the cost of open space maintenance and fly tipping cost which relate to the estate and area that you live in. Again this is subject to whether your lease allows us to do so.

Reference: 139 | Received: 8 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Good morning please could you tell me if my property will come into this service charge as I’ve lived here since 1988 and never had anything done by the council. I also have paid my own building insurance.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. As a shared owners you do have full repairing obligations to your home under the terms of your lease.  This consultation will look at who should pay for some of our landlord costs around open space maintenance and dealing with fly tipping - which we are taking external legal advice to see if leaseholders can be charged for these services.

Reference: 138 | Received: 8 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: How do I go about getting my reference number?  Putting it on a booklet was a very tactical move knowing a high percentage of people wouldn't either read or keep it.

Reply: Thank you for your observation, We have been in touch with you to provide your reference number, Placing the reference on the front page seemed the most obvious place to put it in a prominent postion. If customers decide not to read what we send them as part of a consultation, or as we have heard also simply place it in the bin, then they have had the same opportunity as everyone else to leave observations and to vote, and will need to accept the outcome of the consultation based on those residents that did participate and vote for the options and proposals that we put forward. We would obviously like more people to take part, but we can only offer the opportunity, each customer will decide what they do when receiving letters from us. However, feedback is useful, and we can make this clearer in future consultations.

Reference: 137 | Received: 8 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: I'm voting for to be improving the quality of our houses indoors and outdoors. Thank you for your cooperation.

Reply: Thank you for your observation and for it being so positive. This consultation will help us resolve the issue of service charges being paid for out of rent, which in turn will allow us to complete more repairs to housing stock, look to add more social housing to our stock and also involve customers in decision making about the services that they receive in the future.

Reference: 136 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Will we end up with a big bill for service charges and another for rent?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The gross amount of rent that you pay will be inclusive of all service charges.  We will set out any new service charges that you have to pay based on our newly proposed categories and service charge expenditure items (subject to the consultation results) so you can clearly see what you are paying for from April 2024.

Reference: 135 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Do we really have a say or have the council already made their mind up about what they are doing? We really don't trust that you will deliver on what you say or that we will be listened to!

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The answer is YES, you definitely have a say and this is why we have spent over a year asking tenants and leaseholders to take part in this consultation and have written to everyone three times over the last year.  Over 400 people have voted already and around 150 tenants and leaseholders have left us observations.  All of these and our replies are posted on these web pages.  We will let you have the final results of the consultation (so far) with your rent increase letter (for tenants and shared owners) and service charge estimates for leaseholders.

Reference: 134 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: why can't you look at the cctv or install cctv to see who is flytipping instead of charging us?
Where you have options of parish and everyone does that include the businesses and private owners that might be on housing open space land?

Reply: Thank you for your observration. CCTV is one way to enforce fly tipping by gaining evidence, but it does require the equipment, installation and monitoring, all of which requires staff and costs money to complete. We have employed a full time housing enforcement officer who have issued some enforcement notices and will prosecute wherever this is possible.

Reference: 133 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: If MKCC are the landlord of housing land and they are the ones who collect council tax why can't they collect from everyone for the open spaces and fly-tipping.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Council Tax funds the grounds maintenance and cost of fly tipping for all land owned by the council, but there is a recharge to the housing service as the Housing Revenue Account owns the land that our properties and their surroundings is located on, so this is not a cost covered by council tax.

Reference: 132 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: We need more information and assurance that work will be done timely in relation to the garden maintenance.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We will be consulting tenants and leaseholders on garden maintenance in due course. Our new contractor will not start on site until the consultation has been completed.

Reference: 131 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Why would we have to pay for open spaces in the parish or all MK? There should be an option for just our scheme!

Reply: Thank you for your observation. As part of this consultation we have identified two separate costs to the housing service. One is garden maintenance which tends to only be completed at sheltered scheme and the other is general open space grounds maintenance which is the housing owned land around our properties.

Reference: 130 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: In terms of open spaces and garden contract - What is the minimum standard that the council are offering? eg grass mown and grass collected. How will the council guarantee that the work will be done to standard? We don't want to get rid of our gardener and then the council does not do the work in time.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We are currently working with our Environmental Services Team and our new contractors to look at the works required to bring housing land back up to a "basic standard" then continue to maintain it, whilst we commence consultation with tenants and leaseholders at specific sites around garden maintenance. We have agreed that for those sites where gardening is completed by the Parish Council this will continue until consultation has been completed and our new contractor can take over the work, based on the outcome of the consultation.

Reference: 129 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: The contact number on the letter is impossible to get through. Can you not have a dedicated number for a few weeks whilst the consultation is going on so people can ask for help or clarification.  It puts people off.

Reply: Thank you for your observation and we are sorry that you found it difficult to get through to us on the telephone. The number quoted is one of our main telephone numbers with a team of officers available to answer calls during office hours.

Reference: 128 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Void flats don't get decorated. Instead the new tenant is given decoration vouchers. Many of the tenants in sheltered housing can't decorate and can't move in as the fumes from paints will affect their health. Surely the council can paint the walls?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. As this a repairs observation, we have passed it to our Asset colleagues to respond to as part of their Repairs Consultation.

Reference: 127 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Strongly disagree with full recovery. Why should we pay for someone else? Can't the council charge the person a deposit like all the others [housing associations and private renting] and then if the person leaves it in a bad way they can take the money from the deposit?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Full recovery does not look to cover the cost of property repairs when a property is left by a tenant. It means that when we look at what service charges we have collected in the year and offset this against what we have spent, it is only the sum collected from tenants that is taken into consideration and not any period that a property remains unoccupied.

Reference: 126 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: The council should not be looking to us to pay for things [that we don't have any control over and their responsibility]

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This consultation is about the way we deliver service charges, and which tenants always have a say in the delivery of the service. This may be the frequency of the service, the standard of the service or in some cases whether you want the service provided at all.

Reference: 125 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: In terms of both the sinking fund and reserve fund: Who will be controlling the funds? Who will look after it and where will it be saved? Where will it be appropriated? Is the sinking fund scheme specific or can it be spent on any property anywhere?

Reply: Thank you for your observation and such a good question. We plan to consult tenants in spring 2024 on the administration of sinking funds (subject to the consultation results) on how these funds are structured, administered and how the funds can be used etc.

Reference: 124 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: If the council is the landlord why should we be charged for maintaining the property. 

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This consultation is about service charges, which cover the cost of services and the maintenance of items which are not covered by your rent payment. For example if you live in a block of flats you may have a door entry intercom system. This is a service which should have, since 2000, been covered by a service charge.

Reference: 123 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Does the HB/Universal credit cover the communal service charges? I was told it will only cover rent?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Around 95% of the service charges we have proposed to introduce from 1 April 2024, are eligible for HB and UC. 

Reference: 122 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Why do we have to pay so much for heating and lighting when the council have so much wastage in communal areas. For example, the lights are on 24 hours both in here and some outside.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This is a subject that has been discussed in the service charge working group and where we can, we will look to update sensors and monitors to try to reduce when the lights are on, to save energy. It’s a fine balance between investing to save, but wherever possible this is what we will try to achieve. All new emergency lighting will have sensors fitted so they only come on when necessary.

Reference: 120 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: How are the gas and electric calculated now?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Please see the comprehensive answer on our website that we published at the start of the year.

Reference: 119 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: The Customer Panel should be 50:50 made up of half residents and half officers to get a rounded view.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We are waiting for the consultation results and we will work towards setting one up in 2024, when the panel membership will be agreed.  We think its important to set out the scope and powers of the panel as well.

Reference: 118 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: How are you working out the personal and communal charge for gas and electricity?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We will calculate estimated gas and electricity charges in the same way as last year, taking account of consumption per site and the current unit rates from 1 October 2023. We will factor in a contract price change from 1 October 2024 and then divide the cost by the agreed apportionment percentage. For leaseholders this will be based on the covenants within the lease and for tenants, we have made a proposal to tenants on how to do this from April 2024, so this will depend on how the voting has gone. Please see further information on our website, that we published at the start of the year.

