Magenta Living said it would be paying for charges in four residential blocks where major works are taking place
Liscard House residents presenting a petition to Magenta Living along with Liscards three councillors Graeme Cooper, Janette Williamson, and James Stewart Laing(Image: Liscard Labour)
Fears continue to be raised that new charges affecting thousands of people “will put more pressure on people who are already struggling” with some facing “real hardship or even eviction.” It follows a petition being sent to Magenta Living supported by Wirral Labour.
Magenta is the largest social housing provider on the Wirral managing around 13,000 homes. However plans to bring in or increase service charges for 5,000 of its customers has caused controversy with Wirral’s council leader, Cllr Paul Stuart writing a letter just before Christmas urging them to change course.
The charges are expected to come into force in April despite complaints from residents following a feedback exercise that ended earlier this month. People have previously told the ECHO they are surviving off pot noodles, and people were “baffled and frightened” upon hearing the news.
One resident in Neston Gardens, who is in full time work, said they “would be skint” following the changes. In response to one complaint, Magenta acknowledged figures for one block Vittoria Court was “unusually high compared to our other blocks” and these would be flagged as part of ongoing investigations into charges put forward.
The landlord also apologised for an oversight over communal electricity charges and Magenta also acknowledged an equality impact assessment had not been conducted before the consultation.
The social housing provider said 75% of those affected will get help through housing benefits and Universal Credit and its advice team was contacting customers most impacted by the changes to make sure they can deal with any increase financially. Magenta also pointed out that around 350 of its customers will actually be paying less under the new changes.
People living in four high-rise blocks will also see no charges brought in from April 2025 to March 2026 due to ongoing works to remove cladding on three and repair lifts in a fourth. These are Liscard House, as well as Sunningdale, The Towers, and Brackendale.
Despite this relief which is being paid for by Magenta, people living in these blocks will not know what their new charges will be until February 2026 and it has done little to reassure concerns.. A petition has now been sent to the housing provider signed by 42 of the residents in Liscard House arguing “the proposed increases seem excessive and in some cases seek to charge us for services that we do not receive.”
Concerns continued to be raised about the plans to increase charges even though no Liscard House resident will pay any for a year(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Chair of Liscard House Tenants’ Association Dolly Murphy said: “Magenta gave us very little notice about these planned changes. This was made even worse by the response time being over the Christmas period. Any increases in charges will put more pressure on people who are already struggling, and we are concerned that some tenants will face real hardship or even eviction.
“We already have issues with the quality of some of the services, particularly security, so Magenta should be concentrating on properly providing what we are already paying for, not looking to put up their charges.”
Those living in the block are being supported by their three Labour councillors. In a joint statement, Graeme Cooper along with Janette Williamson and James Laing said: “Everyone would accept that where a service is being provided, a fair charge can be made for it. However, the Liscard House tenants do not feel that Magenta are providing them with the levels of service they are already being charged for, particularly with regard to security and cleaning.
“There are problems that we believe should have been tackled before any higher charges were proposed and Magenta should also clarify what their planned new services would include and what the final costs to tenants would be. For the current services, the increases that Magenta is putting forward are causing real concern to tenants who are worried that they will not be able to afford them.
“We would hope that in view of the concerns that Magenta’s plans have raised, they will take the opportunity to put all increases and new charges on hold while they consult properly with their tenants and agree on what is fair.”
Responding to the concerns raised, a Magenta Living spokesperson said: “We’ve received the petition from Liscard House and have arranged to meet with the Chair of Liscard House Resident’s Group and local Councillors to help mitigate any concerns and ensure all customer and Councillor feedback is thoroughly considered.
“In recognition of the current major works happening at Liscard House, Sunningdale, The Towers and Brackendale, Magenta Living will be covering the cost of any new service charges from April 2025 to March 2026. Customers have been provided with a breakdown of these costs. While the consultation has ended, we are here to support our customers and would encourage them to contact us.”