Kirklees tenants could soon be footing the bill for grass cutting and grounds maintenance as the council wants to bring in new charges to ease its financial burden.
Kirklees Council spends more than £1.7m each year maintaining the communal grounds relating to its social housing stock of more than 21,000 properties. However, due to its financial position, the local authority says it can no longer stump up the cash to cover the whole service.
Instead, the council wants to bring in an extra service charge for its tenants from the start of the next financial year which begins in April 2025. This is expected to raise around £1.2m in its first year and would see tenants charged a maximum of £2 per week.
The cash would cover grass cutting every two to three weeks, hedge trims, weed control and the maintenance of trees and woodland, among other works.
A consultation for tenants and leaseholders is currently ongoing for the proposed charges and a link to this can be found at the bottom of this article.
The consultation document says: “The ongoing financial challenge means the council must continue to prioritise spending the money it has on essential services.
“The council, as a landlord, is again having to consider some changes to the service charges currently paid by its tenants. The tenancy agreement states that where services are provided as part of a customer’s tenancy, the customer will pay a service charge.
“The council provides a range of services to tenants living in properties in Kirklees. This includes grounds maintenance of the communal gardens and other grass areas around properties. Many councils charge their tenants for these services but Kirklees Council does not.”
The consultation for tenants and leaseholders can be accessed here: https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/council-housing/your-community/grounds-maintenance-consultation.aspx