Reference: 117 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Who will the Customer Panel be made up off?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We will look at the results of the consultation voting and if we receive a YES vote to establishing a Customer Panel we will work towards setting one up in 2024. We will need to ask for volunteers to be panel members and there will be a selection process.

Reference: 116 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Where is the accountability with the council? The Council has not repaired this building in the last 18 months? They say they are going to do things/repairs but nothing gets done [in terms of now wanting to charge for services]

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This looks like it is an observation for the ongoing repairs consultation, so we have passed this to our Asset colleagues.

Reference: 115 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: Has the decision already been made on all these things that you are asking us about?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The answer is No. We have discussed each item with the service charge working group and this consultation has allowed everyone, tenants and leaseholders to leave observations and vote. The outcomes of the consultation will be decided by the voting results and we will take due consideration of all observations received.

Reference: 114 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: No comunal mats, bin store not clean door entrance not safe slabs loose near entrance

Reply: Thank you for your obsevation. We have looked at both our caretaking and cleaning services as part of this consultation, so you should see an improvement in the services we provide in the new year.

Reference: 113 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: we chose to live in sheltered housing because the charges are all in. We accept there will be communal charges. If you have a problem with paying communal charges perhaps you may need to consider whether sheltered housing is for you.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Tenants have a choice as to which tenancy they take up and where they live, although we do accept that the demand for social rented accommodation is massive and is much greater than the supply of new social housing we can provide. We hope that by completing this consultation, some of the released rent money can be used to acquire more social housing in the future.

Reference: 112 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: The letter is telling us about increased charges but what are the actual cost and what is the benefit to us of these charges? 

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Once the formal consultation period has ended we will be able to start to calculate the service charges for specific blocks and properties. Where the consultation allows, we will notify you of the new service charges you will start to pay from 1 April 2024 in your annual rent review letter, which will be sent to you at the end of February. The benefits of this consultation are twofold - in that we as a landlord can start to cover our expenditure on service charges with service charge income and we will also have more rent to spend on repairs and maintenance to our properties, which had previously been used on pay for service charges.

Reference: 111 | Received: 7 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: In terms of waste and fly tipping, can we not have CCTV in prominent places? Part of the problem is the council that the council is charging £40 per item and you are expected to drag your items to x . Perhaps reduce the charge of collections.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. As you would expect the subject of fly tipping is one that raises a lot of discussion and there are a number of ways which we use to try and reduce the volume of rubbish left to be collected.  In housing, we do now have a dedicated officer working on enforcement, so we can try to catch and punish offenders. The cost of collection is not part of this consultation, but we will pass on your comments to our colleagues who manage this service.

Reference: 110 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Don't mind paying for things but why should we have to pay if Mears can't do things right first time?   

Reply: Thank you for your observation which we have passed onto our repairs and assets colleagues, as it relates to our repairs contractor and they are currently doing the repairs consultation.

Reference: 109 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Is the council just going to do what they want to do? Does it really matter whether we vote or not?

Reply: That you for your observation. We have invested 18 months of time planning and undertaking this consultation to address all the issues that tenants and leaseholders have told us about and already people are seeing improvements and changes for the better. We really do want to work with residents to plan for the delivery of better services to tenants and leaseholders.

Reference: 108 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: What happens if the sinking fund doesn't happen? Who will pay?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The costs of maintaining and replacing items mentioned in the Sinking Fund section should always have been met by service charges. The establishment of a sinking fund allows for contributions to be made by tenants each year to build up a fund which will be used to pay for the replacement of these items when the time comes for them to be replaced. This means that tenants pay each year, so each year the current tenant makes a contribution. The alternative is, without a sinking fund, when an item needs to be replaced the service charge would increase greatly for the current tenants.

Reference: 107 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: What do you mean by site and block? Are the bungalows in Falaise part of the site?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. A block is a building which contains more than one property. A site is an area which may contain multiple blocks. When dealing with service charges several blocks can be combined together and we use the term "group" when we refer to this. According to our records the block at Falaise is flats 1 to 33.

Reference: 106 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Does these changes in charges affect my pension credits?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Simple answer is NO.

Reference: 105 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: The other sheltered scheme chose to fill out this form together. For statistical purposes will that be classed as 1 or will you be counting the number individually? eg 9 Yes 2 No's 

Reply: Thank you for your observation. As we know how each resident voted we will include each vote as a separate vote on each subject.

Reference: 104 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: If someone is bedridden and cannot use some of the communal items, are they expected to pay for it?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The answer is yes, as your tenancy comes with use of the facilities made available to them and as the landlord we still have the cost of servicing, maintenance and cleaning of these parts even if they are not used by all residents.

Reference: 103 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Would it be worth having resident parking permits if you want us to pay for the open space?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This is a very sticky subject and one that across the country causes a lot of debate and differing views. We do not have any plans to introduce parking charges to housing owned land, but we have included it in our proposal to cater for any possible opportunities in the future.

Reference: 102 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Are you going to be charging us the amount you want to anyway? is this consultation really about which pot to get the money out of or put into?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. So at the moment, and over the last 20 years, we have subsided service charges by paying for it out of your rent. This should have been collected from you as a separate service charge in addition to your rent. This consultation will allow us to start charging service charges to cover the expenditure on service charge items, so we don't use rent to pay for it. This means that the rent we don't use can be used to pay for repairs, maintenance and improvement works which residents have told us is needed.

Reference: 101 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Will we be getting 2 separate charges? [rent and service charge] is there a cap on how much rent and service charges can go up?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. No, you will get your annual rent review letter in February 2024 which will show both your rent and any service charges (subject to the outcome of this consultation) in the same way that 2,700 tenants who currently pay some service charges do. The amount we can increase rents by is set by government legislation, but service charges can only recover the cost of the service. No profit can be made from service charges.

Reference: 100 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: If fly tipping is on housing land, why should we be asked to bear the cost? 

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  Any landlord cost such as the collection and enforcement of fly tipping can be recharged to tenants as a service charge and this consultation looks to ask residents how they want this cost to be recharged. We accept this is a difficult subject and one that the service charge group have discussed and considered at length. Nonetheless, we have a cost which we must pay and therefore need to levy a service charge to cover this cost.

Reference: 099 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: In terms of the open space grounds maintenance and garden maintenance where does the boundary starts and end?

Reply: Thank you for your observation and for this really good question. There is no simple answer to this as every block, building and estate will be different. In some areas there will be clear boundaries like fences and hedges, but in others there could simply be a footpath or a road.  We will work with residents to agree what falls under gardens, i.e. it can only be used to residents living in properties and identify those open spaces which everyone could use.

Reference: 098 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Who will sit on the Customer Panel? There use to be Tenant Forum and 2 tenants use to go from every scheme.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The service charge group did like the idea of a residents panel to help look at various business areas, two of which might be looking at service charges and complaints. We need to look at how this might operate and will publish more information later in 2024.

Reference: 097 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: If we pay towards open spaces/garden maintenance will you actually do the work? 

Reply: Thank you for your observation. In a word yes. The service charge working group told us that for many years we have simply not managed and maintained most of the housing land in and around housing properties, so we have listened to what they told us and proposed a new housing garden and open space service to maintain these areas. We hope that by improving these areas, residents will make better/more use of them and one positive might be that people stop dumping rubbish on the land.

Reference: 096 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: If we have to pay towards street lighting, why are the lights on 24 hours a day?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This is a very good point and one that was raised by the service charge group on a few occasions. I'm told that existing systems are difficult to add sensors too, but where new lighting is being installed its is both LED, so cheaper to run and also has sensors they they will not be on 24/7. Moving forward we are looking at how we can "spend to save" and reduce our energy consumption, especially when gas and electric costs remain this high.

Reference: 095 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: What happens if we don't agree to paying reserve funds? who pays then?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. If we do not set up reserve funds, this will mean that service charges from year to year will be a bit like a rollercoaster and will go up and down year on year, instead of spreading out the costs, over multiple years. You will still pay the cost which is a service charge expenditure item. Reserve funds simply allow big costs to be spread over a longer period of time.

