Leaseholders will be refunded more than £130,000 after a council admitted they had been wrongly charged for works to their homes.

Haringey Liberal Democrats launched an investigation into the charges after opposition leader Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison was contacted by a leaseholder living in Crouch End last year.

Works had been carried out by Homes for Haringey, which at the time managed the council’s housing stock, to windows in their home in 2016, but they were not billed until June 2018.

Under government legislation, leaseholders are protected from being charged for works where the costs were incurred more than 18 months ago.

If the landlord, in this case Haringey Council, fails to either invoice the leaseholder or issue them with what is known as a Section 20b notice within this period, they are supposed to bear the cost themselves.

Opposition councillors said they have discovered seven different projects since 2015 where works were carried out to leaseholders’ homes and this process was not followed.

In all but one of these cases, the council could avoid giving a refund because leaseholders were told that payment would be needed in the future in advance of works taking place .

But this “loophole” did not apply to the window work carried out in the home of Cllr Cawley-Harrison’s constituent.

Across Haringey, 23 leaseholders were found to have also been wrongly charged for works carried out as part of the same project.

In total, the council will have to refund them £132,643 within the next few weeks.

Cllr Cawley-Harrison has now said that the council’s processes for billing leaseholders are “simply not fit for purpose”.

He added: “I hope that this outcome will lead to a complete overhaul of how the council manages leaseholder works in our borough, and puts an end to the use of Section 20b notices except in absolutely exceptional circumstances.”

Cllr Sarah Williams, the council's deputy leader, said: “We recognise the impact of this issue, which dates from almost a decade ago when our housing services were managed by Homes for Haringey.”

She added: “I’m pleased the matter has been resolved and the charges cancelled.   

 “Since bringing housing services back under the direct control of the council, Section 20 consultations are being closely monitored to ensure the requirements are followed.”

Homes for Haringey no longer manages the council’s housing stock after services were brought back in-house two years ago.