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ILA meet Tuesday 10th Dec

ISLINGTON LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION (ILA)

MEETING ON
*  TUESDAY  *
THE
10th December 2024
IN 
St Mary’s Church
*Upper Street*

(located approximately 100 yards from the Town Hall, walking towards the Angel)
7-9pm

We will be reviewing the proposed New “Act” on Leaseholding  & Commonhold

Please note our new address, necessitated as a consequence of the councils current policy of NON inclusion in the Borough…

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk . You can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab in menu

Categories
Councillors Election Financial Government Housing IBC ILA Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Repairs Service Charges

Letter to all ILA Members


As I explained previously, Islington Council recently attempted to disband the ILA, by denying us use of a room in the Town Hall, stating that they “no longer recognise the ILA”. However, having solved the problem of a venue, the directors and I decided to advance the ILA’s existence into a far wider electorate, by standing as an independent in the local elections for “Junction Ward”.

Sorry to say, but this time around we didn’t get ELECTED…primarily, due to our combined inexperience and time constraints…But certainly, NOT for lack of trying, or enthusiasm on the part of those who very willingly volunteered their services…A Great big THANKS to all concerned… Nevertheless, due to their efforts, the ILA is now recognised/known by many, many more leaseholders who previously had no idea it existed…!!!

I am extremely happy with the challenge we raised in such a short period of time, and can only say that it was a WONDERFUL learning curve, that our team tested to the utmost, and one which will pay off enormously in all future efforts…(and, we only polled 18 votes behind the Conservative Party Candidate…!!!)

However, “Never say Die”…as the Chairman of the ILA I am proposing to the membership that in future we up our game PLAN exponentially by: –

1/ Possibly fielding candidates in all/any forthcoming Local Elections…In all/any Wards up for re-election…

2/ Promoting an extremely vociferous membership of ILA members, able to show Islington Council and various Government Departments that we demand to be recognised in this Borough. Sadly, although Council leaseholders currently constitute approximately ONE THIRD of all Council properties…we still lack our own “voice” in Islington Town Hall…
This situation urgently needs redressing…!!!

3/ Further our Association’s objectives by using our WEBSITE / PRESS to link up with similar Organisations with compatible aim’s and objectives…(there are 4.6 million leaseholders in this country)…

4/ Reserve a LARGER meeting room in which to hold our regular MONTHLY meetings…

5/ Generally work to a loosely, but appropriate, preset agenda…

6/ Regularly Advertise the meetings in the Press / Etc…

7/ Given that we have approximately 11000 Council Leaseholders in the Borough…a vast number of which are still painfully unaware that the ILA exists, it will be be EXTREMELY useful if all of our existing members join in our recruitment drive, and encourage more leaseholders to attend our meetings, and support our objectives…ASAP…

8/ Notably, since the government have recently reduced the discount on RTB properties, the poor old Councils must be completely overwhelmed with tenants attempting to apply prior to the new (much lower) discount effectively coming into force…(which should allow our membership to increase by 000?” Over night…)

Questions: –
1/ What’s this financial windfall to the Council, going to be used for.?…Perhaps, since it’s your cash they are about to inherit, you might like to demand an answer from Cllr O’Halloran, Leader of Islington Council…in person…!!!

Dr Brian Potter…
Chairman ILA…

Categories
Councillors Cyclical Works Election Financial Housing IBC ILA Information Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Leases Major Works Meetings Partners Repairs Service Charges Website

Do’s & Don’ts 

For Leaseholders when dealing with Islington Council

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

ILA meet at St Marys after being excluded from the TownHall

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.

drbrianpotter.wordpress.com


#islington, #IslingtonBC, #IslingtonCouncil,  #FITA, #Whittington, #HoldIslingtoCouncilToAccount, #IslingtonCouncil£72000PoundsRepairBill, #ILA, #BrianPotter, #IslingtonCouncilOvercharging,   #NoToN1Mould, #VoteNoMoreMould, #IslingtonOmbudsmanShockReport, #IslingtonOmbudsmanReport, #IslingtonBossToBusyToTalkMould, #CouncilBosstoBusytoStopMould, #islingtonCouncilMouldyOldHomes, #IslingtonDamp, #DampIslington, #YourVoiceYourCommunityYourChange

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Cyclical Works Financial Housing IBC ILA Information Islington Islington Council Leaseholders Meetings Repairs Service Charges

Letters from Leaseholders

To Brian:

part 1 in an occasional series..

How I removed £1436.49 removed from my service charges.

Hi Brian,

I challenged poor workmanship on my Block using photos I had taken, 2 jobs were removed as a result and £1436.49 removed from the service charges and £93.79 refunded to all leaseholds in the block.

I have achieved many other refunds previously…. ALL achieved by attending the ILA meeting hosted by your good self and learning how!!!!!

Thank You Brian


#Islington #IslingtonBC #IslingtonCouncil #poorworkmanship #UnfairServiceCharges #Leaseholders  #BrianPotter #ILA #IslingtonLeaseholderAssociation

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Councillors Election Financial Government Housing IBC ILA Islington Islington Council LBI Leaseholders Repairs

Ombudsmans ‘Shocking” report on Islington Council

Dr Brian Potter is repeatedly asked for the Ombudsmans ‘Shocking” report on Islington Council while campaigning.