Reference: 094 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: In terms of full recovery, why should we have to pay for something that is not our problem?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Full recovery means that as a landlord we can recover all of our costs each year, not just recover service charges when a property is let. This means that we have the money available to pay for these services and not subsidise them from rents, which as you may have read in other responses, this is something we now need to address, as we need to complete more repairs and improvements to our existing housing stock and hopefully, in the the future, increase our housing stock to meet the increasing demand for social housing. If we have to subsidise service charges from rents, it means that we can't do some improvements as the budget has been spent elsewhere.

Reference: 093 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Does the proposed changes to service charges still apply if the council political governance changes?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The consultation is supported across all parties, so the answer is no.

Reference: 092 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: These are council properties so isn't wear and tear down to the council to fix? Surely the council should be liable for the maintenance [not us]?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The rent that you pay covers your occupation of your home, the cost of housing management and repairs and maintenance that are covered in your tenancy agreement. Service charges are for services that you receive that are not covered by the rent. An example would be cleaning in a block of flats, or electricity if there is a landlord supply providing communal lighting. This consultation will allow us to fund more repairs and improvements to our stock, as rent will be spent on repairs and maintenance - not paying for service charges.

Reference: 091 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Benefits are going up but if the bills are going up does that mean we lose out?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The main objective of this consultation is to separate the funding of service charge expenditure from rents and to introduce a new set of service charges that cover all of our service charge expenditure. This will mean that from April 2024 you may pay your rent AND a service charge for any services that you receive, so you may have a higher weekly rent to pay. However, most of our proposed new service charges are eligible for housing benefit and universal credit so if you are in receipt of benefits, the higher charge will be taken into account. There are customers who do not receive help with paying their rent and they will see an increase in the amount of their overall gross rent. Its important to recognise that for 20 years we have subsidised service charges using rent which has meant we cannot spend as much on repairs and maintenance as we would like, or fund new social housing properties.

Reference: 090 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Why are all the lights on all the time? We understand you cannot replace all lights at the same time but can you not put a sensor on them?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This is a very good point and one that was raised by the service charge group on a few occasions. I'm told that existing systems are difficult to add sensors too, but where new lighting is being installed its is both LED, so cheaper to run and also has sensors they they will not be on 24/7. Moving forward we are looking at how we can "spend to save" and reduce our energy consumption, especially when gas and electric costs remain this high.

Reference: 089 | Received: 6 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: How do you determine what is personal charges and what is communal charges for utilities in sheltered housing?

Reply: That you for your observation. Utility charges are split between communal charges and personal charges (resident usage) based on percentage of the cost. As part of this consultation we are in discussions with our benefits colleagues to agree a fixed standard percentage and also to look at floor plans, where available to see if this percentage should be higher than the standard amount.

Reference: 088 | Received: 5 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: When will staff actually work in the council offices, it has taken 5 months to get an answer because when someone picks up the phone, all they do is pass on a message, which can take weeks of phone calls even then you don't always get a answer.. often your staff don't even live in mk, so probably never come into the MKCC offices. 

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We always have a duty housing officer working weekdays at the Civic Centre and our officers are available by telephone and email during normal working hours. You can also contact our main Customer Contact Centre who can assist with you any queries.

Reference: 086 | Received: 5 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: I am currently living with my dad, but unfortunately the environment is no longer right for me or my mental health and i really need help finding a place to live or stay for a while.

Reply: This website is only accepting observations in respect of our rent and service charge consultation. Please visit our Housing web pages for more information that may help you.

Reference: 085 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: We already pay into a sinking fund to replace items. Why do we need another one?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We do not currently administer any sinking funds or reserve funds, so please get in contact with us, so we can check you are not being asked to pay something that is incorrect.

Reference: 084 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: The division of cost needs to be simple. The letter was too much to understand. It would be helpful to do a one pager with just the main bullet points. This would be easier for people to understand and take action.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The consultation covers a wide range of subjects and it is quite difficult to produce simple easy to understand documents which don’t include all of the things discussed and considered.  We have shared videos of all of our meetings which are worth watching, if you have the time. These can be found one our Service Charge Consultation page.

Reference: 083 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Having itemised bill under the bill will be helpful. How do we know the council will do what they say they will do? In the past they just say things but don't deliver? What happens if they don't deliver the services?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. You are correct that we propose to have detailed service charge schedules as part of each new tenancy agreement, within the annual rent review letter and any service charge paperwork we issue in the future. This will be based on the 8 new categories and the different service charge expenditure items, so you can see exactly what is being spent on each item. We will consult with tenants and leaseholders on how these documents will look next year.

Reference: 082 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Do you have a contact that we can speak to if the gardens are not done? The parish use to provide us with a contact and were very good.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. No, not yet. We need the consultation to end, before we can look at the results and start to take the appropriate next steps.  In respect of gardening and open space grounds maintenance we clearly need an officer to be responsible for being the customer point of contact, consult with residents and manage the contractor and supervise their works. We will be in touch as soon as we have more information to share with you.

Reference: 081 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Why do we have to pay for the [deep] cleaning of the communal cooker and oven separately even though we pay for communal cleaning?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This consultation has identified a number of matters which as the landlord we should have as part on our day to day operations. Things like cleaning and maintenance of fixtures and fittings in Common Rooms like ovens and furniture should be regularly checked and periodically cleaned. One of the outcomes of this consultation is for us to take responsibility for these works and put in place contractors to ensure these tasks are completed. The cost of these services will be included within the new service charge structure from April 2024.

Reference: 080 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Given the rise in utility why do we always have the lights on in hallways and can't we change them all to either sensor or cheaper to run ones.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. This is a very good point and one that was raised by the service charge group on a few occasions. I'm told that existing systems are difficult to add sensors too, but where new lighting is being installed, its is both LED, and has sensors they they will not be on 24/7, so cheaper to run. Moving forward we are looking at how we can "spend to save" and reduce our energy consumption, especially when gas and electric costs remain this high.

Reference: 079 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: If the council take over the gardens what will the parish be responsible for? Can the council deliver a good and timely service that we are use to with the parish council?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The answers is YES. Our new housing garden service will be customer focused - we have new contractors in place to deliver this service and any new gardening works that you request. More details we be published in the new year.

Reference: 078 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Fly-tipping has increased because the council are charging too much to remove items. It's £25 per item!

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Unfortunately this is a national problem, so not just one in Milton Keynes. As more rubbish is dumped, the cost of collection and enforcement increase, and also the cost of disposal increases. There will always be people that commit the offence of fly tipping, so its important that we look to do whatever we can reasonably do to catch them and take enforcement action, whether that be a fixed penalty notice, take them to court, or collect rubbish quickly so others don't come along and add to the volume of waste. Some customers have told us that the new appointment system at Tips, does work well and this is free to use for MKCC residents.

Reference: 077 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 20 Dec 2023

Observation: How do you know which part of the bill is for our personal use and which is for communal. How do you work it out? an we not just have our own bill for what we use?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. If you live in a scheme which has a communal heating system, we receive a bill from our gas and electricity company, which we pay. Part of this cost will be assigned to personal costs and the rest is assigned to communal heating which each resident pays. We are in discussions with our colleagues in the Revenues and Benefits Team, as they decide if our service charges are fair and reasonable. Early discussions are leaning towards a fixed percentage of the cost for all communal areas, but the final decisions on this will be made after the voting has ended.

Reference: 076 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: We recently had three boilers installed. Why did they not change the radiators at the same time?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Whilst this is not really part of this consultation, its likely that the radiators in your home just didn’t need to be replaced.

Reference: 075 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Will you come up with a schedule so we know when garden will be done instead of promising and not delivering. You need to tell is in advance

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Yes, we will. We will start by setting up the new Housing Gardening Service,  then start to consult our tenants and leaseholders accordingly. Our first priority is to bring housing land up to a basic standard and maintain it, which we have sought funding for in next years budget. We will consult tenants living in sheltered housing schemes as a group, so you get to decide what level of service you want to have from next year.

