Category: Housing

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Councillors Election Financial Government Housing ILA Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Repairs Service Charges

Leaseholder Letters 7

I have been a leaseholder with London Borough of Islington for over 40 years and have been subjected to unjustified charges for repairs and major works.

The most recent estimate I was upset to receive was a bill of up to £44,00 and had to work with the council to reduce the scope of the works without resorting to legal action. The LBI know leaseholders can rarely afford legal action. This abuse of power puts low-income leaseholders such as I at risk of bankruptcy and homelessness.

LBI in 2024 followed up with another letter for Major Works to take place during 2025 which had previously been undertaken in 2019. With the support of the Islington Leaseholders Association I was able to challenge the Major Works schedule and these works were eventually withdrawn, but only after waiting a agonising eight months for a decision to be made.

I currently exist in a state of financial insecurity, and a constant state of anxiety and worry. I worry for my mental health as I am unable to ever switch off living in a never-ending spiral of fear, fight and eventual flight.

I live in panicked state as to whether I can afford to stay in my home in an area I truly love.

“An extremely concerned Leaseholder”

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Councillors Election Financial Housing Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Major Works Repairs Service Charges

Leaseholder Letters 6

Sir, As Treasurer of the borough wide Islington Leaseholders Association Ltd., I am delighted to see that the Tribune has explicitly drawn attention, via its letters column, to the horrendous and shameful plight of leaseholders.

Following Dr Brian Potter’s article (17 October) attendance at our  meetings held at St Mary’s church (second Tuesday monthly at 7pm) has quadrupled.

Sadly, recent reports of cyclical maintenance bills totalling £60,000 – £80,000 are no longer uncommon forcing residents, many of whom,

particularly elderly pensioners, have lived in the borough all their lives, to move out.  

It is not surprising, therefore, that due to the misery and depression caused, some have even contemplated suicide.

Cllr Woolf’s comments regarding “consultation” procedures are at best disingenuous. So much for honesty and transparency!

Since there is no opposition in this borough to the council’s approach to billing, I, along with others, will be standing as Independent Leaseholder candidates at the next borough elections in May 2026 to challenge the present “rotten borough” situation.

Our election policy is based essentially on vigilance and constant scrutiny of all policies affecting the appalling waste of essential finances and consequent financial persecution of its residents.

Bear in mind that a well run borough is one that is the product of constant public vigilance and a strong independent opposition, which this borough does not have.  It should not be blind adherence to an uncaring central party policy, with the sole objective of staying in power.

Yours sincerely

Ray Alcock

Highbury

Categories
Councillors Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Council LBI Major Works Repairs Service Charges

Leaseholder Letters 5

“Empty barrels make the most noise”

It’s all very well Councillor Una O’Halloran (Daily Telegraph 26/7/25, “Islington plans purchase of 900 former council houses”) boasting about the Council’s scheme to “buy back” former council homes for temporary accommodation. What she fails to say is that these properties are owned by former council tenants — people who paid their rent in full, 125 years in advance, by purchasing their flats.

Now long-standing residents are being pushed aside so the Council can parade its “achievements” as a triumph of social policy. In truth, it’s little more than an act of displacement dressed up as compassion.

When leaseholders challenge the ever-escalating major works bills, the Council falls back on its same hollow excuses — shouted ever louder, as though volume were a substitute for reason. The old adage certainly fits perfectly, “empty barrels make the most noise”.

If this Council genuinely believed in equality, it would use the 11–14% from over-specified, building projects — the very excesses that create these problems — to support leaseholders. Reducing re-chargeable costs or extending payment terms (without the insult of compound interest) would show leadership. Instead, the Council behave like a debt collector.

Few outside this experience grasp the reality of being a council leaseholder : the relentless anxiety, sleepless nights, feeling of being treated as a “cash cow” by the authority that once offered security and community.

At the I L A, we hear this pain month after month. The stories are heartbreaking — ordinary residents bullied, threatened, and financially bled by a Council that seems more interested in retaining control than serving its residents.

If the Council wants to create a “fairer Islington,” it should start by treating its leaseholders with fairness, dignity, and respect — not as collateral damage in a PR campaign.”

Mr/Ms name and address supplied

Categories
Councillors Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders London Major Works Repairs Service Charges

Leaseholder Letters 3

“overlooked and discriminated against”

After reading Cllr O’Halloran’s statement marking her first year as leader of the council I feel really overlooked and discriminated against, and I know that amongst the borough’s leaseholders I am far from alone in this.

Cllr O’Halloran says in her statement that housing is “a daily issue” for the residents she serves. As someone who has always lived on an Islington council estate I am a champion of social housing and welcome the buyback scheme as a way of increasing council housing stock, but only if the leaseholder genuinely wants to sell and is not being bullied or forced out of their homes by extortionate major works bills. These are sometimes as high as £100,000, amounts no average-waged person or OAP could ever dream of paying without incurring considerable debt. 

