Roddons claims £14 a week price hike at sheltered housing complex in Chatteris needed for ‘overall maintenance and general upkeep’

A housing association defended its decision to increase weekly rents at a sheltered housing complex by £14 despite tenants losing their warden.

Anne Brighton, managing director of Circle Housing Roddons, was responding to criticism by MP Steve Barclay of the price hike at Lyons Court, Chatteris.

“It is worrying that firstly they appear to not be getting the warden service they were expecting and secondly they now face paying out more for what appears to be an inferior service,” he told her.

But Ms Brighton said: “The increase in service charge is not related to the changes in the warden system – as support services are funded separately.

“The service charge covers the overall maintenance and general upkeep of the properties rather than onsite support.

“We did advise and consult with residents at Lyons Court on the proposed increase in service charges in December 2014, and have contacted them again to address any individual concerns.”

She said that as a result of recent changes in funding “we now provide housing related support services to older and vulnerable people living in the Fenland area regardless of where they live and the type of home they live in.

“This has meant some changes for our residents living in sheltered accommodation, some of who do not have any support needs. The new system works on the basis of assessing each person’s individual need and recognising that people require different levels of support. “While we no longer have a dedicated scheme manager at each complex, our teams continue to have a regular presence and provide housing related support to any resident if and when it’s required.

“Our sheltered residents continue to have access to their 24 hour lifeline system. This has also meant that we can now help a larger number of people across the Fenland area. We are actively working with our residents to address their on-going concerns with the changes.”