Reference: 074 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: if the reserve fund is for trees and environmental officer we don't agree with paying. Why should we have to pay for the council's decision

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Housing land which is not maintained by council tax has a lot of grassed areas and trees present - so we as a landlord must maintain these areas. We appreciate that for many years open spaces have not been maintained, as we have been told many times during this year, so this consultation looks to deal with residents concerns to start to maintain these areas and any trees that are located on housing land. We have been told that we are not good at managing contracts and responding to customer enquiries and complaints, so as part of the consultation we need to put in place staff to both be the single point of contact for customers, to complete consultations together with our Resident Engagement Team and also manage the contractors completely the works.

Reference: 073 | Received: 4 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: The parish have told us that they can no longer do our gardens because the council is taking back the service.  Can the council ensure that they will have our communal area ready for spring? Surely it would be better to do a phased approach. Those parishes that are doing a good job, leave them to continue until you have the resources to do them. ( we also had people from probation coming and they did a good job) Our concern is that you pull all the parishes at the same time and the council won't be able to have the right resources for us to use the garden

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We understand from our colleagues in the Environmental Services Team, that parish councils will no longer be completing the garden maintenance works at sheltered housing schemes. We will be ensuring that our new Housing Garden Maintenance Service will look after communal gardens (not private gardens) and housing open spaces. We are waiting for the consultation to end on 12 December 2023, before we know the results and can start to put new arrangements in place.  We hope as part of the consultation to have a dedicated officer working on housing gardens and open spaces, who can work with tenants at each scheme around what they want in their communal gardens and grounds. We will let you know in writing what is happening as soon as we have more information.

Reference: 072 | Received: 3 Dec 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Netherfield Residents Association view on this Consultation
As a accredited body of MKCC, we consulted with a number of Tenants on this, they made the following observations which we would like to pass on to you.

1, An individual vote should be given to joint tenants, as it is a joint tenancy not a single tenancy.

10. Council tenants rents should not be paying for fly-tipping, Graffiti and parks and open spaces that everyone regardless of tenure has access to, it should come from the general fund, which would then release money for repairs and maintenance, and lower rent charges.

Reply: Thank you so much for your observations and for taking the time to speak to your residents, we very much appreciate your observations and hopefully your residents have voted on each of the areas within this consultation. I will try and answer each of your observations:

10. We appreciate this is a difficult subject and one that often generates the most discussion.  We have provided the opportunity to seek everyone's views as part of this consultation.

Reference: 071 | Received: 30 Nov 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: As I have shared ownership I have sourced my own tradesmen to do work on my house. Was I entitled to access Mears? And if service charges are introduced does this mean that I can claim back a proportion of the money that I have paid out?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. As a shared ownership leaseholder the conditions of your lease mean that you are responsible for all repairs and maintenance to your home. Mears, as our current repairs contractor would not complete works for you arranged by us, but they are a private company, so are free to bid for works if anyone asks them to quote. If, after getting our external legal advice we can introduce new service charges to shared ownership leaseholders, these will only start from 1 April 2024. There will be no costs that you can claim back as you have not really paid anything to us other than rent for our part of the equity of the premises - you may also pay buildings insurance premium.

Reference: 070 | Received: 29 Nov 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Why can't this charge be put into a rise in one transparent, fair, council tax increase?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Its important to separate out which council services are provided to the general public and therefore may be funded from Council Tax, and those costs which as a landlord, the Housing Department has to pay.  Maintenance of housing land, which includes dealing with fly tipping, is not a cost that can be met from council tax as its housing land which is separate to what is called "public realm" land - this is land owned by the council, so not owned by any other private person or party.

Reference: 069 | Received: 28 Nov 2023 | Responded: 12 Dec 2023

Observation: Why are leaseholders required to make an additional contribution to Neighbourhood and ASB teams’ costs? We pay for these services in our council tax payments and in other taxes (like everyone else). These charges are not mentioned in my Lease. Please explain how these Teams’ common services benefit council Leaseholders, and council tenants, but not other Milton Keynes residents. I feel there is a hint of discrimination in these additional charges. 

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  As a leaseholder you do not pay towards the cost of our neighbourhood services or ASB teams, these are funded by rents.  As a leaseholder you will pay a management fee which covers the cost of staff to manage leaseholders, set and collect any service charges and deal with any other leaseholder related matters.  This consultation does look to cover our landlord costs for open space grounds maintenance of housing land which is not maintained under Council Tax and also the cost of dealing with fly tipping on housing land, again a service which is not funded by council tax.  As we have mentioned before, we are seeking external legal advice as to whether our current lease covenants allows us to introduce these charges to leaseholders. We hope to have this legal advice back in the next 3 to 4 weeks.

Reference: 068 | Received: 28 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: We live in sheltered accommodation- Does water and sewerage charges affect me?

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  Some of our properties do not have separate water supplies so the water company with water and sewerage bills which we pay and recharge back to tenants and leaseholders in a service charge.  We have have some schemes where we pay the bill but the properties are individually metered, so we have agreed with the service charge group that from April 2024 these residents would be billed directly and we will stop the service charge.  Sheltered housing schemes may have a Common Room and laundry, so there might be a landlord water supply. In these cases residents would have to pay a small service charge to cover the cost of the water and waste water used by these communal facilities. The good news is that because these are communal, both charges eligible for housing benefit and universal credit..

Reference: 067 | Received: 28 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: If we don't use a service can we request it to be stopped?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Since the start of this consultation we have always tried to be very clear, open to discussion and transparent, therefore I'm delighted to say that we are open to discussions with residents to both start and stop services that they do not want anymore. Clearly there are services that must take place, like servicing a lift and legionella water testing for obvious reasons, but other services are up for discussion.  Please contact your housing officer / sheltered housing officer and let us know what you are wanting to discuss.

Reference: 066 | Received: 28 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: We noticed that CCTV is a chargeable item.  Our residents agreed amongst ourselves that we would like to have CCTV.  We were told that we cannot have it because it breached data protection. How do we go about requesting services?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. You are correct that the supply and monitoring costs of CCTV equipment is one of the new service charge expenditure items and we are open to arranging the installation of CCTV equipment at buildings if the majority of tenants and leaseholders agree.  The issue of data protection is not relevant to CCTV systems installed and controlled by the landlord, proving they only cover communal areas and not a persons private space.

Reference: 065 | Received: 28 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Is based on a fixed amount per year, regardless of total cost a viable option? Won't this be the same problem of not having enough money?

Reply: Thanks for your observation. For many years we have operated a fixed service charge system which meant that we would set the charge at the start of the year and regardless of how much was spent, we would not account for any changes in future years.  In 2020, when we changed our tenancy agreements, this introduced a Variable Service Charge structure which means that we will set an estimated charge at the start of each year. When the year ends we will look at what we have spent and any difference will be carried forward into the next full rent year. So, a credit is we underspend, and a debit is if we have overspent. A variable service charge allows the landlord to recover its costs, but also allows tenants and leaseholders to have a say about the quality, standard and frequency that services are provided.

Reference: 064 | Received: 28 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Who decided on one vote per household as We are joint tenants .This is unfair and un democratic .Only one of us gets to vote.

Reply: Thanks for your observation.  When consulting we allow each tenancy to vote and not each tenant, as a single tenant would pay the same rent and service charge as joint tenants. It is only fair and appropriate to structure it in this way. Hopefully you can discuss the consultation with other family members and agree on how you will vote as the service charges are received by everyone living in your home.

Reference: 063 | Received: 27 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Why do we have to get charges for a warden (sheltered) if we don't always have access to them.  They have to cover other places.  Do we get a reduction?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. As a tenant that lives in one of our sheltered housing schemes you will have access to your sheltered housing officer. They will either work at an office in your scheme or visit multiple times a week. As your landlord we have the costs of employing staff and therefore the service charge is set on the basis that the service is provided whether  it is used or not by residents.

Reference: 062 | Received: 27 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Why should we pay an additional service charge when we already pay over the top on rent and council tax?

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  We are surprised that you think your rent is too high as our rents one of the lowest of landlords around the Milton Keynes area with an average rent of less than £100 per week -compared to the private sector, they are 3 to 4 times lower.  Having such low rents does mean that the amount of rental income that we have each year is limited, but the demands for repairs and maintenance are just not sustainable. One of the reasons why we have done this consultation is to start to fund services through service charges and not to subsidise them through rents.  Council tax is not part of this consultation.

