The leasehold flats left with no hot water or heating over mystery £600,000 bill

Renters and homeowners living in a block of flats in London are being forced to use temporary showers in their car park after being left without hot water or heating – after £600,000 in historic bills went unpaid. More than 120 apartments have been left without a gas supply since last Friday at the Middle Yard development in Dollis Hill, north-west London. Despite paying their energy bills through a monthly charge to a bills management company, renters and leasehold homeowners were recently told that around £300,000 is owed to both the gas provider and the electricity provider in debts spanning several years. Shorts Jessica, 31, who asked for her last name not to be used, bought her two-bedroom flat at Middle Yard in Dollis Hill with her husband for around £580,000 in 2022. “We worked really hard and saved and saved, and we had to use the Government’s Help to Buy scheme to buy our first home,” she told The i Paper. “And now our communal boilers aren’t working, and we have no heating or hot water.” “It’s really shocking,” Jessica added. “None of us were aware that the bills were not being paid.” The building’s management company, Rendall and Rittner, which took over in May, sent the letter to residents informing them of the debt and said it is now working “with the freeholder and energy supplier to have the gas supply reinstated as quickly as possible”. The building’s freeholder, Union Developments, appointed utility billing company mySycous to collect residents’ monthly energy bills. Both companies have been contacted for comment. In communal blocks, the freeholder or managing agent is also typically responsible for the energy supply in communal areas and for recovering the costs from leaseholders and tenants through service charges. Rendall and Rittner said it had not been aware of the “full extent of the historic energy debt” when it took on the management of the development and that discussions with the freeholder and energy supplier were “continuing urgently”. A spokesperson added it is reviewing “the previous budgeting and recovery of energy costs, heat tariff and metering arrangements, and sums outstanding in relation to the development”. They said: “As that work remains ongoing, it would not be appropriate for us to speculate about responsibility for the historic shortfall or to suggest at this stage what individual residents may ultimately be asked to pay.” The company and the freeholder have provided residents with temporary heating and portable showers. It comes after a second development where Union Developments is the freeholder was left without running water over the summer and residents were recently warned their electricity could soon be cut off because of unpaid bills. Residents at Parkhaus in Hackney were told their electricity supply could be cut off within weeks Residents at Parkhaus, a development featuring 79 “high-end apartments” in Hackney, east London, have shared pictures of a letter taped to the front doors of their development last month, warning that their power could be cut off within weeks. One leasehold homeowner at the development said: “We are living in fear of having no power or water during the winter so, we are just trying to move as quickly as possible.” A government spokesperson said: “These reports are concerning. Landlords must fix problems regarding vital services such as water and electricity as a priority and they are legally required to spend leaseholder money appropriately and follow the maintenance requirements set out in the lease. “We are taking action to bring leasehold to an end and make the system more transparent so people can see how their money is being spent and have full ownership and control over their own homes.” Labour has vowed to end leasehold homeownership through the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill and transition to a new model called commonhold, where there are no freeholders. The i Paper revealed earlier this year that the Bill has been delayed, but it is hoped the final legislation will be introduced before Parliament in the coming months.