A landlord has defended its service charge hikes after one of its tenants was featured in a BBC One documentary about the plight of leaseholders.

Gaz Rahman, 43, who lives in Vollasky House at the junction of Daplyn Street and Woodseer Street, Whitechapel, told the BBC that his service charge had risen three times the rate of inflation.

Despite the mushrooming costs, he said, maintenance of the building had got worse, with his flat plagued by constant leaks.

“You wake up first thing in the morning, there’s leaks coming from the living room, there’s leaks coming from the bathroom,” Gaz told BBC Local Investigations.

He bought his family’s three-bedroom flat in 2002 under the government’s Right to Buy scheme.

But in recent years, he said, bricks have begun crumbling and a pipe has cracked.

The BBC showed a hole in Gaz's ceiling, which he said was the result of a major leak, and black mould growing on his walls.

He owns the lease on his flat, but the block as a whole has been managed since 2020 by Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH).

Gaz’s case was one of several from London and the east of England to be featured in The Leasehold Trap, a half-hour BBC One special on “skyrocketing” service charges last Friday (November 22).

When Gaz bought the flat, the service charge was £653 per year. If that had kept pace with inflation, it would be £1,183 today, according to the Bank of England inflation tracker.

But his most recent annual bill was £4,654, he said.

The Housing Ombudsman this year found maladministration in THCH’s response to Gaz’s request for service charge information and severe maladministration in its handling of the leaks.

It was ordered to pay him back £1,800.

THCH told this paper it was “truly sorry” for the “frustrating” leaks, but that the roof had now been “fully repaired” and it was “trying to complete the necessary work in Mr Rahman’s property”.

“As a not-for-profit, all our income goes straight back into maintaining homes and neighbourhoods for our community,” it said.

“Service charges are based on the actual costs of providing these services and are adjusted yearly for inflation.

“Unfortunately, significant increases in essential repairs, fire safety work and insurance costs – along with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis – have impacted service charges over recent years.”

It said it offered support to residents struggling to pay.

*The Leasehold Trap is available on BBC iPlayer.