Residents at a Byker housing association have said that they are 'disgusted and shocked' after their rent and heating bills have 'skyrocketed', with some seeing an increase of £20 a week.
Working residents who live in Byker Community Trust and Karbon Homes properties face an extra £80 on their monthly bills to the housing association, on top of increasing energy bills, while those receiving benefits have seen an increase proportionate to their income. A letter was issued to tenants in February, notifying of the price increase, but residents have told ChronicleLive that there was 'no consultation' ahead of this.
Rent has increased in line with the Government's social housing rent cap of seven per cent, but the biggest increase on customers' bills relates to heating and infrastructure. The Byker Estate is powered by the Byker District Heating System, which was installed with the building of the estate in the 1970s and is owned and managed by Newcastle City Council.
Read more: Work under way on £11m Byker Estate overhaul to boost neighbourhood environment
The system was designed to provide unlimited heating and hot water to all homes on the estate, as well as other buildings, and residents are still able to use unlimited heating now as part of their tenancy agreements. They are also seeing two charges on their bills, an infrastructure charge which encompasses running costs for the heating system and a heat charge to cover the cost of fuel supplying heating and hot water.
Heat charges in smaller properties have increased by £3.05 per week for those on benefits, and £8.48 per week for working customers. Four bedroom properties, the largest on the estate, have seen a typical increase of £10.01 per week for customers receiving benefits and £13.61 per week for working customers.
Jackie Leydon, 52, has lived in her home on Janet Street for twenty years and says: "It's a massive increase. I'm shocked because it's another large bill on top of everything else going up.
"I feel pretty disgusted because normally it only goes up by £5 a week."
Jackie lives with her partner and 11-year-old daughter and says their outgoings have increased by around £220 per month, taking into account energy, water, council tax, shopping and the new charge from Karbon Homes and Byker Community Trust. She has resorted to working from home as often as she can to cut petrol costs - though that's not an option for everyone.
And Jackie is also worried that her daughter's first holiday abroad will not be able to go ahead as they will struggle to find the spending money to go away. She added: "Obviously, we're having to tighten our belts and we're not able to spend as much money.
"We're struggling to pay for the holiday we booked last year, and God knows where we're going to get the spending money from. It's all going on rent and bills, we're trying everything just to cut our monthly spends down."
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, told ChronicleLive that their rent had gone up by £88 a month and that the cost of living crisis was "really starting to bite". They said: "When the rent officer told me about the increase on the phone, I literally swore and she said she'd had a lot of similar responses.
"I'm fuming, everyone's going on about the cost of living, I'm seeing food prices going up all the time but this is the first time that I've actually seen it affect me personally. I live off my wages week to week and sometimes there'd be a few quid spare that week but that's all gone now."
A third resident, who also asked to remain anonymous, has lived in the Byker Wall for several decades. Their rent and heating bills have increased from £118 to £138, but they said there is no option but to find the money.
They said: "Everything else has went up but you have got to find it according to the Government. I'm coping at the minute because I'm pretty well organised, and if you've been here for as long as I have, you can't just say, 'right, that's it, I'm moving!'"
However, not all residents are incensed at the increase. Mark Ford, who lives in a Karbon Homes property and has called the Byker Wall home for 21 years says that it is the private homeowners, such as his mam, who he feels sorry for.
He said: "I don't like the idea of paying it but for what they invest, it's got to be done. We're paying more for heating, rent and an administration fee, but they're putting in a lot of new pipework around the estate.
"It's the private homeowners I feel sorry for. You can live in two identical houses across the street yet one is paying more for their heating than the other. We pay £37.95 a week for our heating an infrastructure, yet my mam pays £47.21 - it doesn't make sense."
Two residents who asked to remain anonymous told ChronicleLive that the rent increase had been put in place to cover kitchen and bathroom renovations. However, Karbon Homes say that this is not the case, and the investment in modernisation works to all homes on the estate comes from a £36m of funding pot established when Byker Community Trust joined Karbon Homes in 2021.
Michelle Bell, assistant director of Byker Community at Karbon Homes, said: "Last year, the Government confirmed that there would be a social housing rent cap of seven per cent in 2023, designed to support households with the rising cost of living. As a result, our rents have increased by seven per cent from April 3 2023.
"For the last 11 years, there has been no increase in heating and hot water charges to Byker customers, which means the costs paid back in 2012 remained the same as customers paid until the end of March 2023. We’ve tried not to increase these charges for as long as possible but, like the rest of the country, we are faced with unprecedented fuel and energy price increases.
"Therefore, we need to increase charges from April 2023. Our charges have been brought in line with what British Gas class as a ‘low consumption charge’.
"This means the smallest properties on the estate, which are typically occupied by single people, will see an estimated increase of £3.05 per week for customers who receive benefits, and £8.48 per week for working customers.
"We understand that our customers may be facing financial difficulties and we are providing advice and support to customers in many ways. If you or someone you know is struggling to pay rent and heating charges or need some help and advice, please give us a call. Our Tenancy Sustainment Team can help with debts, benefit maximisation and provide advice on household budgeting. Please get in touch and speak to us and we can support you."
Karbon Homes and the Byker Community Trust have worked together since July 2016, and in April 2021 the ownership and management of 1,800 homes on the Grade II listed Byker Estate came under the housing association's ownership. In March 2023, an £11m neighbourhood improvement programme was announced which will see works between now and 2029.
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