Comments on: Whose your Landlord? 20.6.10 http://www.ila.org.uk Lobbying Islington Council and its managing agent(s) HFI and Partners to provide leaseholders with a better service and value for money & raising awareness amongst leaseholders Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:22:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Claire Lowe http://www.ila.org.uk/campaign-4/whose-your-landlord/comment-page-1/#comment-87 Claire Lowe Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:03:01 +0000 http://www.ila.org.uk/?page_id=179#comment-87 Michele - the position is that Islington own the block of flats or house that you live in. As a leaseholder, unlike a short-hold tenant, you are required to maintain the fabric of the building, and this is done collectively by leaseholders through a management company. In this case, the management company is HfI. The company can be changed, if leaseholders collective choose to do so (I think this is more complicated to do in a council-owned block as there are the interests of tenants to take into account - and Islington council should be paying a share of the maintenance costs on behalf of their tenants, although it's clear as mud whether they do this. What Islington then chooses to pass on to their tenants in costs is between those tenants and the Council). The last thing that you are, is a tenant of HfI. What HfI are, effectively, the company you contract to have repairs carried out to maintain the building as per your lease obligations. If they are rubbish, they can be sacked. Michele – the position is that Islington own the block of flats or house that you live in. As a leaseholder, unlike a short-hold tenant, you are required to maintain the fabric of the building, and this is done collectively by leaseholders through a management company.

In this case, the management company is HfI. The company can be changed, if leaseholders collective choose to do so (I think this is more complicated to do in a council-owned block as there are the interests of tenants to take into account – and Islington council should be paying a share of the maintenance costs on behalf of their tenants, although it’s clear as mud whether they do this. What Islington then chooses to pass on to their tenants in costs is between those tenants and the Council).

The last thing that you are, is a tenant of HfI. What HfI are, effectively, the company you contract to have repairs carried out to maintain the building as per your lease obligations. If they are rubbish, they can be sacked.

]]> By: Michele Islam http://www.ila.org.uk/campaign-4/whose-your-landlord/comment-page-1/#comment-81 Michele Islam Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:16:00 +0000 http://www.ila.org.uk/?page_id=179#comment-81 I am a leaseholder and according to my Lease any notice or complaint must be passed on to the Borough Solicitor on behalf of the maire. On many occasions I complained to the the Borough Solicitor as instructed in my lease only for my letters, to be dealt with most unprofessionally by HFI legal department. The reply from the Borough Solicitor is that his office had not been instructed to deal with the matter (i.e. complaint about disallowed major works charges). Therefore who exactly is the landlord? HFI or Islington Council???? My view is that the opinion of HFI is but one sided and when left to their own devices, tenants are very much unprotected. I am a leaseholder and according to my Lease any notice or complaint must be passed on to the Borough Solicitor on behalf of the maire. On many occasions I complained to the the Borough Solicitor as instructed in my lease only for my letters, to be dealt with most unprofessionally by HFI legal department. The reply from the Borough Solicitor is that his office had not been instructed to deal with the matter (i.e. complaint about disallowed major works charges). Therefore who exactly is the landlord? HFI or Islington Council???? My view is that the opinion of HFI is but one sided and when left to their own devices, tenants are very much unprotected.

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