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Dear tenants,
The world is in turmoil. That creates a lot of uncertainty. In November 2021, we informed you in a newsletter of our concerns regarding the cost of energy consumption, which on average is rising much faster than the inflation that affects rents. This means that energy, especially heat, is taking an increasing share of a studio's total costs.
Rising energy costs
The increase in energy costs has been going on for some time now and it does not look like it will change any time soon. It is even assumed that we have not yet reached the peak. Our energy suppliers have implemented hefty price increases in recent months, partly in response to the global rise in energy prices and the war in Ukraine. Termination rates are being adjusted and it is not yet known how things will proceed after 1 July.
Higher costs
This means that SKAR has had to advance two to three times more costs for energy to its tenants in recent months than in the same period last year. We are currently spending more money on energy in the buildings than we receive in advances from you. This is happening so fast that we are forced to make significant adjustments to the advance payments that you pay for the service costs.
SKAR works cost-effectively and cannot afford to advance the substantially higher costs any longer. Normally we adjust the advance payments once a year on the basis of consumption. Now it is the higher energy tariffs that make an adjustment immediately necessary.
New advance payments as of 1 June
The new advance payments will take effect on 1 June 2022. For a number of tenants, the new advance payments have already started earlier. We cannot make exceptions now, we will have to pass this on to everyone.
Financial impact
We realise that the financial impact of this is enormous for you, especially after the economically difficult Corona years. With the new advance amounts, we hope to prevent you from having to make very large additional payments in this year's settlement.
Given this situation, we have to be very careful with our maintenance budgets in the coming months. This means that we will handle maintenance calls based on urgency and efficiency.
What action can we take in the short term?
It will be summer. We are going to lower the temperature of the central heating in all buildings. We can go even further by switching all boiler systems to economy mode from May to mid-October. In some buildings this already happens automatically. In the buildings where this does not yet happen, it is important that all tenants agree. With this action, SKAR hopes to be able to reduce its own advance payments to energy suppliers and it will lead to energy savings in our buildings, which will benefit the final bill of 2022.
Any questions?
We understand that this message may raise questions for you. However, it is difficult for us to answer all individual questions directly. We are currently making a tour of our properties to explain our ideas on increasing sustainability in the future. We will also be able to answer any ongoing questions regarding energy consumption and advance payments for service costs.
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