The fight for justice continues for a tenant who says her letting agency has allowed her to pay the communal electricity bill in her flats block for nearly two years.
Laura Cooper, who rents a property in Clarendon Road under the letting agency Minors & Brady, says that she has been paying for the communal electricity for all the tenants in her block of flats since April 2024.
After requesting a broken light switch to be fixed ten times in the block's hallway, despite being replaced twice, the tenant says neither repair solved the problem, and she is still paying for the communal electricity, which is wired into her supply.
COMMUNICATION WITH THE AGENCY
Ms Cooper received an email from Minors & Brady on November 24, which confirmed that all communal lighting in the building, including the ground floor, first floor and second floor lighting and the fire alarm panel, are connected to Ms Cooper's electricity supply.
She said: “It’s troubling, disappointing.
“Minors and Brady haven’t been efficient enough at responding to repair requests and the discovery of the supply issue.
"I feel cheated, incredibly angry and frustrated.
"The impact of this had resulted in a great deal of stress and anxiety.
"Friends, family and members of the public have been incredulous that this situation is ongoing."
TENSIONS RISE
Acorn Norwich, a community and tenants union who have more than 200 members in Norwich, approached Minors and Brady on behalf of Ms Cooper for £900 worth of compensation on November 14, but they refused to provide this.
After a week of not receiving a response from Minors and Brady regarding compensation, the union protested at the Minors & Brady site in Unthank Road on November 20.
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Mr Sedgwick, branch organiser for Acorn, said: “We will keep fighting this case until it's fixed.
"At the protest, staff were quite aggressive.
"We were not blockading the office.
"We were standing on the pavement chanting with banners.
"The union were simply applying pressure."
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Ms Cooper added: “The £900 I asked for includes the excess electricity I paid for, compensation for breach of contract, the burden of liability, and the emotional labour and time spent investigating.”
MINORS AND BRADY
Luke Savings, lettings partner from the agency said: “The activist group Acorn were protesting at the wrong office, blocking the doorway for staff and access for customers on privately owned land.
“The hallway switch at the site had been repeatedly damaged by an unknown occupant and replaced three times to maintain lighting for residents.
“The landlord, who we represent, has owned the building in question since 2011 and made no changes to its wiring and was unaware that the communal lighting and fire panel were connected to one flat until an electrician inspected the system last week.
“Only three low-energy LED lightbulbs on a short timer, and a small fire alarm panel were drawing power unknowingly from the tenant’s supply.
“An overly inflated and without calculation demand for £900 compensation was made, but this is not proportionate to the actual usage, which, even using generous assumptions, equates to roughly £30 over the two-year tenancy.
“Once the issue was identified, the lighting was upgraded to motion-sensor operation, the consumption was fully assessed, and the tenant was offered compensation well above the true cost, together with a rent reduction moving forward.
“Minors & Brady have acted quickly, transparently, and fairly, and we continue to work directly with all of our landlords and tenants to help resolve matters.”
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