| Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group Update w/c 1st March 2021 |
| Welcome to the latest Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group Update We are an informal, self-organised group of leaseholders, who seek to help each other access information around the Barnsbury Estate transformation proposals. Please refer to our website for further details NOTE: Replies to this email will go to barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.comwhere they will be picked up by the Reps |
| CONTENTS: Is official info getting to all leaseholders? – fact check of anonymous flyer – will Newlon share info about our group? – increasing leaseholder membership/leaflet drop – LEGAL UPDATE: update for all – legal update for Old Barnsbury only – legal update for New Barnsbury only |
| Is written communication from Newlon and Source reaching all leaseholders and their private tenants? Last week we updated you on the addresses Source uses for its communications to all categories of leaseholders – they leaflet every property on the estate. Source also post their information to non-resident leaseholders for whom they are given contact details by Newlon.Since then, Newlon has informed us that for all communications to named resident and non-resident leaseholders, the Best team use the address used for billing service charges held in the central Newlon database. Private tenants do not receive information from Newlon.This means that all leaseholders need to have up-to-date address details in Newlon’s central database. If you are not receiving communications from Newlon or Source, or need to change your receiving address for them, please contact them directly to get your details updated. If your private tenants need information about what’s going on, Source can help. See our website for contact details for Source and Newlon. |
| ‘Fact check’ of anonymous flyer posted through doors in Barnsbury in February (response from Source) Source will not be responding publicly to the flyer, but has replied to us informally. We have asked Newlon to comment further. We will let you know when we hear back. Qs & responses from Source: 1. What is the confirmed current state of the estate? Newlon has built the case for transformation on the grounds that it is in disrepair and the only way forward is transformation etc but are there are any specific facts/data about its current state of disrepair? This is a question for Newlon. However, at the early workshops they stated they have based their decision to pursue transformation on data regarding property condition, tenant dissatisfaction and the budget they would have available from rental income and capital programme. 2. How does Newlon justify the poor state of the estate given that they have managed the estate for c. 20 years? Again one for Newlon to justifyWhat are Newlon’s obligations re estate maintenance and repair under business as usual (i.e. a “no” vote)? Under business as usual Newlon would need to prioritise repairs and estate maintenance within an existing capital budget (around £5-6million) 3. Has Newlon ever promised not to demolish blocks 2 years ago? If so, when/why? Not as far as we know 4. What did Newlon promise with respect to the community centre when built? Again, Newlon will need to answer this as we were not party to these discussions 5. Is the £2M revenue generated from the estate figure quoted accurate? It seems about right as there are 506 rented homes. 6. Is the 950 new flats instead of the current 358 on New Barnsbury accurate? The exact number of new homes is not yet established as it is subject to discussion with Islington Planners, there are currently 371 properties on New Barnsbury and these will all be replaced an additional 500-600 homes is feasible in planning terms not any higher 7. Which aspects of the para on ‘What a No vote really means’ are accurate or inaccurate? Not entirely accurate – as there is only a legal obligation for health and safety works, other improvements have been carried out on a needs basis or to bring a property up to a lettable standard and this will continue. The programmes for painting and replacement of kitchens (around 20 were replaced last year for example) are subject to available funding and cannot be enforced. 8. Which aspects of the para on ‘What a Yes vote really means’ are accurate or inaccurate? Not entirely accurate – as there is an obligation to minimise disruption; the community centre is intended to be self-funding with “free” sessions for community uses; and the programme for replacing bathrooms and kitchens for Old Barnsbury does not exist. |
| Will Newlon share information about our Barnsbury Leaseholders Group?We sent a request to Newlon asking them to share links to our Leaseholder Group website on their relevant websites and in relevant communications. Newlon states that this cannot be done during the ballot period. We will re-request this from Newlon once the ballot period is over (March 19th). |
| Increasing Leaseholder group membership – leaflet drop later this month. With continued help from Source, we have some new members this week. Welcome to our new members, this is good news. Please continue to make other leaseholders aware that this group exists, and point them to our website and email address (links). Later this month (within Covid rules) we plan to organise a leaflet drop to leaseholders on the estate. Reps will be in touch to ask a volunteer from each Block to help with this. We’ve asked Source to help by printing a flyer for us. Please note: Since this Leaseholders Group is non-partisan with respect to a yes or no vote, our leaflet will not seek to influence voting, nor express an opinion in response to the outcome. The purpose of contacting more leaseholders is to ensure that we can share information, and potentially future legal costs, among as many leaseholders as possible. |
