Tag: leaseholder letters

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Councillors Cyclical Works Election Financial IBC ILA Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Partners Repairs Service Charges

Leaseholder Letters 4

Leaseholders deserve transparency, proper oversight, and fair treatment

Dear Editor,

I am writing to inform readers that I intend to stand as an independent leaseholder candidate in the May 2026 local elections.

Over recent months, I have personally attended a number of Section 20 (S20) consultation meetings on behalf of concerned leaseholders, and I am deeply shocked by the attitude and approach of Islington Council.

s20 notices are being issued without full and proper surveys being carried out. In some cases, leaseholders are being told that new roofs are required when a simple drone survey could easily determine whether such major works are actually necessary.

Even more concerning is that unqualified individuals — some still in training — are being appointed as project managers for these costly schemes. Meanwhile, certain S20 notices are as much as five years out of date, yet the Council continues to push forward with the projects and expects leaseholders to pay tens of thousands of pounds.

At the monthly Islington Leaseholders Association (ILA) meetings, many residents are now expressing serious distress — including stress, anxiety, and depression — as a direct result of the Council’s handling of these issues. People feel ignored, overwhelmed, and financially trapped, with little to no meaningful support or communication from those responsible.

This situation is unacceptable and demands urgent scrutiny and reform. Leaseholders deserve transparency, proper oversight, and fair treatment — not outdated paperwork, questionable assessments, and indifference to the human cost of these failures.

Yours faithfully,

John Doherty

Independent Leaseholder Candidate (May 2026)

N1 area

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Councillors Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders London Major Works Repairs Service Charges

Leaseholder Letters 3

“overlooked and discriminated against”

After reading Cllr O’Halloran’s statement marking her first year as leader of the council I feel really overlooked and discriminated against, and I know that amongst the borough’s leaseholders I am far from alone in this.

Cllr O’Halloran says in her statement that housing is “a daily issue” for the residents she serves. As someone who has always lived on an Islington council estate I am a champion of social housing and welcome the buyback scheme as a way of increasing council housing stock, but only if the leaseholder genuinely wants to sell and is not being bullied or forced out of their homes by extortionate major works bills. These are sometimes as high as £100,000, amounts no average-waged person or OAP could ever dream of paying without incurring considerable debt. 

An Islington Council employee has confirmed to me that most of the homes the council buys back are sold because the leaseholders can’t afford these huge bills.

Leaseholders are among the residents Cllr O’Halloran serves, and the number of them that have to leave the community they have lived in for years is surely a housing issue, yet she shows no empathy, understanding or even awareness of their plight. 

She has the power to change policy and give the leaseholder a much longer period to pay the money back interest free, an improvement on the inadequate 5 years that now applies. 

Council tenants pay for their share of major works with increased rents, but over a much longer time. Us leaseholders ask for fairness and equality, and a change of council policy to help us sleep at night.

Name/Address supplied