It’s time to stop service charge abuse

Across the country, landlords and freeholders are abusing the system by exploiting housing benefit-related service charges. Evidence shows that many service charge accounts managed by landlords and freeholders contain inaccuracies, coupled with insufficient scrutiny of the legitimacy of these claims. Consequently, the benefits system is being defrauded of millions of pounds annually due to this manipulation. It's essential to address this problem at its source to shield victims from the unfair impacts of service charge abuse.

Poole’s MP Neil Duncan-Jordan has co-signed a letter to the National Audit Office, on behalf of the Social Housing Action Campaign, to demand a major inquiry into service charge abuse by local councils, housing associations, and private landlords.

Read the letter below: