London council issues further eviction threat over energy bills

The Lambeth Tenants Heat Campaign argued that most UK renters can only be evicted for inability to pay rent, but the council is “erroneously” counting fuel debt as unpaid rent.

Lambeth Council reiterated that energy prices rose in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but its costs only increased the following year after its long-term contracts ended. It said the resident was not covering her weekly rent and has not made any payments toward the arrears.

The council said it had provided resources and guidance, and officers met the tenant on several occasions. Lambeth added that initiating legal proceedings to secure a possession order would require her to make payments and she will have the opportunity to present her case during court proceedings.

Ruth London, co-director of Fuel Poverty Action, a campaign group supporting the residents, said that “unreliable, inefficient” heat networks in Lambeth meant “the cost of heat can be astronomical – and that is not the fault of the residents”.

She continued: “Tenants are trapped, unable to switch or reduce their charges and unable to pay what the council demands.

“In these circumstances a notice of seeking possession is simply violent. It wrecks people’s mental and physical health. It terrorises families, pensioners, and disabled residents, forcing them into debt, hunger and depression.”

“What will it take before Lambeth sees reason?” Ms London asked.

In a blog post last month, one tenant of Wedgwood House said they had “received two threatening letters from Lambeth seeking repossession/action to take me to court”. 

“No matter what I pay, my arrears still go up,” they added.

A spokesperson for Lambeth Council said: “We know that the rises last year came at a particularly tough time for all our residents, and we provided an extra half a million pounds in funding for our most vulnerable tenants, who were already suffering the most from the cost of living crisis.

“We have a responsibility to recover rent and service charges, in line with the tenancy agreements. This means we have to enact the arrears recovery process, where tenants are not paying off their rent or not making any payments towards their arrears.

“But we also make clear that possession proceedings will only ever be used as a last resort, where other interventions and support have proved unsuccessful.

“We understand that clearing arrears immediately or over a short period can be challenging, so we have been working with residents to create extended payment plans that align with their affordability and can be paid over a more extended period.

“Our aim is to work with them to establish a sensible payment arrangement that aligns with their affordability and can be paid over a more extended period. We also have many support and advice partners and our own in-house tenancy support team to help residents where possible through this challenging period.”