Disabled stroke survivor slashes food budget after Lambeth Council hikes heating bill by £243 per month

A disabled double stroke survivor has had to cut down on food after a South London council hiked her heating charge by £243 per month.

Denise, who uses a walking aid to get around, is one of 3,500 Lambeth Council tenants hit by a 350 per cent increase to their communal heating payments since April. 

The Streatham resident said she had fallen into £300 of debt since the increase came into effect, despite taking money out of her food budget in a last ditch attempt to make ends meet. 

Denise, who asked for her surname not to be published, said she had fallen ill due to stress linked to her money worries. Last weekend alone, the 55-year-old claims she received two emails and four text messages from the council chasing her for arrears.

Denise said: "The only way I can find this extra money is to take it out of my food budget. I'm not doing too well. I've been very ill and the stress of all this isn't helping.

"I'm currently £300 in arrears, which is the first time I have ever been in arrears in 25 years as a Lambeth tenant. It is very upsetting."

She added: "How have these costs been calculated for vulnerable people like me? I live alone and I'm being charged the same as a family of four. As the heating is communal, I can't even try and save money by turning it off."

In March, Labour-run Lambeth Council wrote to thousands of residents who get their heating and hot water from a communal boiler informing them that they would see a huge increase in their bills from the following month.

The council advised residents to "end your tenancy" if they were unable to pay the new charges. It has since apologised for the wording of the letter. 

Energy for communal heating systems is bought in advance. Bill hikes that hit many families last year due to the rise in gas prices linked to the Ukraine invasion are only now being experienced by residents with communal boilers.  

In January before the rise came into effect, Matthew Bryant, deputy leader of the council's Liberal Democrat opposition, recommended Lambeth consider spreading the price increase over a number of years. 

The Liberal Democrats are now calling on the Labour-run council to implement a six point plan, which includes supporting residents through an emergency fund, reviewing how the council procures energy contracts and altering boilers to make them use less energy. 

Councillor Tim Windle, Lambeth's cabinet member for housing, said the council's response already covered the ideas proposed by the Liberal Democrats. He added that Lambeth had handed out £8 million in financial aid to residents since the beginning of the cost of living crisis, in addition to another £10 million just announced. 

Cllr Windle added: "We appreciate this is a desperate situation and have referred Denise to our specialist support service to ensure she can access all the help available, including help with her heating bills. We are doing all we can to shield our residents from these global price hikes and will soon install individual meter readers that will help save people money."