Reference: 061 | Received: 23 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: A lot of the equipment in my scheme my residents bought themselves, so I think it is a little unfair to put them in on a service charge when they are not provided by or maintained by the council.  For example garden benches.  Also my residents currently pay for the window cleaner that does our communal windows, the council do not do that.  They also pay a private gardener to maintain the garden as although there is a contract with Woughton Community Council for the hedge/tree trimming and grass cutting, they don’t do weeding and they don’t pick up the cuttings, which leaves the garden in a mess.  The garden paving is kept clean by myself and the tenants using a jet wash, no one comes and does that.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. I will answer your questions one by one. 1. Furniture in sheltered housing schemes should have been provided by us as a landlord, this will need to be cleaned and maintained and eventually replaced. We have asked the sheltered housing officers to provide us with an inventory of furniture and equipment, so we can create a sinking fund to be able to fund the replacement of furniture in the future. 2. As a landlord we should be providing the services that our residents want so we should not really be allowing contractors to complete works that are arranged by the tenants. There are many considerations to be taken into consideration around health and safety, insurance and management and control of works. Where this is currently in place, we will work with residents and look to take over responsibility in the new year. 3. Gardening and open space grounds maintenance have been a big part of the consultation and you will have hopefully seen the articles in the consultation document and the voting options.  Where a parish council has been providing a gardening service we are taking steps to stop this arrangement and instead a new Housing garden maintenance service will be started from April 2024.  We are also looking to work with customers on the maintenance and upkeep of the common areas, and open spaces, which the service charge group have challenged us about. They say we need to resolve this, as some open spaces are in a pretty poor condition.  If you watch the video of the meeting on 15 November we discussed these subjects in great detail. More work is required around both of these and we will publish updates throughout 2024.

Reference: 060 | Received: 27 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Is there an easy read version of the document that we can use to try to explain things more simply and also what would happen, for example, where tenants do not use the communal facility, eg washing machines, but pay for laundry service – will the costs be tailored to allow for this?

Reply: Thank you for your observation. I'm afraid there is no easy read version of this document as we did have a lot to cover. You may find it easier to read the minutes of each meeting, or even watch the videos of the meetings which show what was discussed across all of the meetings so far.  In respect of your question around services like laundry equipment, our approach to setting service charges is that if we have a cost then we will recharge across all tenants and leaseholders in a fair and transparent way. This will be based on the service being available and not whether a resident decides to use it or not.  

Reference: 059 | Received: 23 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Fly tipping and graffiti are crimes why is some of my rent been used to deal with this .You have to pay the council to take away stuff to the rubbish tip not every tenant has the means to do it themselves .making a new service for tenants to pay is not right  rather than increasing rents and new service charges they need to make efficiency savings .expecting tenants to pay for councils mistakes is not fair . 

Reply: Thank you for your observation. You are absolutely right that fly tipping and criminal damage is a crime - regrettably we seem to have to spend more money dealing with the problems each year.  We have taken the step to employ a full time enforcement officer now, so that we can investigate and deal with offenders as this is likely to be the main way to stop it on housing land and buildings.  I'm told that we do have a good appointment system to dispose of household rubbish in the city which is used well by customers, but alas there will always be those people that just dump rubbish leaving it for others to deal with.  As a landlord our main sources of income are through rent and service charges.  For over 20 years we have funded a lot of services from rents which we now need to address. As the HRA budget has pressures, we need to spend rent on repairs and maintenance -not funding services which should have always been funded by service charges.

Reference: 058 | Received: 23 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: We get all our garden done by tenants, along with flowers, Windows are paid for by tenants. These costs should not be included in with the new service charges.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. It sounds like you may live at one of our sheltered housing schemes - we have discussed with the service charge group cases where some residents complete tasks around gardening and arrange for cleaning.  This is great and we don't wish to stop residents from taking pride in their homes, but we do need to consider things like health and safety and also if a tenant were to leave the scheme, would the task continue to be completed.  We should have been arranging some services historically as part of the regular upkeep of the building, so tenants would not need to complete works themselves.  As part of this consultation, we are asking about the start of a new housing garden maintenance service and also tenants have asked us to consider introducing a window cleaning service, as they struggle to get cleaners to do the work.  Rest assured we will only look to introduce a new service charge after consultation, as is taking place now, and also when a service is necessary.

Reference: 057 | Received: 22 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Why are we expected to keep paying extra bills from the council when we are always waiting for the council to repair and makes our home warm with insulation, we are supposed to be going through a regeneration process but it seems if you treat your house like a tip you get things done if you look after your home the answer is always no, why have certain people had brand new windows installed and others still have draughty noisy windows yet we're expected to pay extra fees for a service i believe the council is NOT supplying ... never a good service

Reply: Thanks for your observation and we note your disappointment in the service we provide.  This consultation will hopefully look to address one of the areas that you have highlighted, as since 2000we have funded a lot of our service charges from rents - not by charging a service charge. This has meant that rent has been used to fund services when it should have been used to repair and maintain our properties and ideally provide more social housing.  This is why we are doing this consultation now as the pressures on the housing revenue account are so great that we must address the issue of rent being used to fund service charges.  The service charge working group have told us where they think we are poor at providing services; we have listened and have started to take action where we can. You will have already had another consultation document about repairs which will also help us procure new contractors in the future.

Reference: 056 | Received: 22 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: I understand that my rent may go up but I'm not sure why I would pay a service charge, as my property is a house and I thought service charges were for blocks of flats and communal areas.  Also I pay for a lot of this through my council tax.  I would be grateful if you can get back to me when you get a moment. 

Reply: Thanks for your observation.  You are right that generally service charges are paid mainly by tenants and leaseholders that live in buildings that have communal areas, like hallways and staircases and we provide services like cleaning and checking fire alarms.  This consultation has looked at all of the costs that as a landlord we have to fund from the HRA (Housing revenue account) so costs that are not met by you council tax.  As a tenant that lives in a house, you won't have any services provided to you, so we are only really look at costs that we have identified for open space grounds maintenance and the cost of dealing with fly tipping. Both of these services affect tenants and leaseholders with properties on housing (HRA) land and therefore we have to pay the costs.  We hope, subjet to legal advice to be able to introdice a small service charge to customers to cover these costs.

Reference: 054 | Received: 21 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: What will happen if you can not introduce a new service charge to leaseholders and shared owners because of legal reasons.The preferred option is every one should pay according to consultation booklet. How will that work ?

Reply: Thanks for your observation.  We hope to have the external legal advice back before the Christmas break and will be able to take a view based on the results.  The service charge group have discussed this subject at length and what is clear is that there are several different ways that landlords cover these costs. We are dealing with an historical situation with multiple tenures and freeholders through the Right to buy, so its not simple and easily resolved.  We hope as part of this consultation to arrive at a solution which will be fair, reasonable and transparent.  

Reference: 053 | Received: 15 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Why is a service charge proposal being considered for council tenants for items like fly tipping etc when they pay for these already from their rent to the council .This not fair in any way it should come from the general fund /council tax which tenants pay also so tenants pay for it on so called public realm land again for it to be removed ?

Reply: Thanks for your observation.  As a landlord we currently have a cost of around £150,000 to deal with the removal of rubbish which is fly tipped on housiing land and on our communal gardens.  The responsibility to deal with this falls on the housing service and not the councils environmetal services teams who are funded by council tax.  Therefore, as a landlord cost, we are seeking to introduce a new service charge to cover these costs and also the cost of maintaining the open spaces land that housing owns,  where the cost is not covered by council tax.  We can only look to introduce any new service charges after consultation with stakeholders and for leaseholders where the lease allows us to do so.

Reference: 052 | Received: 20 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: Many thanks for including me in your consultation but as I have a shared-ownership house none of the issues are applicable to me. 

Reply: Thank you for leaving an observation as part of this consultation. As a shared owner leaseholder you may only pay us rent.  We are currently taking external legal advice on whether we can introduce a management fee for shared owners as they do not currently pay a management fee, whereas full leaseholders do.  Subject to the outcome of this legal advice, where possible we may also looking to cover the cost of open space maintenance and fly tipping cost which relate to the estate and area that you live in. Again this is subject to whether your lease allows us to do so.

