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Financial Housing Information Leaseholders Leases Major Works Repairs Service Charges

THE LAW

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

sets out the basic rules for service charges. It defines what is considered a service charge, and sets out requirements for making sure costs are reasonable. Landlords should consult leaseholders before entering into any agreement for work or services which would lead to a service charge.

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 also applies to payments of service charge under a lease whilst a management order is in place under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.

Section 18 (1) of the act defines a service charge as ‘an amount payable by a tenant of a dwelling as part of or in addition to the rent

  • which is payable, directly or indirectly, for services, repairs, maintenance, improvements or insurance or the landlord’s costs of management; and
  • the whole or part of which varies or may vary according to the relevant costs.’

The costs of the services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance and management must be reasonable, and the tribunal may decide whether they are.

Please note: the definition in section 18 (1) does not overrule the lease. The item or service must still be included in the lease for your landlord to be able to charge for it.”

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Councillors Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases Major Works Service Charges

Massive Rent Increases

Islington Councils latest budget, as usual, is all “Doom and Glum” and continually pointed at the great hole in the  borough’s finances. 

Nevertheless, since the councils main funding stream is basically through council rents and Maintenance bills, their obvious solution is to raise the average Council rents by a whopping great £9.71p per week. This is in order to replenish the Housing Revenue account, and facilitate further mis-running of the borough. 

However, strange though it may seem, whilst the borough is financially struggling to survive, the Council have also re-purchased 389 ex Council flats. It’s not to move islington tenants out of temporary accommodation, such as bed and breakfast, which costs the borough a fortune, but to be used as further…short term accommodation..!

Question, if this borough is having financial problems : – Just how/and from where, did they acquire the money to finance such a massive purchase?

Using a broad brush approach, approximately 389 flats at an average cost of £400.000 each? (and we all know, that in this borough you can’t buy a shoe box for that, much less 2, 3, and 4 bedroom flats) comes to approximately £155.6 million pounds!

Question, If the purchase of these flats involved a grant…how much was it in total?… if a loan, just how much undisclosed debt are we now jointly carrying?…and what % interest are we going to be paying?, to whom, and for how many years to come?. Which of course will be solved, once again, by simply, raising the RENTS and MAINTENANCE bills …Again and Again…

It “Beggars Believe” what both Tenants and Leaseholders of this borough are forking out in order to cover financial mismanagement…

Hopefully, the usual “Smoke and Mirrors” won’t be enough this time around.!!!

Dr Potter

Chairman ILA www.ila.org.uk

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Leaseholders

Scaffolding Vs Cherry Pickers

scaff crop vs

Leaseholders often wonder why vast amounts of scaffolding, erected on council property, never appears to be in use. Why it remains so for months, and some times for years even? 

Understandable, on high rise blocks, perhaps, but on low rise and street properties the costs can’t be justified, surely? Since the use of modern “Cherry Pickers” and Tetra systems, can vastly reduce costs. They also cut the time required to do the job.

The council usually argue that regardless of time on site, cost of scaffolding remains fixed at a set price by their contract…So whether it remains up for a week or six months is totally irrelevant…!!!

Arguably, I would assume that if this is such, the council might be accepting “Front loading” of the contracts to justify such fixed priced arrangements, since builders do not work for free.

Recently I witnessed (photographed) replacement of tiles on a four floor block of flats, using a cherry picker…workmen arrived at approximately 8am the repair completed by 9am, while I watched…no scaffolding used, and only three workmen…job done…!!!

Furthermore, I have pictures of a similar machine being used on higher council blocks adjacent to the Town Hall…So, given scaffolding is extremely expensive, damages buildings, is unsightly, encourages crime, and requires netting, why does the council continue to use it.

The leaseholders theory is generally, that it profits the contractors by allowing them to store their materials for free, thereby removing the necessity for expensive “striking” and costly storage, until required elsewhere, the council however would argue that it greatly facilitates future “on going” works, and actually saves leaseholders money…!!!

Leaseholders pay the bill…You decide…!!!

Dr Potter…

Chairman ILA                      

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Councillors Financial Housing ILA Islington LBI Leaseholders Leases Major Works Repairs Service Charges

Follow the money!

A simplistic explanation of why we pay so much…!!!

Why are council Rents and Maintenance bills, so inexplicably high? …simple,  …Just follow the money!

The council state that their main funding stream is basically via council rents, and maintenance billing. This is paid into the Housing Revenue Account by tenants, leaseholders, and 4000 absentee landlords…So…

1/ Islington Council issue contracts to maintain the borough’s estates.

2/ The Contractor scopes out the work, price the job, and bill’s the Council for work completed.

3/ The Council (using 33% of the housing Revenue account) pays the tenants contribution. It apportions the remainder between their leaseholders and absentee landlords.

4/ The absentee landlords then recover their cash by raising their rentals.

Who gets this public money?

1/ Builders get paid directly by the council, come what may.

2/ The council simply raise the tenants rents, and present Home owners with a massive bill.

3/ Landlords increase their rental charges to cover their liabilities.

Where does the money wind up!

1/ Contractors reinvest their massive profits in new projects.

2/ Builders simply “rack it in” by piecemeal subbing-out of the fractionated contracts.

