Category: Service Charges

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

‘£30k maintenance charge drained my life savings’ says 88-year-old leaseholder

‘£30k maintenance charge drained my life savings’ says 88-year-old leaseholder

Joan Leonard and Doc Potter
Joan Leonard and Doc Potter

Published: 13 September, 2013   by PETER GRUNER and SERINA SANDHU  from Islington Tribune
HOUSING activists are launching a campaign to force Islington Council to pay back most of the £30,000 in maintenance fees which drained the life savings of an 88-year-old leaseholder.
They will claim that widowed pensioner Joan Leonard was not properly consulted some eight years ago, nor did she give her approval of work done on the tower block Emberton Court, on the Brunswick estate, Clerkenwell.
The move follows plans for more work on the estate for which Mrs Leonard will be asked to contribute another £8,000.
Retired tailor Mrs Leonard, who has lived on the fifth floor of the estate for more than 60 years, said: “I paid the money for four new windows and two doors. They also replaced a perfectly good boiler.
“But I got a shock when I got the bill. Now they want more money for things like CCTV and repairs. Well, I don’t have it.”
Two of the borough’s most formidable campaigners, Dr Brian Potter, chairman of Islington Leaseholders Association, and student barrister Patricia Napier will take on the case.
The work on the estate was carried out by the now-defunct housing management organisation Homes for Islington in 2008-09.
Dr Potter said: “This is a woman who was forced to spend her entire life-savings on work which probably wasn’t needed. She came to us because she’s being asked to spend more money.”
He added: “We hope of course that rather than a long, protracted tribunal or court case the council will agree to a refund.”
Ms Napier said: “£30,000 is a huge amount of money. I hope to get a great proportion of it back. Mrs Leonard is obviously not a wealthy woman and it appears she was not aware of her rights at the time the work was done.
“The council will have to prove that the work was necessary.”
Councillor James Murray, executive member for housing, said that if any leaseholders have difficulty making the payment a member of the housing team can help them by discussing options.

http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2013/sep/‘£30k-maintenance-charge-drained-my-life-savings’-says-88-year-old-leaseholder
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Housing ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Meetings Service Charges

ILA meet Wed 14th August 2013

Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting 

on

Wednesday 14th August 2013

in

Islington Town Hall

 at

7pm – 9pm

Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter ILA

 

Guest Speakers:  “As our guests, we have invited two very eminent Leaseholders from the boroughs of Westminster and Camden, who will talk, and answer questions, on the differences observed in the treatment of leaseholders by their council’s and Islington’s”…

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

 

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ILA Information Islington Lands Tribunal Leaseholders Service Charges Website

First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Presentation – ILA meeting

First-tier Tribunal(Property Chamber) presentation on the  replacement to the Lands Valuation Tribunal (  LVT ) from ILA meeting on Wednesday 12th June 2013 by Nicholas Kissen from LEASE. ( requires Powerpoint to view).

Download

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Housing Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Service Charges

ILA AGM & meet Wed 12 June 2013

Islington Leaseholders Association

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

 and Meeting

Wednesday 12th June 2013

Islington Town Hall

7pm – 9pm

Hosting the Meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman ILA

Guest Speakers: Mr Nicolas Kisson (Chief Litigation Solicitor) and Mr Tom Frith (Solicitor) from ‘LEASE’ organisation, who will be giving a PowerPoint presentation on the NEW form, and procedures of the recently up dated LVT process.
Website www.ila.org.uk

Twitter @ilaorguk

Face Book http://on.fb.me/mWzios

 

ILA – volunteers wanted

The ILA is 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 the smooth running of the organisation. If your interested please log ontohttps://www.ila.org.uk/faqs/contact-form/

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Financial ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Major Works Service Charges

leaseholder service charge disputes

recent articles on leaseholder service charge disputes and some  legal implications

http://wp.me/PY9zq-xO

 

 

 

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Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Meetings Service Charges

ILA meet Wed March 2013

 

Islington Leaseholders Association

Meeting

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Islington Town Hall

7pm – 9pm

Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman ILA

Guest Speaker: 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.