Reference: 051 | Received: 20 Nov 2023 | Responded: 29 Nov 2023

Observation: I did receive the questionnaire by post and having read through it, decided it did not refer to my circumstances. I do not pay any service charges or anything related to the questions asked. It was predominantly for those in sheltered housing, retirement villages etc. 

Reply: Thank you for leaving an observation as part of this consultation. This consultation may result in new service charges being charged to tenants that do not currently pay any service charges, as we have identified some costs we incur as a landlord that we feel should be spread across tenants - and where leases agree, leaseholders as well.  Please see the section on open space grounds maintenance and how we need to deal with fly tipping.

Reference: 048 | Received: 19 Nov 2023 | Responded: 28 Nov 2023

Observation: Keep the service charges as is. Having to pay over 7 months will be tasking.

Reply: Thanks for leaving a comment. I think this may be relating to the leaseholders consultation that has now ended.  We will be moving leaseholder service charges back to the 1 April to 31 March admin year from 1 April 2024, so they match those paid by tenants and shared ownership leaseholders, and you can select your payment plan accordingly.

Reference: 047 | Received: 18 Nov 2023 | Responded: 28 Nov 2023

Observation: i think we pay enough for our rent

Reply: Thanks for leaving a comment. Our rents are the lowest in the region and on average are around £13 a week less than other social landlords in and around Milton Keynes.  They represent really good value for money with our average rent being close to £100 a week, whereas a similar properties if rented privately would be many times greater. Service charges are additional services provided by the Landlord for residents.

Reference: 046 | Received: 17 Nov 2023 | Responded: 28 Nov 2023

Observation: I feel we should have to pay services charges as we all pay enough in taxes as it is 

Reply: Thanks for leaving a comment. Service charges are the way in which a landlord recovers the costs of providing services to its customers - for the past 20 years our tenants have not been charged for most services that we provide, which has meant that rent has covered these costs. This consultation looks to introduce those service charges that need to be put in place to allow us to spend your rent on repairs and maintenance and hopefully in the future providing more social housing.  Service charges are in not related to any taxes that you pay.

Reference: 045 | Received: 17 Nov 2023 | Responded: 28 Nov 2023

Observation: Don’t get any communication

Reply: Thanks for leaving a comment. We have sent out two consultations in the last few months about important subjects which some of our customers have told us that we need to improve on, so we really do want you to take part and send us your observations. Completing the voting form and leaving us with your observations only takes a few minutes and you could wish one of the prizes available.

Reference: 044 | Received: 15 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: What's the point of consultation when the results are ignored? Last year tenants voted about rent being over 50 weeks and not 52, the council ignored the result.

Reply: Thanks for your feedback. I’d like to provide some clarity which I hope reassures you. Around a dozen people (out of 10,500 tenants) responded to our consultation about ending ‘free rent weeks’. Their main concern was around the timing of payments. We responded to each person explaining that while their rent account would be charged at Christmas, they didn’t have to make the payment then – as tenants can agree rent free payment holidays at any point of the year. This was agreed to be satisfactory, so we went ahead with the decision. You might also like to know that you can also make 10 payments (avoiding December and January) by direct debit. If you’d like to know more about this please visit our housing consultation web pages.

Reference: 043 | Received: 15 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: With regard to the consultations regarding Rent and Service Charges, could you please advise me whether this will affect me being a Shared Ownership tenant?

Reply: Thank you for leaving an observation as part of this consultation.  We have included all our tenants and leaseholders in the consultation to ensure that everyone has a say in how we operate as a landlord / freeholder moving forward.  Most of our tenants do not pay any service charges, only around 27% do, but this consultation looks to seek views on how we can cover landlord expense which may introduce a small service charge to all tenants.  You will note we have asked for observations and voting about how we can recover the cost of maintaining all the open spaces and land which is owned by the housing department and not maintained by council tax. Also we spend in the region of £150,000 a year collecting and tackling fly tipping on this land, again a service not covered by council tax.

Reference: 041 | Received: 12 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: Does this mean that in addition to the monthly rent we pay under shared ownership we will have a service charge? Is this relevant to shared owners as most of the letter deals with flats?

Reply: Thank you for leaving an observation as part of this consultation.  We have included all our tenants and leaseholders in the consultation to ensure that everyone has a say in how we operate as a landlord / freeholder moving forward.  Most of our tenants do not pay any service charges, only around 27% do, but this consultation looks to seek views on how we can cover landlord expense which may introduce a small service charge to all tenants.  You will note we have asked for observations and voting about how we can recover the cost of maintaining all the open spaces and land which is owned by the housing department and not maintained by council tax. Also we spend in the region of £150,000 a year collecting and tackling fly tipping on this land, again a service not covered by council tax.

Reference: 040 | Received: 12 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: I would like to know why our service charges are going up yet our block sometimes isn’t cleaned for weeks! We do pay a weekly service charge! And also the lights in the block are absolutely ridiculous, on 24/7! So I take it we will be fitting the bill for this? Would it not be better to have lights that turn on when someone enters/exits the block. Surly the lights do not need to be on when there is no one out there to benefit from them? 

Reply: Thank you for your observation. We are pleased to confirm that the Stakeholder Group has raised concerns over the cleaning and caretaking service and a separate review of these services is taking place as part of the project.  They have also highlighted the issue that emergency lighting remains on 24/7 and we are looking at ways of reducing this by adding sensors etc.  Newer installations already have this functionality.

Reference: 039 | Received: 9 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: With the utilities for Gas and Electric are the cost made up from the consolidated meter readings for sheltered housing?  Or cost made up from individual schemes? Some tenants use their utilities 24/7 for 360 days a year. How is a fair charge for each tenant made up?

Gardening: At our scheme the parish come once every 6 weeks (if lucky) to cut grass. No hedges cut. No planting, this is done by the scheme.
Communal cleaning: Completed of communal areas only not outside and not windows.
Cleaning for Bins and storage areas: This is neve done! 

 Reply: Thank you for your observation.  If you i've in a block which has a communal boiler that provides heating and hot water to all of the properties in the block then its highly likely that there is only one gas and electricity supply for the landlord, which we pay to be utilities companies.  We then recharge the cost across the residents based on the apportionment of the total cost.  You are correct that some residents will have the heating on all day, which means the boiler is having to work, whilst other residents wont or could even be still working and away from home.  This is one of the issues with communal heatring systems.  The service charge group have raised this with us and asked us to look at options to meter each property separately.  Unfortunately when our Asset  Team looked at those schemes with communal boilers, due to a number of reasons, it is not possible to introduce separate heat meters to properties.  In respect of gardening at sheltered schemes, the service charge group has a guest visitor at its meeting on Wednesday 15 November who explained that the housing garden service that had previously been undertaken by the local parish council is now being brought back into a single contract and this consultation will look at producing a new Housing gardening standard which will start from April 2024.  We have also started a sub group who have been looking at out cleaning and caretaking services and they will be reporting back soon. You can following their progress by looking at the Caretaking and Cleaning page

Reference: 038 | Received: 8 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: My observations concerning apportionment of service charges and how service charge is divided up for Leasehold properties.
The council must remember it has different types of Leasehold properties which will require a range of different management/administration tasks and therefore different management/administration costs. 

Should the council apply generic service charges, these must be calculated based on an assessment of the different types of property and the level of service/management required for each of these types of property. For example, the costs of looking after a large block of flats with internal and external communal areas, lifts, fire safety inspections of communal areas, security, cleaning, etc, will be different to a small block with no outside space and communal heating.   
My property is a self-contained maisonette. The 4 properties in this block have no communal areas, internal or external. We have our own entrances into our own gardens. The council deals only with my building insurance and the infrequent maintenance of the external/structural elements of the building. Their management costs for this block will, therefore, be considerably lower than some other leasehold properties.

My Lease clearly stipulates that I am only responsible for my share of the council’s costs relating to my property and this block of maisonettes. I will not agree to subsidise any of the council’s costs in providing management/service charges for other properties.
 

