Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport are angry at Stonewater following the price increase of their rent and service charge

Residents of an over-55s housing complex are furious after their landlord has significantly increased their service and rent charges – and many are concerned they will be made homeless.
By Sophie Lewis
Published 13th Mar 2023, 16:19 GMT
Updated 13th Mar 2023, 16:20 GMT
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Raglan Court in Gosport, which has 33 self-contained flats, is owned by Stonewater. It is aimed at offering those over the age of 55 a safe environment in a warm environment.

A number of the residents are annoyed after they were informed last month that their service charge and rent prices were going to be increasing by about £87 a week, which is an additional £348 a month, from the beginning of April.

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Martin Hulland, 66, is a veteran and has been living at the property for two and a half years. He said: ‘My rent has gone up from £658.10 a month to £1,006.17 a month.

Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: Residents (l-r) Martin Hulland, Muriel Smith, Mary Gray, June Hobbins, Elaine Tuffey, Dave Borthwick, Margaret Roberts and Delia Hamilton. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-945)Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: Residents (l-r) Martin Hulland, Muriel Smith, Mary Gray, June Hobbins, Elaine Tuffey, Dave Borthwick, Margaret Roberts and Delia Hamilton. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-945)
Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: Residents (l-r) Martin Hulland, Muriel Smith, Mary Gray, June Hobbins, Elaine Tuffey, Dave Borthwick, Margaret Roberts and Delia Hamilton. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-945)

‘I was receiving £634 housing benefit a month but I have recently changed from Universal Credit to my state pension but I am still waiting for the council to tell me how much I will be getting monthly.

‘I will have to move if I can’t pay the rent and I won’t know until after April 3. I am going to be in rental arrears and that is going to be against me so if I go to any other housing association with a debt to Stonewater they will say they can’t take me on and then the next step will be homelessness.’

In the letter they received from Stonewater last month, all of the current prices were outlined alongside the new ones and in many cases the cost of individual heating per week has increased from £5.49 to £43.47 per week and the share of the communal electric bill has jumped from £3.93 to £32.26.

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The problem that the residents are finding is that the heating is all centrally controlled so none of them are able to turn their heating off in a bid to reduce the costs so they are stuck in a ‘catch 22’.

Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: Veteran Martin Hulland. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-937)Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: Veteran Martin Hulland. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-937)
Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: Veteran Martin Hulland. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-937)

SEE ALSO: Fire breaks out in Gosport as smoke seen pouring from top floor flat window

Delia Hamilton, 60, has been living at the property since 2019. She says she is ‘so angry’ following the price increase and is concerned that she will be facing homelessness because she will not be able to fund the price difference.

She said: ‘My shortfall per week is now going to be £98 that I am going to have find. I have been to Universal Credit and they said that they will pay £134 towards my rent per week.

‘I can’t just find that money, I have just not got that money, I have spoken to Stonewater who have said that rent is essential, service charge is essential and that food isn’t and we should go to our family for help.’

Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-950)Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-950)
Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-950)
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Delia has had to fill out an affordability test application which has been taken to the council, and if it is deemed that she needs extra help, she may be entitled but that help might not be there.

She added: ‘I have got nothing to lose, I am going to put up a fight.’

Lloyd Davies, 76, said: ‘My income is a state pension, housing benefit and that is pretty much it – I don’t want to get into debt, if I pay my way and all of my other bills and I have a fiver at the end of the week that would be better than nothing but when you are in a situation where you can do basically nothing that will get the cost down, it’s worrying.’

Dave Borthwick, 75, has been living a Raglan Court with his wife, Susan, for the past four years and he is not prepared to pay the increase in their service charge for services that the residents claim they have not been receiving.

Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: (l-r) Residents Muriel Smith and Mary Gray chat over a cup of tea in the communual lounge. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-953)Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: (l-r) Residents Muriel Smith and Mary Gray chat over a cup of tea in the communual lounge. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-953)
Residents at Raglan Court in Gosport, have been informed that they will experience their service charge and rent increase by a dramatic amount (about £80 roughly a week) and many are going to struggle paying this. Pictured is: (l-r) Residents Muriel Smith and Mary Gray chat over a cup of tea in the communual lounge. Picture: Sarah Standing (070323-953)
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Susan is on end-of-life care, and the couple moved into the flat because they were promised a safe environment - but say that it has not felt like this.

Dave, who served in the Royal Navy, said that the lifts did not work across the Christmas period and on numerous occasions residents have had to be rescued by the fire brigade.

Multiple residents said that the intercom system was broken which meant that residents could not always buzz people in and out, and in one instance a resident, who had a fall in the night did not call an ambulance because paramedics would not be able to get into the building.

Dave said: ‘What is happening to us is constructive eviction. Nobody should have to pay for services that they are not getting.’

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Hazel Borthwick, Dave’s daughter, said: ‘It is not affordable because there is nothing left over – It angers me because they have working pensions that they worked hard for and I think if it has to be spent, it is not going to be in here because they can get more for their money.

‘People are potentially going to be homeless and people at this stage of life shouldn’t have to worry about being removed from their homes.’

In a Stonewater briefing report concerning the price increases, it states: ‘The same as with other service charges, customers have so far been “protected” from these increases. However, the true cost is now being reflected in the charges being applied for 2023/24.’

David Lockerman, director of housing operations, said it was not the company’s fault but the government’s

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‘We absolutely stand with customers over these concerns,’ he said. ‘The parameters for social housing rents are set by government and supported housing is excluded from the seven per cent cap applied to other tenures. We do not make a penny of profit from service or energy charges and are committed to ensuring that no customer should ever be at risk of losing their home because of energy debt. We will always support anyone struggling to find workable solutions.’

Related topics:ResidentsGosport