Londoners forced into debt over ‘heat network trap’ warming homes despite 36°C weather

London has a ‘heat network trap’, forcing tenants into debts they will never be able to pay off.

Tenants in Wedgwood House, which is just a 15 minute walk away from Westminster Bridge, have banded together to challenge Lambeth council after they saw bills jump by up to 350%.

Except these residents do not have their own boilers and cannot control how much their homes are heated.

Instead the entire building’s heating system is communal with a centralised boiler which produces the hot water and sends it to the radiators inside the 181 flats.

Although this is a more eco-friendly way of producing warmth, it takes away the tenant’s choice, leaving them screwing the radiators tightly off – even in heatwaves.

Heat networks will go to court

After Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, the tenants’ bills skyrocketed by up to 350%. There was nothing they could do to reduce their costs, and many were plunged into debt and handed eviction notices.

Their energy costs are simply billed as a ‘service charge’ meaning they were not protected by the energy price cap, and total annual bills amounted to more than double this.

Residents have banded together to fight this, and in a glimmer of hope for tenants vs landlords, they have been given a judicial review.

Richard Clayton KC even said: ‘I take that view that the Claimant’s grounds are realistically arguable in a context where they raise wider issues and points of law of general public importance.’

‘I didn’t sleep for weeks, I will never be able to repay this’

Aida Haile, 55, has lived in the building with her teenage son for nearly 17 years. She is on universal credit while caring for a family member.

She was paying £20 a week to cover her hot water and heating, but in 2023 was told this will increased to £70, with no breakdown of costs offered.

‘I felt sheer panic, there was no way I could afford it. I became depressed, and I stopped eating and sleeping,’ she told Metro.

After receving numerous eviction notices, she has now agreed to a payment plan with Lambeth Council as the cost of energy lowers, but the debt still seems impossible to pay off as ‘no matter how much I pay, I am accumulating every week’.

Kirsty Oliveria, saw one of the largest increases in the building at around 350%.

‘I honestly thought they had got it wrong. Even during the dead of winter I only heat my son’s bedroom so I queried it to let them know they made a mistake,’ the 58-year-old said.

‘To my absolute shock they came back and said it was correct, but there was no way I was paying that.’

Wedgwood House may not be the only one

In 2024, Lambeth Council served 801 eviction notices over debts from heat networks, an FOI request revealed.

The Social Market Foundation estimates that there may be up to 900,000 households on communal heating, including one in 12 households in social housing. 

The Public Interest Law Centre filed the claims on behalf of Wedgwood House tenants.

Lambeth Council told Metro they could not comment further due to the ongoing legal case.

But in previous reports they have said possession hearings are a ‘last resort’ and have been working with residents to create repayment plans.

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