New Barns Leaseholders Rep Annie collated the questions that our members emailed to us for Workshop 11 NB leaseholders’ meeting on Tues 1st Feb 2022, 6-7:30. They were sent to Angela Nevin, Newlon’s Head of Transformation, on Monday 31st Jan 2022.

Please attend the meeting on Zoom to hear the answers (hopefully) by signing up via this link:   https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RlRVq8-cS2ObVPBI6Epmew

1 Changes to phasing

The updated phasing plan circulated for this workshop is much appreciated, though we understand they are subject to change. Changes and uncertainty in phasing is a major stressor for leaseholders. At which point will the phasing plans be permanent? Is it only set in stone once planning has gone through for that particular phase? Or is it going to be permanently set in the 2022 overall planning permission?

2 Misleading language in buy-back policy documents

Newlon is using misleading language in the one-sided policy documents issued to NB leaseholders. Using words such as “enforcement” intentionally misleads leaseholders into believing that we have no choice or agency in the negotiations with Newlon. There is no Compulsory Purchase Order in place – Newlon is requesting a voluntary surrender of lease, via negotiation with individual leaseholders, who have a right over their properties and no obligation to agree to Newlon’s offer as it stands. Newlon wants to go down this route because it is cheaper and faster than seeking a Compulsory Purchase Order. Please can Newlon revise the policy wording to accurately reflect the legal position and make clear that this is a 2-sided negotiation, not a situation that Newlon can dictate.

3 Early buy-backs

How can Newlon justify offering no early buy-backs for anyone, regardless of the emotional, economic, or health impacts that this may have?

4 Cut-off dates when leaseholders are deemed resident/non-resident

We have still received no indication of the cut-off date for a leaseholder on New Barnsbury to be deemed resident or non-resident. This has implications for the buy-out premium, and the ability to buy into the new development. The majority of non-resident leaseholders are NOT investment landlords, and originally lived in their flats until their circumstances changed. Additionally, some non-resident leaseholders moved out temporarily with the intention of selling up and buying elsewhere, only to find that because of the redevelopment they could no longer sell their flat and cannot buy an alternative home. The date of the overall planning permission expected in 2022, which is going to be used as the cut-off for residency on Old Barnsbury, is not an appropriate cut-off date for New Barnsbury, since some blocks will still be standing in 5, 10, 12 years. It is inappropriate to deem who is resident and who is non-resident a decade before flats are bought back – or in retrospect. Leaseholders in flats in later phases must be given the option to become recognised as resident again if they wish to. The Leaseholders Group’s position is that the cut-off for residency should be established phase by phase, not all at one date. This must be committed to in advance of this year’s overall planning application. This will give the clarity that leaseholders deserve, and allow us to plan our lives within a reasonable time-frame.

5 Funding for specialist independent advice for leaseholders

We understand that it is normal practice in large high-profile redevelopment projects that leaseholders receive specialist legal and/or compulsory purchase advice, funded by the development partners, to enable a fair negotiation of buy-backs. According to our Compulsory Purchase Valuer Keith Murray, Newlon (Bill Henderson) recently refused to fund this advice for members of the Leaseholders Group, including those in Phase 1. Please can Newlon clarify how individual leaseholders will be advised impartially – especially  following the end of Source’s contract this year? Given that leaseholders should not be left worse off by being bought out, doesn’t this include the costs of appropriate independent specialist advice during the negotiation process?

6 Ability of leaseholders to sell their flats at market rate

Does Newlon acknowledge that no flats on New Barnsbury have been sold on the open market at market value since the ballot result? We are aware of one flat on New Barnsbury being repossessed and sold at below market rate. None of us who have approached estate agents in an attempt to sell have had any interest from them.

7 Cyclical Works

When will Newlon publish their schedule of cyclical works for each block? These works must continue in full while leaseholders continue to pay the full service charge. We will not allow you to run down our blocks without compensating us appropriately when bought back. If maintenance duties are not fulfilled, does Newlon agree to buy back flats at the value of a flat in a block maintained to the standard that it is supposed to be?

8 Unaddressed Structural and Safety Issues

There are several long-term structural and safety issues that Newlon have a legal duty to rectify, especially in blocks which will still be standing in 5+ years. Leaseholders are paying full service charges, and have a right to the work that Newlon is liable for. For example, there is subsidence affecting Amory House. Newlon stopped responding a year ago to the insurance company who had already agreed before the ballot to remedy this. In response to a solicitor’s letter last year Newlon suggested that they would be making a decision on the course of action for this, but three months later the insurer and leaseholder have still heard nothing. Please can Newlon comment on their commitment to fix structural and safety issues that leaseholders have a legal entitlement to, and which will affect valuations for buy-backs?

9 Capital Gains Tax

Anyone who is, or becomes, non-resident in the years until we are bought out will be subject to Capital Gains Tax. We are unable to avoid this due to our inability to sell. We expect this to be reflected in the buy-back package. Please can Newlon confirm that you recognise the economic impact of capital gains tax through being unable to sell – through no fault of our own?

10 Cost of Lease Extensions

Some leaseholders will need to pay thousands for lease extensions so their buy-back valuation doesn’t suffer. Does Newlon acknowledge that our inability to sell will create this cost for those who must extend their licences while waiting years for buy-backs?

CONTENTS – 1 Informal meeting with Newlon’s outgoing Director of Housing Services

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A brief Old Barnsbury update to let you know about an upcoming meeting. As always you can contacts us through barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

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1. Informal meeting with Newlon’s outgoing Director of Housing Services

Further to the meeting we had with Newlon back in the summer, recently we’ve been given the opportunity to have an informal dialogue with Bill Henderson (Newlon’s outgoing Director of Housing Services) about the specific sections of Newlon’s estate transformation offer letter and its accompanying charter document relevant to us as Old Barnsbury resident and non-resident leaseholders. Newlon has indicated an openness to review relevant sections in both documents (note, we understand that there is far more flexibility to amend detail in the charter than the offer letter) and Bill has promised to get back to us by the end of November with Newlon’s revised thoughts/suggested areas for further negotiation. Though there are no promises on outcomes, this is an encouraging step. As soon as we hear back from Newlon, we will circulate their proposals to this group for further consideration and feedback.  I’d like to suggest a Zoom meeting on Monday 13th December 6-7:30pm for us to discuss together and share thoughts. I hope you can make the meeting, or if not, feedback your comments ahead of this so they can be included in the discussion.If there’s anything in the specific sections of the offer letter and charter (relevant to us as Old Barnsbury Leaseholders only) that you would like to suggest Newlon considers over the next couple of weeks, please email your suggestions to barnsburyleaseholders@googlemail.com no later than Friday 26th November and we will pass on.Zoom details for the planned meeting on Monday 13th December will be sent nearer the time, all are welcome and it will be great to put faces to names.

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CONTENTS – 1 Newlon’s Answers to Old Barnsbury Questsions – 2 Official Residents’ Association – 3 Residents’ Charter – 4 Additional Forum – 5 Defining residency/non-residency – 6 Parking after redevelopment – 7 Considerate Construction? – 8 Service Charges – 9 Section 20 notices

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Hello, here is another Old Barnsbury update. There is a lot of overlap with New Barnsbury still so we have duplicated a lot of Annie’s excellent post here for you. all. Reps have attended three important meetings. One leaseholder-specific Q&A with Newlon and Source (5th Aug) requested by us – thank you to the 25 leaseholders who attended. Also two meetings with other residents to help set up an official Residents’ Association (12th Aug, 16th Sept). The key information is summarised for you below. 

As always you can contacts us through barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

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1. Newlon’s Answers to Old Barnsbury Questsions

This document contains a list of questions posed to Newlon during the August leaseholder presentation, with Newlon’s responses added:

https://barnsburyleaseholders.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/old-barnsbury-leaseholder-qa-responses-from-newlon-sept-2021.pdf

Please let us know if you have further questions or need clarifications.

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2. NEW! Official Residents’ Association

Do you feel strongly that Newlon should be held to their promises during the transformation? 

Look out for upcoming info about joining the new Residents’ Association – and if you can, give a few hours a month to help run it.

Everyone on the estate (social tenants/leaseholders, plus non-resident leaseholders and their private tenants) will soon be receiving a flyer about the new Residents’ Association. It’s crucial that lots of us get involved, so Newlon knows that we are an estate full of people who care about what happens around our homes. Come and make your individual voice heard!

Over the past few months, a small group have been working with Newlon on the Terms of Reference for the Res Assoc, and trying to make sure that it will have real influence into the future. 

Right now, a website is being set up, and Newlon has made £500 available to help with set-up and running costs. Emma Preston-Dunlop (Newlon Resident Engagement Officer) will help us by chairing meetings for 6 months, and Source will continue to oversee the process and advise us as needed. 

If you have skills that could help the Residents’ Association, such as fundraising, sponsorship, WordPress, MailChimp, let us know on barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

At the next meeting in October, a small mixed group of residents and leaseholders will negotiate with Newlon how the Residents’ Charter will be shaped, and how the Residents’ Association will make sure Newlon keeps its promises. More updates to follow, including info on how to join future meetings.

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3. Residents’ Charter

What does it actually mean? – The Draft Residents’ Charter was included with the Offer Document back in February. We were all confused about where it came from, whether it was binding on Newlon, and how to change it if we were unhappy with something in it. The Residents’ Association still has many questions about the Charter, as do leaseholders.

UNANSWERED – If the Residents’ Charter is owned by residents, why would Newlon’s proposals for charging non-resident leaseholders on Old Barns be included in it? If the Residents’ Charter is a non-binding draft document, how is it holding Newlon to anything? Will the Residents’ Charter become binding after it is submitted as part of the planning application? If Newlon breaks their commitments, who can residents call on for help?

Here is a link to a Newlon presentation that gives an overview of the charter Barnsbury Estate Transformation Residents Charter Overview

If you have any questions you would like raised at the meeting please send them to barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com and hopefully they will be able to work through them in a Q&A format and report back on the answers.

Open questions currently are:

1. What is the purpose of the Charter? Please be explicit about the role it plays in the planning process etc, if any, as well as other areas.
2. Who owns it? What do you mean by ownership?
3. What role do you propose for the informal Residents’ Association in respect of the Charter and how will this work?
4. Does the Charter play a role outside the NB Transformation/OB Refurb process? If so, what is this?
5. Source has been proposed as the guardian for it:
   1. What is meant by this?
   2. They are not a permanent fixture so what happens when they go?
6. What is its legal status (it was issued in draft, alongside the Offer letter which has a different legal status).
7.  What happens if either Newlon or a resident (of any flavour including NRLs) transgress any aspects of the charter individually or collectively?
8. Who decides what goes in the Charter and what does not?
9. When will the current version be made final vs draft and what is the mechanism for doing this?
10. What is the agreed process for updating it and issuing a new version?11. Who decides what goes in the Charter and what does not?
11. Do both parties, Newlon and Residents, have to agreed to content and agree to add or remove things? What if they disagree? Who has the final say

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4. Additional Forums

Newlon has recently made us aware of two additional forums:

• TPAS
• Newlon Residents’ think tank

We’d not heard of either of these before – here’s what we’ve found out from Newlon: 

TPAS

Tpas promotes, supports and champions tenant involvement and empowerment in social housing across England. It’s a unique organisation, in that it is a not-for-profit that has membership made up of both landlords and tenants. They are leading tenant engagement experts with a  membership is made up of local tenants and landlord organisations, covering 3 million homes.

Newlon are a corporate member and, as a resident you can join for free because of this. They have various free events covering topics such as talk to the ombudsman, cladding discussions, EDI, scrutiny and good practice which are free to attend for residents. 
Tpas has been a driving force behind raising the standard of tenant engagement for over 30 years.We want you to maximise all the benefits of your Tpas membership as a resident, via our corporate membership as your landlord.

Here’s the Tpas website  https://www.tpas.org.uk/

We are invited to a webinar entitled ‘Getting the most out of your membership with Tpas’ on 20th October, 1.30pm-2.30pm. It’s FREE, via Zoom.

In the session Tpas staff will:

1. Give a guided tour of your online membership account to familiarise you with all the benefits you can access.
2. Help you learn about webinars and virtual events
3. Support you to find out about their new Training programme
4. Show you how to access our Networking groups
5. Tell you about what Tpas have been up to
6. Offer you the chance to ask any questions!

If you want to attend this session please let Emma Preston-Dunlop know (details below) or you can join Tpas as a resident for FREE as part of Newlon’s landlord membership and book events and training yourself.  Details here. Newlon can make it easier for some people by doing the signing up for them and it helps them track attendance, too.