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  What you say is totally correct and we must always comply with the conditions within each lease.  The apportionment of service charges is part of these conditions and as part of this consultation we have been looking back at how when the leases were written some of the figures were calculated.  It has become clear that a small number just do not now make sense and we have agreed as part of the discussions with leaseholders that were an apportionment looks to be not as fair and reasonable as we would like we will address this now.  This may means that some leaseholders will be asked to pay a little bit less from April 2024, where the new apportionment percentage is less.  We are not looking to legally vary the lease as this would be too costly, but will work on the assumption that a reduced apportionment would be accepted by the leaseholder.  As part of the consultation we have asked stakeholders to vote on various approaches and we will know the outcome of these voting options on 13 December 2023 when the consultation finished.

Reference: 036 | Received: 7 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: We live in a block of four and meant to have communal area cleaned weekly, some times its not done for 4/5 weeks at a time and clean area myself which is no where near acceptable as we pay for this service, also next door have painted around their cupboard and door a different colour yet warden has said nothing, also waste is left for days in the communal area with no reprimand, its a very very poor service we pay for and the yard is also a dirty filthy mess which i tidy but get no help with from other tenants and their mess, feel no effort goes into communal areas at all

Reply: Thank you for your observation. The group did raise with us the issue of our caretaking and cleaning service and highlighted pretty much what you have put. As a result a sub working group was set up and they have been working to review both services to establish a new cleaning and caretaking standard and also look at how the services are set up, managed and how the costs are recharged in service charges. You can follow the groups progress online at link

Reference: 035 | Received: 7 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: How can I join a working group or similar group to be involved in this?

Reply: The stakeholder group decided in May 2023 that membership of the group would be closed, so that stakeholders would not join after discussions and training had been provided. They felt that adequate opportunities for customers to be involved had been given and new members  may interrupt proceedings. if you wish to get involved you may wish to reply to our repairs consultation as they wish to set up a working group.

Reference: 034 | Received: 6 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: Utilities (Gas Electric) costings per tenants. Are the costs made from consolidated meter readings of the total complexes?
Or Costs made from meter readings of individual complexes. If from the first complexes of different sizes (Buildings and number of tenants).
Some tenants use utilities 23/7 360 days per year other tenants just use when they need too!
How is a fair charge for each tenant made up? Environmental charges? Gardening Hinton Lodge are only provided with grass cutting every 8 weeks.
Communal Cleaning? Cleaning of common areas only. Cleaning of bins and storage areas are never done, along with window cleaning.

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  Where a building has a communal heat network, so one boiler supplying heating and hot water to multiple tenant / leaseholders the cost of the energy used generally comes from a single gas supply which MKCC pays for and them recharges back in a service charge,  Apportionment of heating charges is defined in the lease and for tenant you may have seen our proposal in this consultation.  We have started to look at whether separate heat meters can be installed, but early results suggest that for most systems this is not an option.  Gardening services are currently under review and we have proposed a new gardening service now that we have new contractors which were appointed as part of the our environmental waste contract this year.  Cleaning is also a subject the stakeholder group have discussed and a separate working group is working on this area.

Reference: 033 | Received: 3 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation:  A service charge is just another way to more money,

Reply: Thank you for your observation. You are correct that this consultation is looking to introduce a new set of service charges which will cover the cost of us providing services to you which have over the last 20 years been paid for by rents.  MKCC should have "unpooled" these services charges from rents in 2000 as part of works when the government changed its rent setting policy.  We are now consulting to bring in service charges to sit alongside rents, so that we stop subsidising service charges from rents which in the medium to long term will allow us to spend any surplus on rents on completing more repairs and maintenance and hopefully building and buying more social housing as the demand far outweighs are ability to supply social housing.

Reference: 032 | Received: 3 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: Many of the tenants have carers who attend to their health care needs, and other commitments that make  life less stressful to their welfare. If the new charges become unbearable, it will have a negative impact on their lives.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Any new service charges will only cover the cost of any services that you receive which have previously been funded from rents.  Most of the proposed service charges are eligible for housing benefit and universal credit and as around 60% of our tenant receive help with their rent, these new charges should have an impact on them.  Keeping any service charge fair, reasonable and transparent is important.

Reference: 031 & 037 | Received: 3 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: I am sorry its taken time to reply but I am sure you understand.

Firstly I would just like to say I cant comment to much on service charges.
I am in a house shared ownership detached and run a mortgage and for over 10 years as per my lease contract I pay for all up keep of the house in out and surroundings. You don't actually provide any services to me. but that said brings me to my first point I think if you buy into shared ownership with a mortgage I think you should be liable to maintain your property because lets face it. it is in my best interests to keep the place in tip top condition to expect a top selling price if I choose to sell.  I think there is a little stigma if someone just pays rent there not going to look after it as well as if they were invested in the property they may look after it a little more.

So to building insurance I also deal with that enough to rebuild the house if ever needed as per my lease contract. but I will say there is a weird section to say that while I have a mortgage I am responsible but once the mortgage ends.

Which for some can up to 25 years. There after the council arranges building insurance .What is the point in that clause of the lease??? any ideas I defiantly don't understand that if I've been sorting for last 25 years plus...1980S CLAUSE

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  It is good to hear that you are enjoying being a home owners and you are taking your responsibilities to maintain your property seriously.  As a shared owner your lease does have a clause which covers buildings insurance. This clause says that if you have a mortgage and your bank or building society requires you to have buildings insurance with them, then MKCC does not need to insure the property for you.  If however you do not have a mortgage the we will insure the property.  The stakeholder group have discussed this and many other issues this year and we have decided that we will enfore this clause as you seek insurance from the open market to get best value for money as you live in a house and not a flat, which we would insure as the freeholder.  You mentioned the proposal to introduce "sinking and reserve funds" these are simply method of us collecting contributions to ensure that when certain items need to be replaced in the future we have sufficient funds available. An example would be the replacement of a door entry system in a block of flats.  Leaseholders have told us that they do not want to pay sinking fund contributions.

Reference: 030 | Received: 2 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: I am a leasehold owner and just to say for all the years ive been hear my billing for service charge has been vague and some of the invoices don’t ring any bells with what's been done in the block and with not always anyone to talk to about it.

I think I'm right in saying there are only three leasehold flats in the block of the eleven flats, so if tenants service charge contributions were to go elsewhere, I would simply not be able to afford it.

I pay my service charge weekly which is struggle living alone, it is so upsetting when vandalism is done in the block, and it is me that has the degrading job of ringing the police so that I can give a crime number to the council so that it doesn’t go onto service charge. Since reading the document about proposed changes I am really concerned.

Please do not bury me and others in the same boat.

Reply: Thank you for your observation. Please rest assured that any service charges we levy will relate directly to expenditure on your block or the surrounding areas which as a landlord we have to maintain.  Our service charges are mostly eligible for housing benefit and the housing part of universal credit, so you may wish to ask if you can receive help with these bills.

Reference: 029 | Received: 2 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: I'I keep receiving correspondence from you regarding a service charge review. Please can I point out to you that I do not live in a flat. 
I live in a 3 bedroom semi-detached shared ownership house which is next door to the flats. I do not pay service charges as I pay for all my own repairs, services etc myself. I only pay my rent to Milton Keynes Council.  This is not the first time I have been confused with the flats, even when they assessed properties for the new bins they had put me down to receive sacks. I told them then I live in a house which has  ample storage in my garden for bins. I actually own a good chunk of my house. They then reassessed and sent me my bins.
Please reply and indeed change whatever records you hold to say that my property is indeed a Shared Ownership house.

Reply: Thank you for leaving an observation as part of this consultation.  We have included all our tenants and leaseholders in the consultation to ensure that everyone has a say in how we operate as a landlord / freeholder moving forward.  Most of our tenants do not pay any service charges, only around 27% do, but this consultation looks to seek views on how we can cover landlord expense which may introduce a small service charge to all tenants.  You will note we have asked for observations and voting about how we can recover the cost of maintaining all the open spaces and land which is owned by the housing department and not maintained by council tax. Also we spend in the region of £150,000 a year collecting and tackling fly tipping on this land, again a service not covered by council tax.