 

 

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Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Leaseholders Service Charges

Service Charges and Ground Rent PP Presentation

Service Charges and Ground Rent PowerPoint Presentation made by The Leasehold Advisory service (LEASE) to the ILA  Download LEASE_Svc_Chgs_PP_2_ILA    ( Requires Powerpoint Software Pgm to view)

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Financial Housing Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Major Works Service Charges

Leaseholders – Avoid being charged twice

Decent Homes works carried out by Mulalley [Area 3 Phase C]

Leaseholders who received a letter from the Council in July, asking them to notify the Council of any defects with the works by the 23rd of August, should be aware that the deadline given in the letter for rectifying any defective work is incorrect. more

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Financial Housing ILA LBI Leaseholders Major Works Service Charges

Own your windows with a “Deed Of Variation”

For a flat fee of £380 it is now possible to own every part of your windows through a deed of variation. Under our leases the window frames remain part of the structure of the building and therefore are subject to the vagaries of whatever Islington Council fancies doing to them. However with a deed of variation, you stay in charge. Even if the windows have to be replaced, you can choose who does the work and you therefore control the cost.
If you’re interested, write to your leasehold officer – their name appears on letters regarding service charges. Tell them you would like to own your windows through a deed of variation, enclose a cheque for £380 and within a couple of weeks it could be sorted.
DeedOfVariationLetterApproval
Vicki Leonard (ILA)
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ILA Islington Lands Tribunal LBI Leaseholders Major Works Service Charges

Tremlett Grove Leaseholders declare victory

Islington Gazette reported that Homeowners have declared victory after Islington council announced it will not contest a ruling that it blew £1million overpaying on repair work more

 

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Financial Housing ILA Islington LBI Leaseholders PFI Service Charges

Open Letter to Leader Catherine West and Islington Council

From:  Dr Brian Potter ILA

To: Catherine West (catherine.west@islington.gov.uk),   james.murray@islington.gov.uk,  paul.convery@islingtonlabour.org.uk, richard.greening@islington.gov.uk,  richard.watts@islington.gov.uk

Dear Catherine.

Since the ILA’s last proposal to raise cash for Islington (99 year Lease Extensions) appears to have drawn so much attention (including from other borough’s!) we hope that you will also consider another of our schemes, which although not as lucrative as the first, will potentially raise a great deal of much needed cash, very quickly.

Very briefly…

A/ In Islington’s leases, Leaseholders only own the glass, not the window frames!

B/ A major source of problems has been due to window repairs/replacement for which contractorsgrossly over charge. (Most windows have under gone extensive work through the Decent Homes Project already)

C/ So..When contacting leaseholders re a 99 year lease Extension…also offer to sell them their windows…at a discount…as a one off offer…in the same time frame as the lease extension?

Back ground…

Formally, to buy your windows through HFI      you were required to seek planning permission and alicense…all of which cost money and involved administrative costs to the order of approximately £1000-2000 per property.

The ILA has finally convinced HFI that both the planning permission and license were an unnecessary cash burden, which prevented leaseholders from buying their windows via a “Deed of Variation”. However, as a result of years of negotiations with HFI, leaseholders can now purchase the DOV within a couple of weeks, at a total cost of £380. (I purchased mine last month).

If this sum was reduced to £180 in a one off promotion, I am sure that the majority of Islington’s leaseholders would be happy to take part.

Peripheral advantages to this scheme…

1/ Many more leaseholders would be inclined to use the small local builders…thereby generating bothcash and employment in the borough, and reduce both the council’s responsibility and contractual work load!

2/ The large contracts currently being allocated cost the borough a fortune, and are totally un-manageable and impossible to monitor…and, invariably uses sub-contracted labour from…who knows where?

3/ If the leaseholders are satisfied with this arrangement they will have no need to challenge the billing at law (LVT), so saving the borough a great deal of cash during the course of the year in defending issues related to cost and quality of works by employing very expensive external firms of solicitors. See Tremlett Grove…!!!

Legal safe guards…

In order to ensure that the leaseholders comply with council requirements in regard to conservation areas etc…Caveats can be included, if and when required…

Possible income of…non-ring fenced cash…

Math…11,000 x £180 = £??????????

Brian.