Category: Information

Categories
Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Service Charges

Send govt. your views and evidence about poor service, wasted spending, and high charges

After pressure from leaseholders organisation and others, the Office of Fair Trading is to investigate Service Charges.

Evidence is invited from anyone concerned and results are due by the end of 2014. The study was first announced last year to look at services for flats in the private sector only, but 250 people and organisations wrote in about its limited scope and it has been agreed to include the millions of leaseholders who rely on councils and housing associations to run their estates.

Go to www.oft.gov.uk/subscribe to register for progress updates; and email propertymanagers.study@oft.gsi.gov.uk to send them your views and any evidence about poor service; wasted spending; and high charges. For more information: http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/markets-work/residential-property-management/#.UxcnfPl_sXU

In their detailed scoping report published 4th March 2014, the OFT said that the social housing sector was, on reflection “too large and important” to omit from their study.

The study’s full title is “Market study into the provision of residential property management services”. In April, the OFT gets merged into a new Competition & Markets Authority (CMA). info from Hackney Leaseholders

Categories
Financial Housing ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Major Works Partners PFI Service Charges Website

Leaseholder poll – How can council improve their relationship with you?

When Leader of the Council Richard  Watts came to the Islington Leaseholders’ Association meeting at the Town Hall on February 12th, 2014, he spoke of the need  for an entirely new council/leaseholder relationship, based on working together.With this in mind, your thoughts and input would be appreciated.

Leaseholder poll Please tick 3 boxes then press vote  button below

In which three ways do you think your council landlord could most improve their relationship with you?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

 

If you think the council should be doing something more important for leaseholders than the suggestions above, tell us publicly on comment form below, or privately via the contact form and we may ask the council about it and/or add it to this poll, or flag it for future discussion.

Please Share Poll /Email On / RT / Like / Tell someone else.

Categories
Financial Housing ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders

Leaseholders may be charged £1300 per year + to pay other council bills?

Islington Council have been recently been formulating the  LBI ‘Housing Asset Strategy’ – which is Islington Councils 30 year programme for us all.
 In  clause 7.2 LBI estimate they will be spending “£39m + inflation” every year on housing work, so leaseholders 1/3rd share would be approximately £13m + inflation bills between 10,000 leaseholders = £1300 every year + bills !!
Quite a lot of the report is  nothing to do with ‘housing’ although they have clearly stated the ‘Housing Asset’ part will be used to fund it.
If any Leaseholders ( particularly those with specialist knowledge debt finance/ accountancy ) have any comments on how the proposals in report  might impact leaseholders, the ILA would like to hear from you.
Contact ILA
encl. Housing Asset Management Strategy

 

Categories
ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Partners PFI

ILA meet Wed 12th March 2014

Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting 
on
Wednesday 12th March 2014
in
Islington Town Hall
at
7pm – 9pm
 
Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman ILA

Guest Speaker: Two solicitors from “LEASE” organisation will be giving a presentation on the latest lease extension procedures and outlining the new remit of the LVT. 
Twitter @ilaorguk
 
If you wish to join or renew your membership please contact our website www.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms. 
 
Please impress upon any other leaseholders that it is in their interest to attend these meetings regularly…
Dr Brian Potter Chairman ILA has asked me to forward onto you all this Leaseholders letter in the Islington Gazette, Thurs, Feb 27, 2014 –  Please see below to view at your convenience [1] Why not withhold PFI payments?
 
Dr B.S. Potter Chairman ILA
___________________________

[1]

Islington Gazette,

Thurs, Feb 27, 2014

 

Council housing

Why not withhold PFI payments?

“[It] seems to be a pretty unsatisfactory contract,” “We’ll see what our options

are,” “We need a plan of management” and “We want to be transparent whenever

possible” (!) Cllrs Richard Watts and James Murray (housing) were speaking

about the council’s PFI (private finance initiative) housing-management

contract with Partners at a recent angry town hall meeting with council

leaseholders.

 

The council isn’t only an estates’ landlord. The PFI is the two-part contract under

which the majority of the borough’s 6,500 street properties are managed – many would say mismanaged.  It doesn’t expire until 2033, by which time it will have cost the general taxpayer upwards of £720 million – some estimate about £1billion, allowing for interest payments incurred over its lifetime.

 

Bad enough? Now for the alleged sting in this nasty scorpion’s tail: “There’s ‘an eight-digit financial penalty for ending that contract.”

 

So here we have it – “We wouldn’t sign that kind of contract now,” but it’s too expensive to cancel. Who, one wonders, is advising the council?  This is money paid by all Islington taxpayers, not only residents of the council’s freeholds.  As for political will, where were the dissident voices when Gordon Brown was pushing PFI?

