Grim it may be, but the government’s approach to getting dangerous Grenfell-style cladding replaced on tower blocks certainly appears consistent. Credit: Private Eye, Housing News
Tag: Legal
Register now for the free webinar
LEASE is hosting a free webinar to help you make an informed contribution to the Government’s consultation ‘Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market’.
The webinar will be presented by our experienced advisers, Nicholas Kissen and Kavita Bharti.
The webinar is on Monday 26 March 2018, 7pm – 8:30pm. Click here to register.
The Government is concerned that the current landscape is confusing for consumers both in terms of the number of schemes, differences in practices, and gaps where consumers have no recourse to redress. As a consequence the consultation explores and questions:
improving ‘in–house’ complaint processes, to ensure that issues get resolved as quickly as possible;
the practices and functions that should be expected of redress schemes and the powers that they need to do this;
How to fill existing gaps in redress, with a particular focus on private tenants, buyers of new build homes and leaseholders; and
The case for streamlining and improving services for consumers through the creation of a single housing ombudsman service.
Responses to the consultation should be submitted no later than midnight on 16 April 2018. You are encouraged to respond by completing an online survey.
Alternatively you can email your response to the questions in the consultation to – Housingredress@communities.gsi.gov.uk
Written responses should be sent to:
Social Housing Division, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Third Floor, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
Islington council is consulting on the Site Allocations Direction of Travel Document and is seeking feedback until 26 March 2018.
The Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) is a key document within Islington’s Local Plan. Site allocations provide site specific policy for key sites to help secure specific land uses, meet identified development needs and ensure the infrastructure required to support growth is in place. The DPD is used alongside relevant planning policies to guide decision-making on planning applications relating to allocated sites.
Over 150 sites have been identified, which could accommodate new housing, workspaces, shops, open spaces, or leisure and community facilities. The council is inviting feedback on the proposed site allocations. Any comments received during the consultation period will be used to inform the drafting of the final version of the document.
You can view the Site Allocations Direction of Travel document via the link: www.islington.gov.uk/consultations.
Hard copies of the draft document are available to view at all Islington libraries.
Have your say
You can make comments on the draft document:
· by email to planningpolicy@islington.gov.uk
· in writing to Planning Policy Team, Freepost RTXU-ETKU-KECB, Planning Policy, Islington Council, Town Hall, Upper Street, London N1 2UD.
Please send your comments by midnight on Monday 26 March 2018.
Yours Sincerely
Planning Policy Team
London Borough of Islington
Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting
On
Wednesday 14th March 2018
In
Islington Town Hall
At
7pm – 9pm
Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman (ILA)
Guest Speakers: Mr Nicholas Kissen Senior Adviser and Ms Kavita Bharti A Legal Adviser at The Leasehold Advisory Service. A short presentation followed by questions and answers.
Please click on the “Lease” links below.
Website www.ila.org.uk
Twitter @ilaorguk
Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation
Volunteers wanted
The ILA are 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 with the smooth running of the organisation. If you are interested please log into https://www.ila.org.uk/faqs/contact-form.
If you wish to join or renew your membership please contact our website ww.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms.
Please impress upon any other leaseholders that it is in their interest to attend these meetings regularly…..
- About LEASE’s Fire Safety service
- A Link to our on-line news story on the Tribunal Procedure Committee Consultation paper on capping costs in relation to leasehold cases and residential property cases heard in the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal and those appealed to the Upper Triunal (Lands Chamber).
Campaigners vow to fight on after appeal court rules in favour of leading London freeholder . Patrick Collinson (The Guardian)
Campaigners have failed in a long-running legal battle to slash leasehold costs after the court of appeal ruled in favour of a major London freeholder.
The case, Mundy v the Sloane Stanley Estate, involved a small flat in Chelsea where the lease had fallen to less than 23 years and the freeholder was seeking £420,000 to agree an extension
Campaigners had hoped that a ruling could slice as much as half off the cost of extending a lease or buying a freehold. But the court found in favour of the Sloane Stanley Estate, in a major victory for owners of freehold land, such as the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate.
The challenge had been led by surveyor James Wyatt of Parthenia Valuation, who argued that a system of lease valuation commissioned on behalf of the Duke of Westminster more than 20 years ago was invalid.
