For Leaseholders when dealing with Islington Council

Those of you who have regularly attend the Associations monthly meetings over the last 17 years,

will be aware of the importance of the following list of Do’s & Don’ts in dealing with Housing based problems. (Many of which whilst appearing to be very obvious, need to be repeated continuously to be effective) So for those who do not know, and are new to these meetings…

Please be aware that the ILA Never gives or Offers any form of LEGAL ADVICE, or Recommendation…If you require legal advice we suggest you consult a professional such as, a SOLICITOR, SURVEYOR, BUILDER, LEASE. Etc..

However…

The following list of Do’s and Don’ts are simply observations drawn from 25 years of personal experience whilst dealing with Islington Council, as Chairman of both the ILA & FITA…and as a LEASEHOLDER…!!!

1 / never TALK to the council…Verbal promises, assurances, sympathy, are very easily forgotten, disputed, ambiguous, devious…also, staff leave, Die. Etc…So, PUT IT ALL ON PAPER…Letters, or/and Emails. THEN YOU CAN RELY ON THE CONTENT AND CONTEXT OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM ANY “CONVERSATION” and insist on acknowledgement to all email traffic. Never send originals bills Etc, always send photocopy’s… 

2 / PHOTO’s are invaluable, there is no arguing with photographic evidence. If you haven’t already done so…photograph ALL available parts of your property, in as much detail as possible, ideally showing before and after repairs.Etc. Courts and Tribunals love photos…(I have hundreds of my property, both internal and external, and from a selection of angles)…

3 / When contacting the Council, alway’s start at the VERY top…The ILA can supply a list of all senior Council officers if required. Complaints and answers always reach their logically effective level while traveling Down from the Top…rather than Up from the bottom…

4 / Remember The Council only charge you what they pay out on your behalf, SO they do not charge you…They Re-Charge you…and you are therefore entitled to demand to see ALL the bills that they pay on your behalf…

5 / Do not shout at Council staff…they are usually just doing as they are told, and do so to retain their jobs. If you experience problems, email a senior employee and stress your disappointment with the service..Remember write NOT talk…

6 / Having unsolvable problems with Council Work, Staff, Policy, Including complaints procedure.
Next step is an Official Complaint. Make sure you state at the top of your email/letter in large letters…“OFFICIAL STAGE ONE COMPLAINT”

7 / Still unhappy/not satisfied with the Council’s response to your complaint? Contact the HOUSING OMBUDSMAN and escalate your complaint…It cost you NOTHING and usually expedites the councils response to you complaint…

8 / Un-satisfied with the results of your complaint?… a/ Contact the ILA and see if we can assist in solving your problem. b/ Contact the LEASE organisation, this is completely FREE advice supported by government funding… c/ Still unhappy, book a hearing and decision at the First Tier Tribunal, they do charge a small application fee, but you can attend with or without a solicitor or surveyor and simply represent yourself and present information and argument from anyone you please…d/ Lastly you may decide to take the council to Court…However, the main problem here is that the courts do have, and often do award costs…Remember when defending leaseholders challenges at court, the council are using council funds to pay for terribly expensive legal representation, SO THEIR COSTS NEVER SEEM TO BE A PROBLEm, for them…!!! 

9 / I have frequently found that highlighting the councils short comings in the local press…WORKS WONDERS. Even better still the National press and magazine coverage tends to provoke an instant action on many subjects, as does a quick statement on one of the news Channels but Massive viral coverage on the WEB is best of all…

10 / The simple secret to solving a housing problem, I have discovered, is to make One Individual totally responsible for the issue. When such a person is selected the problem remains attached to them personally, and in order to be seen to be doing their job property, they process the problem until its resolved to the leaseholders satisfaction…

11 / Another piece of information which is of extreme importance, is that frequently leaseholders emails /letters appear to disappear into the “wide blue yonder”, the way to counteract this effect is to ask questions under the Freedom of Information Act…this will always ensure that your questions are answered…and you can rely on the veracity of the content.

12 / Finally, a real instant money saver…Check your new service charge bill against all previous bills…we have found that the Councils accountancy and billing leaves much to be desired, so check all the “job numbers” for repairs on the bill…as you may have been charged for the same repair repeatedly for any number of  years…However, this form of over charging can be re-claimed retrospectively by simply informing the COUNCIL that you have been OVER CHARGED…So…Do this NOW…

As stated this SHORT LIST is simply to assist leaseholders in their dealings with Islington Council, but I am quite sure that it is applicable to most, if not all Councils…   

Please stay connected and attend our meetings every month… If you would like to be kept updated on events effecting leaseholders we will need your email address…

REMEMBER…You ARE the Islington Leaseholders Association…One of 11000 Islington leaseholders…!!!

Start a file of Council documents correlated by date.
Keep ALL documentation with and from the Council
Find and become familiar with your existing lease
Obtain a copy of the OLD law on Leasehold
Obtain a copy of the NEW Leasehold Law
Check your s20’s

Knowledge is Power 
So defend yourself by acquiring information by attending our meetings.

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