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.
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.!!!
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…!!!