3/ Council reduces its gross over spending to appear efficient.

4/ Landlords pay off their Mortgages.

5/ Private tenants reduce their renting costs by flat sharing.

6/ Mortgage lenders always win in the long run, since their investment is inevitably founded in “Bricks and Mortar”. 

All financed from the constant uncontrolled wastage of public money.!

Solution

1/ Council reduces contract sizes

2/ Council stops issuing astronomical bills to pay contracts

3/ Council controls Building and Maintenance costs by bringing building projects “Back in House”…

4/ Council demands total accountability

5/ Council demands value for money

6/ Council accepts “Individual Corporate Responsibility”, as the norm. 

Which is no more than what they’re already being handsomely paid for doing…!!!

Dr Potter…

Chairman ILA… (www.ila.org.uk

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Councillors Financial Housing ILA Islington LBI Leaseholders Major Works Repairs Service Charges

Council asked why are Leaseholders getting huge £72K Bills?

ILA’s Dr Potter asking Islington Council staff Ian Swift and Councillor Una OHalloran at last nights February ILA meeting on 14.02.24 why individual Leaseholders are getting huge bills for £46K and £72K.

Islington Council staff Ian Swift and Councillor Una OHalloran and ILAs Dr Potter at ILA meeting 14.02.24. IMG_5945

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Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Website

ILA Meeting in March

Monthly Meet

on

Wednesday 13th March 2024

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Agenda includes Service Charges and Major Works Billing

Please bring with you any paperwork you intend to refer to….e.g. s20 estimate. Etc.

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab in menu

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Councillors Cyclical Works Financial Government Housing ILA Islington LBI Leaseholders Repairs

Questions For Islington Council Causing Distress To Residents

Dr Brian Potter, sent the Letter of October 23 from MP Michael Gove to Victoria Lawson, CEO Islington Council to the tribune this week obo the ILA.

The Tribune published it in this weeks edition…

The letter discusses the Housing Ombudsman’s Special Report condemning Islington Councils  “severe maladministration rate [which] is four times the national average”.

Gove goes on  “This is unacceptable. The report identifies unreasonable delays, poor record keeping and communication with your residents, and a failure to follow your own policies and procedures. You failed to identify underlying issues – instead, you took a superficial look at problems such as damp and mould. It is not surprising that, as a result, many of your residents have suffered prolonged periods of distress”

Since it was dated Oct 23., Dr Potter suggests the Questions we should ask are…
Why did we not know about it until this week…?
and what has/will the council do about it now that it is in the public domain…?

Categories
Councillors Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA LBI Leaseholders Repairs Service Charges

ILA in Gazette 08.02.24

This weeks letter in the Gazette…

Judging from what I have read in the press of late, plus the horror stories which I hear at the monthly meetings of the Islington Leaseholders Association, (in Islington Town Hall), leaseholders are being unmercifully targeted financially by the council and their contractors.

Whilst the Cyclic/Major works costing are of primary interest to leaseholders, of secondary concern is the actual “Quality” of the work observed. Unfortunately this aspect of leasehold complaints is probably, due for the main part to the overall neglect of adequate inspection by the councils own building control department.

On behalf of the ILA I have frequently asked the upper echelon of the council how many surveyors do the council directly employ in order to provide a sufficient degree of control over their contractors, and even more important, SUB CONTRACTORS on council estates…their answer has always been 70…!!!

My secondary question has always been, how many are RICS members, the answer is invariably, none, except on one occasion when they corrected themselves and stated, one..me, but I do need to pay my fees, straight way…

A further question as to why were they not RICS, elicited the reply, “cost of membership”.

So, Just who will inspect the INSPECTORS. In the main, the problems associated with massive bills, enforced on both leaseholder, as well as TENANTS, who pay for the councils disgraceful lack of control by way of ever increasing rents, sits firmly on the council shoulders as result of their inability to control the contracts they issue on our behalf…

Any way you look at it…since the council use our money to pay the contractor directly, surely they must be considered to be simply a managing agent…and as such responsible to the Residents of this borough…Corporate responsibility…???

Dr Potter

Chairman ILA  

read more in Gazzette

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Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Website

Islington Leaseholders Assn. Feb. Meeting

Monthly Meet

on

Wednesday 14th February 2024

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Council Executive Una Halloran &  Mr Ian Swift, asked if they could attend the ILA meeting  and after consulting with leaseholders the ILA have invited them to this months meet.

Agenda also includes Service Charges and Major Works Billing

Please bring with you any paperwork you intend to refer to….e.g. s20 estimate. Etc.

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab in menu

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Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Website

ILA Islington TownHall meet 7pm Wed 10th January 2024

Islington Leaseholders Association Monthly Meeting

on

Wednesday 10th January 2024

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Welcome to the first ILA meet of 2024

Agenda includes Service Charges and Major Works Billing

Please bring with you any paperwork you intend to refer to…I.e s20 estimate. Etc.

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab

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Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Website

ILA Islington TownHall meet 7pm Wed 13th December 2023

Islington Leaseholders Association Monthly Meeting

on

Wednesday 13th December 2023

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Agenda includes Service Charges and Major Works Billing

Please bring with you any paperwork you intend to refer to…I.e s20 estimate. Etc.

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab