| Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group Update w/c 22nd 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.com where they will be picked up by the Reps |
| CONTENTS Ballot closed, results soon – Newlon’s further response to anonymous flyer – Flyer to promote our group – Sinking funds – Newlon info about lease types – What next on leases? (NB, OB) – New Barnsbury legal update, Keith Murray meeting – Fire Safety Bill |
| Ballot closed – results expected soon The ballot on the Barnsbury Estate regeneration proposals closed on Friday 19th March. Results are due by the end of March. |
| Newlon’s further response to points made in the anonymous flyer Newlon previously did not respond to this question, so we re-submitted it to them: How does Newlon justify the poor state of the estate given that they have managed the estate for c. 20 years? Newlon has responded to say: The estate was transferred to Newlon in 1999 but as you know it came back to Newlon to manage and maintain in early 2019. Prior to this, the estate was managed by the Tenant Management Organisation that came into being at the point of transfer. We’ve gone back to Newlon on this point again for more clarity on how Newlon defines its overarching responsibilities as a landlord, during the period of delegation of some of its obligations to Belmo. We’ll let you know when we hear back on this. |
| Flyer to promote the Barnsbury Leaseholder Group to new members It’s really important that we drive up membership as much as possible to share information, expertise and potential legal costs – in either a YES or a NO ballot result scenario. Our new flyer has kindly been printed by Source. Reps will be in touch with a resident leaseholder from each block to ask them to drop flyers through doors of all leaseholders. The envelope will ask tenants to pass on to any NRL landlords. Thanks in advance for your help – if you’d like to volunteer for your block, please let your rep know otherwise we will find people. |
| Sinking Funds We have a question or two about this. This is what we’ve established so far with help from Source (summary, not direct quotes): 1. How do I find out about the level of my sinking fund? Each Leaseholder has a different amount in their sinking fund, depending on how long they have been paying into it. The amount in yours can be found on the end of year service charge statements. Newlon sends statements out in September each year, and your sinking fund value is included there. If you need a copy of yours, you can ask Newlon for it. Newlon also issues an estimate in the Spring for services in the following financial year. You should recently have received yours, so contact Newlon if you haven’t. This shows you how much you will be contributing via your service charges for the upcoming year. 2. Does the sinking fund only get used for works that fall under a section 20 notice? In general Newlon only uses it for major works which would follow the Section 20 process and be consulted upon. Occasionally they might do a programme of works beneath the £250 per leaseholder threshold, or a one off major piece of urgent work (e.g. roof water tank) and use it for that. Occasionally if a charge is too high for a particular building for some unforeseen reason, they might use it, but rarely. Newlon advises that this happens approx once a year for one of their buildings. Newlon will be reviewing sinking funds next year. They are discussing about whether they should collect in anticipation of all likely costs or alternatively just a notional amount to be offset against costs, or just in respect of say cyclical decoration. The Section 20 process will be fully explained by Newlon post-ballot if there is a yes vote. Newlon has also offered to run a seminar/session on charges if people are interested. Previously these have apparently been very well received by residents and may be a good starting point for the Barnsbury Leaseholders Group whatever the outcome of the ballot. 3. The discretionary offer to resident leaseholders has been stated as “no cost” for the transformation work for Old Barnsbury resident leaseholders – but if the sinking fund is offset (used to pay for transformation work) then this is not equitable as leaseholders have varying amounts in their sinking funds. In normal times, let’s say there’s 5K in your sinking fund and a bill for £20K from Newlon. Your £5K would automatically get used for works leaving you a bill of £15K – but Newlon does not intend to offset the sinking fund for resident leaseholders. So there is no discrimination against those with higher sinking funds. The transformation works will be consulted upon via a Section 20 Notice in the usual way. For further general information, you can also see the Leasehold Advisory Service page on Major Works/Section 20 |
| Newlon information about types of leases On 19th March, Newlon kindly provided the Reps with a digital file containing 4 types of leases, and a set of paper copies. Newlon also sent us some explanatory info, including noting that aspects will be open to different interpretation. This emphasises the need for each of us to take personal responsibility to understand and take advice on our own lease content. Below is a summary of the Newlon assessment of the leases in existence on the Barnsbury Estate. If you would like the full notes Newlon sent to us, with more detailed background, please email barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com and we will send this to you. 1. Right to Buy (RTB) leases The first RTB sale at Barnsbury was in 1989. They are covered by Schedule 6 to the 1985 Housing Act – see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/schedule/6 – which sets out the sorts of terms to be granted. RTB leases allow for improvements to be charged. 