ELDERLY residents living in retirement housing are going through “hell” after being told they must fork out their own cash to tackle a bedbug infestation – despite already paying a hefty weekly service charge.

Residents living at The Brambles in Sutton Road, Southend, are calling for South Essex Homes to tackle the infestation which has raged across the 41-flat estate for the last two months.

Resident Sonia Brown, 66, said: “It has been terrible for the people living here these last few months.”

“The bedbugs have been spreading from flat to flat and we aren’t getting any help, it has been hell.

“It’s a lot of stress for elderly people to be put under, especially when our other bills are already so high.”

Ms Brown, who has lived there for more than eight years, continued: “I cannot believe they are trying to saddle us with the bill. One lady was quoted almost £200 to get rid of the bedbugs.”

Checkatrade.com, a directory of vetted tradespeople says on average, says it costs on average £190 to treat bedbugs but prices can rise to more than £575 depending on the treatment method.

Even a preliminary inspection and assessment can cost up to £60.

Ms Brown added: “We are already paying £40 a week for a service charge, it’s loads of money, yet we are told there is no capacity for that money to cover the problem.

“Across the estate, that is a lot of money when you consider how many flats there are, yet nothing is being done.

“And now we are told we have to pay for treatment ourselves, which is a lot of money to lose especially when it’s a problem not of your own making.”

A spokesman for South Essex Homes said: “We are aware that residents of The Brambles have reported issues with bed bugs and we arranged for our pest control specialist contractors to visit the sheltered scheme to conduct an investigation. 

“During this visit, all thresholds within the property were treated to help prevent further spread of the bed bugs while we await a full report detailing the extent of the infestation.

“The Service Charge paid by our tenants does not include a charge for treating pest infestations within properties. This is the individual responsibility of the tenant and is clearly set out in their Tenancy Agreement.

 

“If residents report that they are experiencing issues with bed bugs they are advised that it is their responsibility to pay for treatment and, in cases where the resident cannot afford to pay this up front, we offer to do this under a recharge to the tenant, where they pay us back in affordable instalments. 

“South Essex Homes is only responsible for treating pests in communal areas or where the pest control specialist contractor has identified that a communal infestation has directly affected individual properties.

“Once we have received the report back from our contractor, we will liaise with tenants as to what happens next.”