But lawyers acting on behalf of the Sloane Stanley Estate, which controls land around London’s Sloane Square, King’s Road and Fulham Road, said the Parthenia valuation model proposed by Wyatt was now “consigned to history”. More Info
Calls for the delay of a new loan set to replace a state-backed benefit in just 10 weeks’ time Shane Hickey ( The Guardian) Mon 5 Feb 2018
Many poorer families could be in danger of having their home repossessed as a state-backed benefit is taken away.
The government has been called on to delay a new “second mortgage” scheme, which replaces a benefit for homeowners on low incomes, after just one in 20 affected households have signed up for it.
From April, the government is axing “support for mortgage interest” (SMI) which helps financially constrained homeowners with their mortgage. It will be replaced with a controversial system where the government offers to loan people the money, which will be repaid later with interest.
However, new figures have shown that just 6,850 households have signed up for the scheme out of the 124,000 currently receiving the SMI benefit, prompting calls for the changeover to be delayed. more info
Housing Scrutiny-Information on Partners Resident Scrutiny Arrangements Meeting Tuesday 6th February 2018.
In advance of next week’s Housing Scrutiny meeting which will be considering the performance of Partners, please find attached a note submitted by a Partners tenant on the organisation’s resident scrutiny arrangements. This may inform discussions at the meeting.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday 6th February, 2018, at 7.30pm in Committee Room 4. The pre-meeting will be held from 7-pm in Committee Room 3, at Islington Town Hall.
Please click on this link –PartnersResidentScrutinyNote2018.pdf
Dear Islington Leaseholders,
Overview and scrutiny in local government inquiry
Dr Potter has asked me to forward this onto you all and has kindly suggested that everybody should reply to this by sending in a written submission….. A.S.A.P…. Deadline = Friday, 10 March 2017
Please click on the link below in BLUE to submit your written submissions.
Dr B.S. Potter Chairman (ILA)
MPs launch inquiry into overview and scrutiny in local government
Tuesday, 24 January 2017 14:58
The Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee has launched a “long-overdue” inquiry into overview and scrutiny in local government.
The committee said it would “consider whether overview and scrutiny arrangements in England are working effectively and whether local communities are able to contribute to and monitor the work of their councils”.
Written evidence is invited on:
Whether scrutiny committees in local authorities in England are effective in holding decision-makers to account
The extent to which scrutiny committees operate with political impartiality and independence from executives
Whether scrutiny officers are independent of and separate from those being scrutinised
How chairs and members are selected
Whether powers to summon witnesses are adequate
The potential for local authority scrutiny to act as a voice for local service users
How topics for scrutiny are selected
The support given to the scrutiny function by political leaders and senior officers, including the resources allocated (for example whether there is a designated officer team)
What use is made of specialist external advisers
The effectiveness and importance of local authority scrutiny of external organisations
The role of scrutiny in devolution deals and the scrutiny models used in combined authorities
Examples where scrutiny has worked well and not so well
The deadline for written submissions is Friday 10 March 2017.
Clive Betts MP, chair of the committee, said: “This inquiry is long overdue. Local authority executives have more powers than ever before but there has not been any review about how effectively the current overview and scrutiny arrangements are working since they were introduced in 2000.
“Local authorities have a considerable degree of discretion when it comes to overview and scrutiny. We will examine these arrangements and consider what changes may be needed to ensure decision-makers in councils and local services are better held to account.”
Overview and scrutiny arrangements were introduced by the Local Government Act in 2000 as a counterweight to increasing decision-making powers of Leaders and Cabinets or directly elected mayors.
The committee said that shortcomings had been exposed, however, following a number of high profile cases, including child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, poor care and high mortality rates at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and governance failings in Tower Hamlets.
Islington Leaseholders Association Meeting
On
Wednesday 11h January 2017
In
Islington Town Hall
At
7pm – 9pm
Hosting the meeting: Dr Brian Potter Chairman (ILA)
Guest Speaker: To be advised
Website www.ila.org.uk
Twitter @ilaorguk
Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation
Volunteers wanted
The ILA are 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 with the smooth running of the organisation. If you are interested please log into https://www.ila.org.uk/faqs/contact-form.
If you wish to join or renew your membership please contact “Support” section of our website ww.ila.org.uk where you can obtain the appropriate membership forms.
Dear Islington Leaseholders,
Dr Brian Potter Chairman (ILA) and fellow ILA Directors
The Next Islington Leaseholders Meeting will take place on Wednesday 11th January 2017