Newlon Residents’ think tank

Newlon has clarified that when tasked with setting up the Think Tank last year over 1500 residents of all tenures were approached, from all demographics specified under the Equalities Act by making a series of data sets – for example, all those who had requested a new fob in the last six months, all those who live on a tenth floor. All those who responded affirmatively were added to the Think Tank.
This was added to the pool of already actively involved residents – resident inspectors, the communications panel, residents’ forum, RAs and RGs etc.
From this Newlon has  a database of actively involved residents, of all tenures. Some are more actively involved than others by their own choosing. The overarching Think Tank is, by its nature, light touch. 
All involved residents are, by default, members of the Think Tank; ‘involved’ is simply an umbrella term for all involved residents.

If anyone would would like to be part of Newlon’s Think Tank they can email Emma.Preston-Dunlop@newlon.org.uk

5. Defining residency/non-residency

UNANSWERED – We still don’t know when the cut-off date is to be deemed resident/non-resident. For example, if you were resident for the ballot, but have subsequently moved out, are you still classed as resident? Or is it going to be whether you are resident on the date of the planning application? The initial masterplan application, or the planning application relating to your block’s phase? We continue to push for an answer, Newlon has suggested that this may come in a couple of months.

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6. Parking after redevelopment

Bill Henderson said that ultimately parking will be decided by Islington through the planning process, but that Newlon want all residents that had parking before the redevelopment to keep their parking rights. This includes existing leaseholders who have current parking permits who buy into the new development.

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7. Considerate Construction?

Disruption from construction – Newlon states that any concerns must be raised through the planning process, and that Islington is pleased that Mt Anvil is the developer, since they are large, rely on their good reputation, and are keen to be considerate to residents and please the Council.

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8. Service Charges

About Service Charges – What do these cover? Monthly service charges only apply to your block and the communal areas associated with it. You do not pay for anything in other blocks, or anything on Old Barnsbury, or on other Newlon estates. We are clarifying with Newlon which areas would be considered communal (for example, a car parking or refuse collection area that may be used by more than one block).

Leaseholder Service Charges – Why do leaseholders pay higher service charges than tenants? Newlon states that this is the law. We think the discrepancy is because social tenants do not pay for insurance, management or repairs, but leaseholders do – but we want to double check this. NB – if you do equity transfer into the new development, shared equity leaseholders will pay full service charges.

UNANSWERED – We are all still paying service charges, but are cyclical decorating and necessary maintenance works/subsidence repairs, etc. on New Barnsbury going ahead according to the schedule they are supposed to? Or is Newlon going to withhold this, even for blocks that will still be standing in 5+ years?

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9. Section 20 notices

You can download the Newlon powerpoint presentation here.

Confusing letters – Why have 3 out of 5 of Newlon’s recent Section 20 notices been delivered to us, when they don’t apply to our blocks? Newlon’s person in charge of dealing with Section 20 notices, John Williams, replied to my email saying this:

“There are instances where the Section 20 consultation paperwork has gone out where my colleagues procuring the service, have told us the schemes for which the service should be notified. In some cases, we have been mis-informed, however, we have now put further checks in place before the Section 20 letters are issued to avoid any further distress to our residents.

“We do apologise for any confusion or stress this may have caused, and we hope to avoid such instances in future.”

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CONTENTS – 1 Opt in for FREE individual advice – 2 NEW Official Residents’ Association – 3 Residents’ Charter – 4 Buy-backs – 5 Defining residency/non-residency – 6 Phasing – 7 Selling and Moving? – 8 Parking after redevelopment – 9 Considerate Construction? – 10 Service Charges – 11 Section 20 notices – 12 New Leaseholder Rep Adele

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Hello all, now that we’re back from holidays, there’s quite a lot to catch up on since the last update in July. Reps have attended three important meetings. One leaseholder-specific Q&A with Newlon and Source (5th Aug) requested by us – thank you to the 25 leaseholders who attended. Also two meetings with other residents to help set up an official Residents’ Association (12th Aug, 16th Sept). The key information is summarised for you below. 

We will have a New Barnsbury-only leaseholders meeting with Newlon in the next few months. Please email us any additional unanswered questions, and attend if you can – especially if you are in Phases 1a or 1b (Blackmore, Jocelin, Messiter, Molton).