| Legal Update Please note, the Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group is unable to provide access to individual legal advice to you. If you wish to have individual advice based on your circumstances, you must seek your own professional legal advice. UPDATE FOR ALL Leaseholder Reps from Old and New Barnsbury recently had a very productive hour’s preliminary conversation with leasehold-specialist housing solicitor Sarah Finch (Hamlins). She had many insights into our situation and the legal protections for leaseholders. Sarah has a lot of experience and expertise in acting for leaseholders in blocks, including around Section 20/service charges/disrepair. However, Sarah was clear that if there is a “yes” result from the vote, she would only be able to represent Old Barnsbury leaseholders. Under a “yes” vote, the issues facing New Barnsbury would be very different, and would be better served by other specialists (more info below). If there is a “no” vote, Sarah would be able to represent leaseholders on the whole estate.Whether it’s a Yes or No vote, whether you are resident or non-resident, it was clear that our leases are going to be key documents. Now is the time to find your lease, and make an electronic copy of it, so it can easily be shared for review.Further information and actions below are separated into Old Barnsbury and New Barnsbury, since if there is a “yes” result in the ballot, Old and New will be in different legal situations. ——————————————————————————– OLD BARNSBURY ONLY (see next section for New Barnsbury) When might the renovation of Old Barnsbury start? In the event of a ‘Yes’ vote, Source has advised that the earliest issue of a Section 20 Notice for significant renovation would be at planning permission time. But if there is a ‘No’ vote, we need to be as well prepared as possible for any significant ‘business as usual’ proposals which could follow at any time after the ballot result at the end of this month. How can we understand our leases? First, we need to find out how many forms of lease there are for Old Barnsbury. What do we know about the forms of leases already? Anecdotally, we understand that there are at least 2 types, but the significance of any differences requires an expert legal view. In trying to find out more about leases generally, we’ve had this response from Source, and are following this info up with Newlon (they are aiming to get back to us within a week): “[Source] have reviewed around 12 leases (three “flavours” but generally similar). They are merely updated versions pre-1985, 1985 with the Council and post 2000 with Newlon. The leases for the properties above the shops on Caledonian Road differ in that they are sub-leases of a head lease that Islington granted to a third party but the responsibility for services and charges rests with Newlon as it did previously with the Council. We are separately advising those leaseholders some of whom declined to join the wider group. So far all of them include the provision for recharging for improvements. The leases do not differ on the basis of residency or non-residency, very few leaseholders have extended their lease since Newlon took over. Newlon will need to tell you how many leases and where the freehold title can be found. When asked, Newlon has advised that all leases are rechargeable and we have seen no evidence to the contrary” How can we find out more about the number of forms of lease? Among the Old Barnsbury leaseholder Reps, we are currently comparing our 3 leases. We aim to complete our initial check exercise and update you on it by no later than the 19th March. We will report back on what we find so you (other Old Barnsbury leaseholders) can review your lease against ours, and find out what yours has in common, or not, with our sample. What do I need to do now? If you haven’t already, now is the time to find and scan your paper lease so you have an electronic copy for your own review. Unfortunately, the Reps will not be able to help you to scan the paper copies, or review your leases for you. If you need assistance, we suggest you line up some help to do this. Then after March 19th you will be able to compare your lease with the different forms of lease we’ve found and report back to the reps on what you find by the end of March 2021. Then will leases be reviewed by a legal expert? Once we establish, as best we can, by the end of March latest, the number of flavours of leases in existence, we propose to ask Sarah Finch from Hamlins to review one of each form for us. Sarah has offered to review up to 3 forms of lease, along with Newlon’s Offer Document and draft Residents Charter, for c. £1500 plus VAT. We’ve asked Sarah to set out what information her lease review would provide for us, along with a timeline for delivery. We will advise you when this info is received. Note: For any further legal support beyond this initial lease review, additional funding will be needed. Also, of course, you are free to commission any legal advisor independently now or in the future. How can I contribute to the cost of the specialist lease review? We are hoping that Old Barnsbury leaseholders will be happy to club together to contribute to this initial cost of reviewing leases. Obviously, the more of us who do, the lower the cost to each leaseholder. Old Barnsbury leaseholders will be emailed separately on this to check who would like to benefit from this initial lease review. By default, only those contributing will be updated with the specific legal findings, but we will always aim to share principles. When we contact everyone for contributions to legal costs, we will also ask anyone to advise us of extenuating circumstances meaning that this won’t be possible for them, so we can consider the best way to help. —————————————————————————————————– NEW BARNSBURY ONLY – If there is a “no” vote, we will be able to join with Old Barnsbury Leaseholders and be represented by Sarah Finch as a single group, if we wish. – If there is a “yes” vote and redevelopment goes ahead, the issues facing New Barnsbury Leaseholders will be completely different from those on Old Barnsbury. – If New Barnsbury leaseholders want legal help as a group, Sarah Finch suggests that the professional we should contact is a specialist Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) valuer, as soon as possible. Even though Newlon seems not to be going down the compulsory purchase route, and intends to do buy-backs via voluntary surrender from each leaseholder, a CPO valuer will be able to advise us on how to proceed and provide us with the facts and figures that will empower us to negotiate with Newlon in future. The New Barnsbury Reps are awaiting a recommendation of a CPO valuer from Sarah Finch. We will update you on this ASAP. – We are also advised by Sarah that a specialist Planning solicitor will be required further down the line in the redevelopment, but not at this stage. – We are hoping that New Barnsbury leaseholders will want to club together to finance group legal advice. Obviously, the more of us who do, the lower the cost to each leaseholder. By default, only those contributing will be updated with the specific legal findings, but we will always aim to share principles with all New Barnsbury leaseholders in the group. When it’s time to cover legal costs, we will ask anyone to advise us of extenuating circumstances meaning that it won’t be possible for them to contribute. Note: You are, of course, free at any point to commission any legal advisor independently to advise you on your individual lease and circumstances. |
Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group 