 

Ironically, the question to which Cllrs Watts and Murray gave the above answers wasn’t about the lifecycle of the contract – though searching questions need to be asked about that – but the suspension, on grounds of breach of contract, of the monthly payments by which Partners receives its guaranteed PFI monies.

 

Since Cllr Watts agreed that it’s “pretty clear” that work carried out by United House,

“particularly in the first round” of the contract, was “not good enough” – there was, “frankly, some pretty shocking work” (he should see some second-round examples) – why is the council refusing to consider withholding such payments?

As the questioner asked, how can a contractor (Partners) “fail to deliver with such impunity?”

 

If, as was stressed at the meeting, Islington wants to be a “responsible landlord”, the politicians will have to go further than this.

Meg Howarth,

Ellington Street, N7

Categories
Election Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Partners PFI Service Charges

ILA meet wed 12.2.14

Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting
on

Wednesday 12th Febuary 2014
in

Islington Town Hall

at
7pm – 9pm

Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman ILA
Guest Speakers: To be advised
Website www.ila.org.uk
Twitter @ilaorguk
Face Book http://on.fb.me/mWzios

If you wish to join or renew your membership please contact our website www.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms.

Categories
Housing ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Meetings Website

ILA meet wed 8.1.14

Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting
on
 
Wednesday 8th January 2014
in
 
Islington Town Hall
 
at
7pm – 9pm
The ILA wish all our members & other leaseholders a happy new year and invite you to our first meeting of 2014.
 
Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman ILA
Guest Speakers: To be advised
Twitter @ilaorguk
If you wish to join or renew your membership please contact our website www.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms.  
 
 
Categories
Financial ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Major Works Partners Service Charges

ILA Meet Wed 11 Dec 2013

Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting
on
 
Wednesday 11th December 2013
in
 
Islington Town Hall
 
at
7pm – 9pm
 
Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman ILA
Guest Speakers: To be advised
Website www.ila.org.uk
Twitter @ilaorguk
Face Book http://on.fb.me/mWzios
Volunteers wanted
The ILA are looking for a ‘secretary’ to take minutes and distribute them regularly to all the directors and asks for a volunteer to undertake this essential part of the work, to assist with the smooth running of the organisation.  If you are interested please log into https://www.ila.org.uk/faqs/contact-form.
If you wish to join or renew your membership please contact our website www.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms.  
 
Please impress upon any other leaseholders that it is in their interest to attend these meetings regularly…
 
Please click on both attachments – Islington Gazette 29th November 2013.
 
[1] Letter  from Dr Potter –Sub-Contracting More who work the worse it gets.
[2] Article Leaseholder’s £3,500 mystery bill cancelled after two-year battle.     
 
Dr B.S. Potter Chairman ILA
Categories
Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders PFI

Spot checks have exposed appalling conditions in council homes

Islington Tribune Letters: by Meg Howarth – Published: 8 November, 2013

• POOR maintenance of Islington’s housing stock isn’t, alas, uncommon or confined to the borough’s estates(Homes repair complaints ‘rising’, November 1).

A group of volunteer housing campaigners carrying out spot checks on randomly selected street properties has exposed some appalling conditions.

Their findings can be seen in a series of photographs at www.islingtonpfi.org.

more here

 

Categories
Financial ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Major Works Service Charges Website

The Leaseholders charter – Download

Leaseholders might find the Council’s own statement of its promises to leaseholders useful when in negotiation over service charges or major works !!!

 

 

 

Categories
Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings

ILA monthly meet – Wed 13th Nov 2013

Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting 

on

Wednesday 13th November 2013

in

Islington Town Hall

 at

7pm – 9pm

 

Guest Speakers:

Mr Andrew Nutter Islington Council – Service Director for Property and Procurement

 

Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter ILA

 

Twitter @ilaorguk

Face Book http://on.fb.me/mWzios

If you wish to join or renew your membership please click  Support where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms.

Categories
ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings

The Leaseholders Fair – Wed 9th Oct – Islington Town Hall “Assembly Rooms”

The Leaseholders Fair

Is on

Wednesday 9th Oct

In

The “Assembly Rooms” at Islington Town Hall

The Islington Leaseholders Association (ILA) will be in attendance from 3pm until 7pm

Also

Our regular Wednesday meeting will take place, as usual, in the Main Council Chamber of the Town Hall from: –

7pm until 9pm

 

All council leaseholders…are strongly advised to attend

And ask questions.

 

…Remember…

 

Knowledge is Power