A BRADFORD MP has raised major concerns after it emerged social housing provider Incommunities had failed to set rents correctly, resulting in hundreds of tenants being overcharged.

In a notice published today, the Regulator of Social Housing said the Shipley-headquartered company had breached the Rent Standard.

It was described as a “serious matter resulting in tenants being overcharged”.

The regulator said that as some of the rents may have been met through Housing Benefit and Universal credit, there may also be “implications for the public purse”.

Bradford East MP Imran Hussain has previously hit out over the standard of Incommunities’ properties and in light of today’s news, he said: “Once more, Incommunities are in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.

“Incommunities’ tenants are already amongst some of Bradford’s poorest and most vulnerable residents who are unable to afford being overcharged, and this catalogue of failings raises an increasing number of questions about Incommunities’ fitness to operate as a social landlord in Bradford.”

He added: “The new management of Incommunities must now firmly get a grip before we witness any more scandals, and deliver the service expected of them.”

In a statement, Incommunities’ chief executive Rachael Dennis said: “Following my appointment as Chief Executive in 2021 I instigated a thorough review of our services to ensure we are providing a quality, customer-focused service.

“We self-referred to the regulator after uncovering historic issues with how we calculated some rents and service charges.

“The regulatory notice which has now been published is fair, and essentially presents what we already knew, incorporating a range of issues which we are working hard to resolve.

“We have put a robust two-year strategy in place to raise the performance of the business by setting out clear and measurable service improvement goals, we are working closely with external advisors to ensure that this situation is rectified as a matter of urgency and putting in place safeguards and improvements to make sure these issues do not happen again.

"Although there is clearly more work to do, I’m pleased that the regulator noted the immediate steps Incommunities Group’s board and leadership made to address these failings, and our willingness to take further steps to resolve issues.

“We would like to apologise to our customers for the failures in our approach, which have led to the regulator’s notice issued today.

“We are working with affected tenants and our local authority partners to ensure that any overcharges are returned as quickly as possible.”