Reference: 028 | Received: 2 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: We have received the brochure regarding service charges being introduced. Can we ask if this affects us as we do not receive any services, all works/services we pay for ourselves.

Reply: We seek your views and votes to allow us to understand what you think and want and at the end of the consultation we can work towards introducing a set of service charges that are fair, easy to understand and reasonable.  The terms of your lease will determine what we are the freeholder can charge you as the leaseholder. We are currently reviewing both our shared ownership leases and those leases given to right to buy leaseholders with our legal department to see if we can introduce some new service charges to leaseholders around the costs of maintaining open spaces and dealing with associated issues such as fly tipping.

Reference: 027 | Received: 2 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: I was sent a letter recently about being consulted on Rents and Service Charges. The booklet goes through a lot about service charges and changes to this process, as well as myself needing to partake in a vote. 

The property is a house and doesn't have service charges applied to it - this is what the contract was signed as and I directly look after everything for the property. I did also check directly with the shared ownership department who confirmed this to me. 

I'm just a little confused as to why I've been sent this booklet and a part of this vote when it does not impact me. I just want to check if there was anything I was missing. 

Please could you let me know if I can disregard this booklet/vote?

Reply: Thank you for leaving an observation as part of this consultation.  We have included all our tenants and leaseholders in the consultation to ensure that everyone has a say in how we operate as a landlord / freeholder moving forward.  Most of our tenants do not pay any service charges, only around 27% do, but this consultation looks to seek views on how we can cover landlord expense which may introduce a small service charge to all tenants.  You will note we have asked for observations and voting about how we can recover the cost of maintaining all the open spaces and land which is owned by the housing department and not maintained by council tax. Also we spend in the region of £150,000 a year collecting and tackling fly tipping on this land, again a service not covered by council tax.

Reference: 026 | Received: 1 Nov 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: Why were tenants not pre warned of the large increases in service charges in April 2023.

Reply: As Thank you for laving an observation.  We work on completing our budgets each year between September and January and part of this process is calculation the rents and service charges for the new rent year, which starts on the first Monday in April each year.  The process of advising tenants of their new year rent and service charges was completed in February 2023 by sending out a rent review letter to each tenant.  This letter contained information on changes in service charges and also invited tenants and leaseholders to join this consultation.  When some tenants asked us about increases in heating charges, gas and electricity charges we produced a complete and comprehensive answer which was shared across the housing service and also published on the MKCC housing web pages. We are now consulting tenants and leaseholders again, as per the letter you have received recently.

Reference: 025 | Received: 31 Oct 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: When the service change going to happen and why tenants have to pay for large items to be moved which they can’t afford it 

Reply: When the service change going to happen and why tenants have to pay for large items to be moved which they can’t afford it.

Reference: 024 | Received: 31 Oct 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: Have read all the literature and just wanted to double check that the changes don't effect me?  Live in a 3 bedroom, 2 storey, detached shared ownership property. Arrange my own building insurance which I'm happy to provide.

Basically I won't be asked to pay a service charge following this review? The section 'this consultation will affect every tenant and leaseholder by introducing new service charges, in addition to the rent that you pay from April 2024' is what concerned me, as no where else does it outline that I would now pay a service charge.
 

Reply: We seek your views and votes to allow us to understand what you think and want and at the end of the consultation we can work towards introducing a set of service charges that are fair, easy to understand and reasonable.  The terms of your lease will determine what we are the freeholder can charge you as the leaseholder. We are currently reviewing both our shared ownership leases and those leases given to right to buy leaseholders with our legal department to see if we can introduce some new service charges to leaseholders around the costs of maintaining open spaces and dealing with associated issues such as fly tipping.

Reference: 023 | Received: 31 Oct 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: Thank you for your letter dated 24/10/23. As a shared ownership tenant I feel it would be inequitable for me to vote on matters that do not affect me. As such I will not be taking part of this consultation. Should you have one that deals with shared ownership matters then I would be happy to take part

Reply: Thank you for leaving an observation as part of this consultation.  We have included all our tenants and leaseholders in the consultation to ensure that everyone has a say in how we operate as a landlord / freeholder moving forward.  Most of our tenants do not pay any service charges, only around 27% do, but this consultation looks to seek views on how we can cover landlord expense which may introduce a small service charge to all tenants.  You will note we have asked for observations and voting about how we can recover the cost of maintaining all the open spaces and land which is owned by the housing department and not maintained by council tax. Also we spend in the region of £150,000 a year collecting and tackling fly tipping on this land, again a service not covered by council tax.

Reference: 022 | Received: 30 Oct 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: Why do you have consultations then ignore the results, for example in response to 2 weeks free Christmas rent the where people who took part wanted to keep it the councillors voted to get rid of it, so why have consultations if you choose to ignore them

Reply: Thanks for your feedback. I’d like to provide some clarity which I hope reassures you. Around a dozen people (out of 10,500 tenants) responded to our consultation about ending ‘free rent weeks’. Their main concern was around the timing of payments. We responded to each person explaining that while their rent account would be charged at Christmas, they didn’t have to make the payment then – as tenants can agree rent free payment holidays at any point of the year. This was agreed to be satisfactory, so we went ahead with the decision. You might also like to know that you can also make 10 payments (avoiding December and January) by direct debit. If you’d like to know more about this please visit our housing consultation web pages. 

Reference: 021 | Received: 30 Oct 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: I'd like to know how often the stairway and landings are supposed to be cleaned I've lived in my flat for 20 years and it has never been specified.

Reply: As part of this consultation, the Caretaking and Cleaning Focus Group is reviewing the standards and frequency for all blocks. You can follow the progress by visiting Caretaking and Cleaning Focus Group | Milton Keynes City Council (milton-keynes.gov.uk)

Reference: 020 | Received: 30 Oct 2023 | Responded: 15 Nov 2023

Observation: I do not think it would be acceptable to even suggest a service charge. I have been a tenant for a very long time and I don’t feel that the services Iv received have ever been satisfactory. 

I lived in an area before where you paid a service charge and you got what you paid for. I never had any issues. The streets were kept clean and tidy. Repairs were done, communication was very good. 

Mk council rubbish collection workers can’t even bring the bins back, you have to go searching. Repairs have to be repeated chased up. I and 3 inspections of my property, was promised this and that on each occasion and then heard nothing! Still waiting for some of it and the bits that have been done have only been done because of repeated phone calls. 

My street is an absolute mess. Always full of rubbish, a camera was put up for a month and then taken down, not sure what the point was. Cars, caravans and toys everywhere. Cars parked in the street of people that don’t even live in the street and then when you have to park on the grass because you have nowhere else to park you get letters through the door.

The whole estate is a joke to be honest and I I think asking for more money is an absolute joke. Emails to Milton Keynes council go unanswered. I put in a complaint about MK council and have never had a response. I've chased it up and just ignored again. 

Reply: Thank you for your observation.  This consultation is about introducing service charges which should have been introduced around 2000, when the government changed its rent setting policy.  You note that where you did pay a service charge before, services were provided and you were happy.  We are looking to introduce new service charges to cover the cost of services which should have always been paid for by service charges and not rent. This way as a landlord we will have more rent monies to fund repairs and maintenance and hopefully in the future we able to acquire and build more social housing for rent.  One of our key objectives is to address the current condition of housing owned land, which you reference is a mess.  e propose in this consultation to introduce a new open space grounds maintenance service which will tackle these issues and those of fly tipping on our land.  We are aware of these issues and have listened alot this year and are working towards solutions as outcomes of this consultation.

Reference: 019 | Received: 29 Oct 2023 | Responded: 31 Oct 2023

Observation: I would like to comment and vote by visiting the Housing Consultation online form, but cannot find an online address for this anywhere on the document sent to me, even though it periodically tells me to 'visit the Housing Consultation online and vote'. Please can you provide me with a link to this form.

Reply: Thank you for contacting us about service charges voting. The voting page can be accessed by following a QR code that we provided in the letter. Alternatively, the following link can also be used – https://forms.office.com/e/JLaRhKqhaF