A REFUND will be paid to residents of a block of flats who have been paying for lift maintenance for years despite the block having no lift. 

One Housing, the housing association who manage Belford Court on Laud Close in Reading, publicly apologised in a letter to the editor of the Reading Chronicle. 

Chyrel Brown, chief operating officer, said: “Our management of service charges at Belford Court have fallen short of the standards we all expect, and for that we sincerely apologise. 

“One Housing manages two blocks of flats at Belford Court, with only one block of flats having access to a lift. There has been a historical misallocation of lift maintenance costs resulting in both blocks having been charged.”

The block of 12 flats had been charged hundreds of pounds each year for lift maintenance. One resident said she had been charged since 2014. 

Ms Brown said: “The average charge for lift maintenance was £27.38 per year per property, and the refund due to each resident will range from £44.54 to £246.26.

“We will be issuing letters and refunds to the impacted residents no later than Friday, August 23.”

In response to the letter, one resident who asked not to be named said: “I think it’s brilliant they’re actually wanting to publicly apologise. I’m really happy they’re giving us a refund.”

But he also said he was expecting more of a refund, because residents have been paying for bulk rubbish collection and maintenance for a door system which doesn’t work, and hasn’t worked for years. 

The letter in full:

Dear Editor,

In response to the Reading Chronicle article ‘Residents charged thousands for a lift they have no access to’ on August 9, One Housing would like to publicly apologise for the mistake made and clarify the amounts erroneously charged to residents at Belford Court.

As a socially responsible, not-for-profit landlord we aim to provide great places for people to call home and support them to live well. Our management of service charges at Belford Court have fallen short of the standards we all expect, and for that we sincerely apologise.

An error was made when allocating costs for lift maintenance in previous year-end accounts at Belford Court, RG1 6RE. One Housing manages two blocks of flats at Belford Court with only one block of flats having access to a lift. There has been a historical misallocation of lift maintenance costs resulting in both blocks having been charged.

Twelve residents have been impacted by the historical misallocation of lift maintenance costs. The average charge for lift maintenance was £27.38 per year per property, and the refund due to each resident will range from £44.54–£246.26.

We will be issuing letters and refunds to the impacted residents no later than Friday, August 23.

Best wishes,

Chyrel Brown

Chief Operating Officer, One Housing