People living in new-build flats say the ‘inefficient’ green energy system makes their bills much higher than they should be.
The 200 apartments at Victoria Point in Ashford are connected to a communal heating network, with each individual home connected to one central boiler.
But residents say the building is always sweltering and they would never have moved there if they had known how much they would have spent on heating – including covering missed payments by their neighbors.
Ginger Energy, Victoria Point’s billing agent, admits that for every three units of gas paid for, two are lost into the atmosphere due to the inefficiency of heat networks.
One resident, Adrian Esse, told KentOnline: “The heat is literally pouring out of the pipes and there is nothing we can do about it.”
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It comes as the government is banning gas boilers in new-build homes from 2025, meaning it will become a mandatory requirement to install low-carbon heating systems instead.
But those living in Victoria Point – where a double bed can currently be bought for £365,000 – say more needs to be done to regulate their energy bills, as they believe their monthly costs are “inherently wrong”.
This includes a fee of £1.76 per apartment to collect “bad debts” to cover other residents’ missed payments.
They also have to pay for debt management, billing costs and fixed charges which can amount to up to £15.77 per apartment every month – before consumption is even added in.
Mr Esse, who moved into the block in January 2021, has brought together a group of neighbors unhappy with discrepancies in their bills and calling for improvements to the heating network.
The 44-year-old told KentOnline: “They say because we are a community we have to pay for it as a collective, which I think is inherently wrong.
“If people don’t pay, we all pay for it.
“If I had known earlier that this would be the case, I would never have moved there.”
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Mr Esse says his first bill – which arrived after living there for six months – was around £400 and the costs then “started to climb higher and higher”.
“I was told that for every unit we use, three are used, which means two units of heat are lost into the atmosphere, but we still have to pay for that,” he said.
“That’s because there is not enough insulation in the building. The upper floors get so much hotter the higher you go.”
Yasmin, 56, says her winter bills are around £180 a month, which she believes is far too high for a small, energy-efficient flat.
“I expected the bills to rise due to the energy crisis, but they rose much more than we expected. They have tripled,” she said.
She is also against having to pay more to cover other residents’ debts.
She added: “It is the government that has said all new builds must have heating networks, so they have to monitor that.
“There should be an ombudsman to oversee this and make it fair for tenants.”
A heating network would be one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions from heating.
But despite being only three years old, the building has now been awarded a government grant worth £21,600 to help find ways to make the network more efficient.
Mike David Markham, 21, and Dylan Roberts, 18, moved from their family home to their studio apartment on Victoria Point six months ago.
After living there for a month, despite ‘barely using’ the heating, they noticed that they received a bill for £92.26 in January.
Mr Markham said: “We live in a studio so it’s one room. There are two radiators and that’s it.
‘I feel like we’re being fooled.
“When I came to view the flat, there was no heating network.
“Our heating is turned off, but it is always very hot.
‘I’m fully prepared to pay for the heat I use, but if Joe Bloggs two floors up hasn’t paid for his heat, why am I paying for it? It’s not right.
“We are six months into a one-year lease. If it continues like this, it will drive us away.”
Damion Francis, who lives with puppy Rogue, says his bills “skyrocketed” six months ago and Ginger Energy told him he was paying “other unpaid bills that weren’t mine.”
The 32-year-old said: “It doesn’t say this is the case when you move here.”
He pays around £30 a month because the corridors are “so warm” that it heats his apartment so he doesn’t have to turn the heating on.
Mr Francis says there are also a number of issues with the building’s maintenance that he is waiting to be resolved, including faulty intercoms, external lighting, garage doors and a lack of CCTV cameras.
“I don’t feel like we’re getting value for money,” he added.
The government says heat networks are “a crucial part of how Britain will achieve its net zero targets, as they are one of the most cost-effective ways to decarbonise heating in built up areas”.
But currently heating networks, including the one in Victoria Point, are only 35% to 45% efficient, meaning 55% to 65% of energy is lost before it even reaches individual apartments. The average efficiency of a household gas boiler is approximately 84%.
Because the technology is still in its infancy, no sector-specific protections currently exist for heat network consumers in England.
But this responsibility will fall to Ofgem in 2025.
Under the new regulations, households and businesses connected to a heating network would receive more protection, such as compensation if they lose access to heating, fairer prices and clearer and easier to understand billing. This gives customers similar consumer rights as those living on traditional gas and electricity connections.
A spokesperson for Centrick, the company that manages Victoria Point, said it had no part or influence in the design or construction of the heating system.
They added: “We recognize and understand the challenges that heat networks pose to residents and are actively working to improve the efficiency of the network – including successfully securing grant funding of £21,600 for an optimization study that will improve the efficiency of the heat network will assess and identify improvement opportunities.
“We also work with residents to continuously improve efficiency within the building, for example by submitting proposals for more efficient communal lighting.
“We are aware of, and in good communication with, residents around the periodic intercom outage, with plans submitted to replace the platform when funds are available and without putting undue pressure on service costs.”
Ginger Energy says that while there are issues at Victoria Point, the way their bills are calculated is typical for homes on heating networks.
A spokesperson said: “The network runs on gas and to avoid disconnections across the project, the gas supplier must be paid on time and in full to ensure continuity of service.
“So while debt is actively pursued from residents who do not pay, a small grant is collected from all residents to ensure sufficient funds are available.
“It is a standard, legitimate practice within all apartment buildings to be able to pay the gas bill on time.
“It is important to understand that the rate is reconciled as the debts are collected, the rate is reduced for everyone.”