Islington Leaseholders AssociationPlease read this and see if it affects you.
Complaints_CH_Charter_housing2
If the answer is yes, please attend the next ILA meeting (on Wednesday in Townhall at 7pm) and ask questions relating to this process of our guest:
The “Adjudicator” of the “Housing Ombudsmen Service”
Dr. B.S. Potter ( Chairman ILA)
The ILA are looking for photo evidence from Leaseholders of poor workmanship on their home from Islington Council and Partners workers and their contractors for possible publication on our website and social media.
Please email ILA links to your digital photos to this address with name of the contractor.
or send copies of physical photos to: PO BOX 66633, London N1 1AA
Note: Please don’t send more that your 5 best photos – but tell us if you have more, We can’t return copies of physical photos and paper photocopies may not be be good enough to publish
Various presentations , reports and info on Partners Cyclical Works – download by clicking on links
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
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
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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.
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Leaseholders might find the Council’s own statement of its promises to leaseholders useful when in negotiation over service charges or major works !!!
NOW is your opportunity until 26 July to inspect key important documents such as contracts, bills, invoices or receipts etc, which may answer some questions you have about what you’ve been asked to pay for by Islington Council. Below is the official Council invitation with all the details. Many leaseholders have been pleased they’ve done so in the past and saved money from the knowledge gained. Remember the questions is not ‘why’ (that’s for Councillors) but relating to 2012-13, how much, when or request to see the relevant contract.
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)
Gazette reports more than £20million could be raised for new homes if Islington Council take up Dr Brian Potter ( ILA chair) suggestion and offers leaseholders a one-off chance to extend their leases by 99 years at a knock-down price. more
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.
Keith Greensted, MRICS of Warmans Surveying has provided the attached guide with FAQ and illustration of how premiums are calculated for Leasehold Extensions, which will hopefully deal with the main issues and leaseholders rights under the 1993 Leasehold Reform & Urban Development Act (As Amended).
There is also a sample report which is indicative of a typical valuation and advice provided.