An Islington Council employee has confirmed to me that most of the homes the council buys back are sold because the leaseholders can’t afford these huge bills.

Leaseholders are among the residents Cllr O’Halloran serves, and the number of them that have to leave the community they have lived in for years is surely a housing issue, yet she shows no empathy, understanding or even awareness of their plight. 

She has the power to change policy and give the leaseholder a much longer period to pay the money back interest free, an improvement on the inadequate 5 years that now applies. 

Council tenants pay for their share of major works with increased rents, but over a much longer time. Us leaseholders ask for fairness and equality, and a change of council policy to help us sleep at night.

Name/Address supplied

Categories
Government Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Meetings Newsletter PFI Repairs Service Charges Website

ILA meeting Tuesday 9th December 2025

ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION (ILA)

MEETING on TUESDAY the

9th December 2025 at

7-9pm in
St Mary’s Church, Upper Street

(located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall, walking towards the Angel) at

7-9pm

At our December meeting the Government funded “LEASE ORGANISATION WILL BE OUR GUESTS” You are advised to arrive Early and if possible provide a written copy of your questions in order to save time, and allow every one to have “Their Say”

Please be aware that we will have door attendance every 10-15 mins…so just ring the reception bell if the door is closed/unattended…

Also, any problems arising in connection with s20 bills…Emergancy Lighting…Fire precautions…Etc…

Hosting the meet – Dr Brian Potter

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

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

Categories
Government Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Meetings Newsletter PFI Repairs Service Charges Website

ILA meeting Tuesday 11th November 2025

ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION (ILA)

MEETING on TUESDAY the

11th November 2025 at

7-9pm in
St Mary’s Church, Upper Street

(located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall, walking towards the Angel) at

7-9pm

Please be aware that we will have door attendance every 10-15 mins…so just ring the reception bell if the door is closed/unattended…

Also, any problems arising in connection with s20 bills…Emergancy Lighting…Fire precautions…Etc…

Hosting the meet – Dr Brian Potter

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

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

Categories
Government Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Meetings Newsletter PFI Repairs Service Charges Website

ILA meeting Tuesday 14th October 2025

ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION (ILA)

MEETING on TUESDAY the

14th October 2025 at

7-9pm in
St Mary’s Church, Upper Street

(located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall, walking towards the Angel) at

7-9pm

Please be aware that we will have door attendance every 10-15 mins…so just ring the reception bell if the door is closed/unattended…

Also, any problems arising in connection with s20 bills…Emergancy Lighting…Fire precautions…Etc…

Hosting the meet – Dr Brian Potter

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

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

Categories
Government Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Meetings Newsletter PFI Repairs Service Charges Website

Leaseholder Survey

Please note the deadline date is 26/9/25…

At last, LKP has published background to responding to the highly important government consultation on regulations under the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Act, 2024.  It can be found here.  It would be good to get as many leaseholders to respond as possibly by the deadline of 26th September.  I know it is close, but it is detailed and the guidance is all there is to help leaseholder respondents counter the many interested parties whose livelihoods depend on what we pay…

Categories
Government Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Meetings Newsletter PFI Repairs Service Charges Website

ILA meeting Tuesday 9th September 2025

ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION (ILA)

MEETING on TUESDAY the

9th September 2025 at

7-9pm in
St Mary’s Church, Upper Street

(located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall, walking towards the Angel) at

7-9pm

Please be aware that we will have door attendance every 10-15 mins…so just ring the reception bell if the door is closed/unattended…

Also, any problems arising in connection with s20 bills…Emergancy Lighting…Fire precautions…Etc…

Hosting the meet – Dr Brian Potter

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

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

Categories
Government Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Meetings Newsletter PFI Repairs Service Charges Website

ILA meeting Tuesday 12th August 2025

ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION (ILA)

MEETING on TUESDAY the

12th August 2025 at

7-9pm in
St Mary’s Church, Upper Street

(located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall, walking towards the Angel) at

7-9pm

Please be aware that we will have door attendance every 10-15 mins…so just ring the reception bell if the door is closed/unattended…

Also, any problems arising in connection with s20 bills…Emergancy Lighting…Fire precautions…Etc…

Hosting the meet – Dr Brian Potter

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

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

Categories
Government Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases London Major Works Meetings Newsletter PFI Repairs Service Charges Website

ILA meeting Tuesday 8th July 2025

ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION (ILA)

MEETING on TUESDAY the

8th July 2025 at

7-9pm in
St Mary’s Church, Upper Street

(located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall, walking towards the Angel) at

7-9pm

Please be aware that we will have door attendance every 10-15 mins…so just ring the reception bell if the door is closed/unattended…

Also, any problems arising in connection with s20 bills…Emergancy Lighting…Fire precautions…Etc…

Hosting the meet – Dr Brian Potter

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

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