We’ve all heard how Islington Borough Council’s Housing Chief (and now Boss) Una O’Halloran was too “busy” to speak to the Islington Tribune’s news reporter recently. 

Perhaps her understandable reticence to be interviewed concerned the shocking report,  which high lighted council tenants still trapped in home’s riddled with damp and mould years after the Ombudsman’s damning report into Islington’s serious Mismanagement of this Borough, (link here 

The Rt Hon Michael Gove’s scathing letter to the council which followed, detailing how Islington Borough Council’s appalling administration rate’s were four (4) times higher than the national average, and noted that IBC still repeatedly failed to follow their own procedures and policies, as reported here on the ILA website earlier this year. 

Dr Brian Potter was repeatedly asked for, and supplied numerous copies of the ombudsman’s report (attached below) while campaigning as an independent for Junction ward on housing issues.

Perhaps it was this revelation which upset the council to the point where at November’s meeting of the ILA, the meeting required relocating, without notice, after the Council banned the ILA from hiring the Town Hall after 17 years of service to the Borough.

Possibly, their actions were due to the councils inability to handle any form of tenant criticism, or as others have frequently noted, their propensity for censorship and total lack of democracy. When questioned on the subject, the council simply stated that they “did not recognise the association” after 17 years…!!!

So much for democracy.!

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Councillors Election Housing IBC ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders

Vote Brian Potter

Your Junction ward Islington Council Independent Candidate for Your Voice , Your Community, Your Change on Thursday 28th November.

Screenshot

Please feel free to distribute this notice, forward it on social media, print out and put in your window… or someone elses, it all helps 🙂 Thanks

#YourVoiceYourCommunityYourChange

Categories
Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council Lands Tribunal Leaseholders Leases Major Works Meetings Partners Service Charges

ILA Meeting in October

Monthly Meet

on

Wednesday 9th October 2024

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month

Islington Leaseholders, Please bring a copy of all your correspondence on the issues you wish to refer to…….e.g. s20 estimate. etc,

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk . You can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab in menu

Categories
Financial Housing ILA Islington Council Leaseholders Leases Service Charges

LEASE Buildings Insurance Survey

LEASE have launched a survey about the costs of buildings insurance. It will help ministers and officials create better policies to address these costs.

A big thank you to those who’ve already contributed to the survey!

Your contribution is greatly appreciated and will play a key role in our efforts to improve the availability and cost of buildings insurance in the future.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, there’s still time to participate.

Please click here to complete the survey

This survey has been created with help from End our Cladding Scandal (EOCS) and a number of managing agents, as well as with support from officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This survey is the first of many that LEASE is planning for the next year.

What information will you need to complete this survey?

To fill out the survey, you will need:

  • Details about your building, like the number of flats and the total value of the buildings insurance.
  • The cost of your insurance from 2017 to now. You don’t need to have all the information for all the years, but the more details you can provide, the better.
  • Information about any insurance claims for fire, flood, or water damage.

Only one leaseholder per site needs to complete the survey. It would be best if a director from the Resident Management Company (RMC); Right to Manage (RTM) company, or someone from the residents’ association, completes the survey.

Confidentiality and data sharing

The personal information you provide will be kept confidential, and only anonymized results will be shared.

The closing date of the survey is Friday 27 September.

Categories
Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council Lands Tribunal Leaseholders Leases Major Works Meetings Partners Service Charges

ILA Meeting in September

Monthly Meet

on

Wednesday 11th September 2024

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month

Islington Leaseholders, Please bring a copy of all your correspondence on the issues you wish to refer to…….e.g. s20 estimate. etc,

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk . You can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab in menu

Categories
Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council Lands Tribunal Leaseholders Leases Major Works Meetings Partners Service Charges

ILA Meeting in August

Monthly Meet

on

Wednesday 14th August 2024

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Islington Leaseholders, Please bring a copy of all your correspondence on the issues you wish to refer to…….e.g. s20 estimate. etc,

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk . You can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab in menu

Categories
Cyclical Works Financial Housing ILA Information Islington Islington Council Lands Tribunal Leaseholders Leases Major Works Meetings Partners Service Charges

ILA Meeting in July

Monthly Meet

on

Wednesday 10th July 2024

in

Islington Town Hall

at

7pm – 9pm

Islington Leaseholders, Please bring a copy of all your correspondence on the issues you wish to refer to…….e.g. s20 estimate. etc,

Hosting the Meet – Dr Brian Potter

All Islington council leaseholders are welcome.

The ILA is the organisation, recognised by the Council, as the body representing some 11,000 leaseholders in the borough.

X (FKA “Twitter”) @ilaorguk

Face Book www.facebook.com/IslingtonLeaseholdersAssociation

Please join or renew your membership via our website ww.ila.org.uk . You can obtain the appropriate membership forms from the “Support” tab in menu