2. Leases at Barnsbury The transfer from London Borough of Islington (LBI) to Newlon in 1999 was handled by a firm of solicitors called Towers and Hamlins.Newlon has reviewed copies of the four specimen leases it was given at handover. They were for properties at Ritson (Nov 89), Vittoria (July 89), Corbett (Feb 92) and Amory (Feb 98).Looking at the four leases, Newlon assesses that they are all quite similar despite difference in typefaces and layout. They have compared a few clauses across them and they are very largely the same. One difference is in the third Schedule Parts 1 & 2 where the Ritson lease is different (that relates to historic defects). There are few markings on them that indicate they were derived from similar but slightly different drafts (one is marked ED3AAB another SM5AAC). They are surprisingly uniform and similar in length and structure. They all have Improvement clauses The Ritson Leases in the Third Schedule Parts 1 sections f & h and Part 2 section g. The Vittoria, Corbett and Amory leases have improvement clauses and in the third schedules Part 1 g & h and Part 2 f and g. By inference, and based on the start dates for leases we have, then all leases should have improvement clauses. It is possible that one doesn’t or some don’t, but Newlon states that they have not come across this. After Newlon took ownership, they granted leases but similar in terms to those above. The Premises is now defined in the first schedule but the content is fundamentally the same. Newlon has looked at a few other leases and cannot find any real differences. Again they are 26-28 pages in length. They have spoken to their Resales Team who do extensions, and no notable differences have struck them. |
| What happens next on leases – New and Old Barnsbury? —————————– NEW BARNSBURY (NB): As we wrote in previous updates, NB leaseholders’ course of action will depend on the outcome of the ballot. If it’s a NO vote, we will be in the same situation as OB Leaseholders, and will be able to share legal advice with them. If it’s a YES vote, we will need to engage Keith Murray, the Compulsory Purchase Valuer, and he will review samples of leases, and the offer document/draft resident’s charter for us. See below for info on our initial meeting with Keith. We will be back in touch with you when the result is announced, to advise on next steps. In the meantime, please find your lease, and make an electronic copy of it (pdf file). —————————– OLD BARNSBURY (OB): As previously advised, we need to supply c.3 differing samples of lease to be reviewed by a specialist housing solicitor, so we are all clearer on where we stand legally, post-result. Soon, all OB Leaseholders will be emailed copies of the 4 leases Newlon has provided. The next step is for every OB Leaseholder – Resident AND Non-Resident – to review your lease and advise if it differs in any way you consider to be significant to any of the 4 lease samples we send you. If yours IS different, please let us know ASAP which clauses you feel are different, and in what way (present or missing, additional clauses, etc.) as this could be important information for any future legal advisor Please can you respond no later than 31st March advising of your observations, with detailed reference to your lease. If you don’t reply, we will assume that your lease does not differ significantly from the samples supplied. Remember, none of the Reps are legal experts, so we will not be able to read your lease for you, nor help you interpret the contents of your lease. Please seek individual legal advice if you are unsure. |
| New Barnsbury (NB) legal update – meeting with Keith Murray, Compulsory Purchase Valuer The NB resident and non-resident Leasholder Reps had a preliminary conversation with Keith Murray, a highly experienced and respected Compulsory Purchase Valuer, last week. His website: keithmurrayconsultants.com He has very wide and deep knowledge of working on redevelopment projects such as ours, from both the tenant and landlord sides. We felt that he could be extremely useful to us. If there is a YES ballot result, he is willing to advise us as a group of NB Leaseholders. Keith will initially conduct a review of leases, and the key documents relating to the redevelopment. We are awaiting an estimate for the cost of this. When he’s done the review, he will be able to advise further on what actions we might want to take, and what the future costs might be. We will be in touch with New Barnsbury Leaseholders following the ballot result, to let you know what we need to do next. Can we challenge the demolition of Amory House and Aldrick House? One issue that he was seemed completely clear on, was that there would be no point trying to get Amory and Aldrick exempted from demolition, even if they are well-built and viable for refurb. Keith said that even if we took them to court, Newlon would be granted a Compulsory Purchase Order if they made a case that demolishing Amory and Aldrick would provide financing for the wider project – to provide an improved environment, with more housing (social or otherwise), with the support of the London Mayor and Islington Council. Amory and Aldrick are crucial to the financing of the redevelopment, since they front the canal. Improved public space around the canal will also be an important part of the development. Keith stated with confidence that to challenge this would be extremely expensive (100s of thousands of pounds) and very unlikely to win. Even if we did win, he clarified that Newlon would not be responsible for covering all our costs. Unless we find significant information that contradicts Keith’s advice, as a Leaseholders Group we will not be pursuing action to reclassify Amory House and Aldrick House to exempt them from demolition. |
| Fire Safety Bill passing through Parliament Keep an eye on updates on legislation that may affect us in the near future. The Fire Safety Bill is rapidly progressing through the Commons and may have serious implications for leaseholders (irrespective of the transformation ballot outcome). See endourcladdingscandal.org for more information. The Leaseholder Knowledge Partnership also provides regular updates and analysis – here’s their latest news article on the Fire Safety Bill. |
Barnsbury Estate Leaseholders Group 