Leaseholders of Islington ex-local authority properties and our aim is to to ensure that Islington Council, its managing agent(s) and Partners, provide leaseholders with a better service and value for money
ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION MEETING on WEDNESDAY
13th November 2024 in St Mary’s Church Upper Street (located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall walking towards the Angel.) 7-9pm Meetings are still held on the second Wednesday of every month www.ila.org.uk
Please be aware that the ILA will still be taking place AS usual…But since the Council will no longer allow us the use of a room in the Town Hall we will re-locate as above…Please watch future posts for important up-dates on this situation…. 😥 and other developments…
Dr Brian Potter said it was disgraceful that the council won’t take bookings from the ILA
A FAMILIAR face is looking to upset a council by-election contest with the message that leaseholders are being treated as the “magic cash cows”.
Dr Brian Potter, the chair of the Islington Leaseholders Association (ILA), revealed this week he will be among the candidates on the Junction ward ballot.
It is the third council by-election in six months and comes in a year when voters have already taken part in the London and general elections.
Dr Potter is furious that the council has told the ILA that it can no longer book the Town Hall in Upper Street for its meetings.
It has held one there every month for the past 10 years.
“It’s disgraceful,” said Dr Potter who says the organisation, which represents a third of those living in the borough, no longer has a place to meet.
The action came after the ILA said it was un-invited to a council-run “home owners’ event”. Dr Potter decided to hand out leaflets for an ILA meeting outside this event, and at this point was approached by a council officer telling him that the association would not be allowed to use the space.
Dr Potter said: “We’re the best-attended meeting in the borough and now they won’t let us have a room. It’s crazy.
“If they were to do that to anyone else, it would go viral.” He added that he would be “getting on the internet” to spread awareness of the injustice.
The Town Hall say, however, that Dr Potter was not barred from the event last week and claim that the ILA can no longer use the council chamber because it does not represent the council.
The ILA advocates for the rights of leaseholders in the borough and says they are often hit by repairs bills totalling thousands of pounds that they cannot afford.
Dr Potter said: “We get extremely bad works, and the cost given by the council to leaseholders is astronomical and unjustifiable.
“The council are letting the contractors run riot. The billing is absolutely crazy.”
He added that his campaign in the Junction ward would raise awareness of the ILA and encourage “any leaseholders with problems” to contact the association.
“They just see us as the magic cash cow, we just keep producing money but it doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t justify these bills,” he said.
An Islington Council spokesperson said: “Here in Islington we’re determined to ensure that everyone has a safe and decent place to call home.
“As part of that we work closely with leaseholders to provide the best quality service, to keep them updated on any works that are being carried out and to ensure that these works offer value for money.
“We know that local people, including leaseholders, know their borough better than anyone and we’re committed to listening to their views.
“That’s why we’re in the process of setting up an independent Leaseholder Forum, which will give leaseholders the opportunity to share their views with the council, hold us to account, and be properly governed.”
The known candidates declared so far for the Junction by-election are James Potts from Labour, Rebecca Jones for the Liberal Democrats, Devon Osborne for the Greens, Jackson Caines from the Islington independents and now Dr Brian Potter.
Any other candidates need to have applied to stand by today’s (Friday’s) deadline.
LEASE have launched a survey about the costs of buildings insurance. It will help ministers and officials create better policies to address these costs.
A big thank you to those who’ve already contributed to the survey!
Your contribution is greatly appreciated and will play a key role in our efforts to improve the availability and cost of buildings insurance in the future.
If you haven’t had a chance yet, there’s still time to participate.
This survey has been created with help from End our Cladding Scandal (EOCS) and a number of managing agents, as well as with support from officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
This survey is the first of many that LEASE is planning for the next year.
What information will you need to complete this survey?
To fill out the survey, you will need:
Details about your building, like the number of flats and the total value of the buildings insurance.
The cost of your insurance from 2017 to now. You don’t need to have all the information for all the years, but the more details you can provide, the better.
Information about any insurance claims for fire, flood, or water damage.
Only one leaseholder per site needs to complete the survey. It would be best if a director from the Resident Management Company (RMC); Right to Manage (RTM) company, or someone from the residents’ association, completes the survey.
Confidentiality and data sharing
The personal information you provide will be kept confidential, and only anonymized results will be shared.
The closing date of the survey is Friday 27 September.
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.”