You can contact Adele, me (Annie, non-resident), or Jane (resident) on barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

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1. Opt-in for free individual advice

SECOND CHANCE – If you missed the last update with the chance to sign up for FREE INDIVIDUAL, SPECIFIC ADVICE by Keith Murray, paid for by Newlon, here’s your chance!

Email us by the end of this week with your full name and full address (number, block, postcode), and the subject line “NB opt-in” – barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

You could ask about: outstanding repair works that might disadvantage the value of your property / whether you can claim lost money (e.g. from lost rent during construction), and other things specific to YOUR FLAT. 

If you are in Phase 1a (Blackmore) or 1b (Jocelin, Messiter, Molton) we would strongly advise you to consult a Compulsory Purchase Valuer such as Keith, ASAP. 

Keith Murray is also working on the report on the Offer Document, Residents’ Charter, and sample leases, which we fundraised for a few months ago. This is due for delivery in the next few weeks. 

www.keithmurrayconsultants.com

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2. NEW! Official Residents’ Association

Do you feel strongly that Newlon should be held to their promises during the transformation? 

Look out for upcoming info about joining the new Residents’ Association – and if you can, give a few hours a month to help run it.

Everyone on the estate (social tenants/leaseholders, plus non-resident leaseholders and their private tenants) will soon be receiving a flyer about the new Residents’ Association. It’s crucial that lots of us get involved, so Newlon knows that we are an estate full of people who care about what happens around our homes. Come and make your individual voice heard!

Over the past few months, a small group have been working with Newlon on the Terms of Reference for the Res Assoc, and trying to make sure that it will have real influence into the future. 

Right now, a website is being set up, and Newlon has made £500 available to help with set-up and running costs. Emma Preston-Dunlop (Newlon Resident Engagement Officer) will help us by chairing meetings for 6 months, and Source will continue to oversee the process and advise us as needed. 

If you have skills that could help the Residents’ Association, such as fundraising, sponsorship, WordPress, MailChimp, let us know on barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

[CORRECTION – the original version of this post suggested in error that the October meeting was open to all, when in fact it is subsequent meetings that may be open to general attendance. See below for more info.]

At the next meeting in October, a small mixed group of residents and leaseholders will negotiate with Newlon how the Residents’ Charter will be shaped, and how the Residents’ Association will make sure Newlon keeps its promises. More updates to follow, including info on how to join future meetings.

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3. Residents’ Charter

What does it actually mean? – The Draft Residents’ Charter was included with the Offer Document back in February. We were all confused about where it came from, whether it was binding on Newlon, and how to change it if we were unhappy with something in it. The Residents’ Association still has many questions about the Charter, as do leaseholders.

UNANSWERED – If the Residents’ Charter is owned by residents, why would Newlon’s proposals for charging non-resident leaseholders on Old Barns be included in it? If the Residents’ Charter is a non-binding draft document, how is it holding Newlon to anything? Will the Residents’ Charter become binding after it is submitted as part of the planning application? If Newlon breaks their commitments, who can residents call on for help?

The 14th October Residents’ Association meeting will try to address these questions with Newlon – please join.

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4. Buy-backs

Confused about how buy-backs will work? – “Leaseholder Process Handbook” – Newlon is drafting a guide for New Barns leaseholders on how buy-backs/decanting, etc will work. Reps will do our best to check that the information provided is fair and accurate.

IMPORTANT: NON-RESIDENT LEASEHOLDERS – Major update regarding early buy-backs – Newlon stated that there will be no early buy-backs at all for non-resident leaseholders on New Barnsbury. Please contact Newlon and/or Source if you want confirmation of this.

UNANSWERED – Early buy-backs “hardship” criteria – Newlon’s definition of what might qualify a resident leaseholder for an early buy-back out of phase is still undefined, and they state they are “hesitant” to release this info, in case people try to “adapt” their circumstances to gain an early buy-back. They want to do as few as possible, and not spend money that isn’t coming in yet. Bill Henderson stated that Newlon are more likely to buy back early if it’s close to your phase, or if they need your flat imminently (for example to decant someone in to). 

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5. Defining residency/non-residency

UNANSWERED – We still don’t know when the cut-off date is to be deemed resident/non-resident. For example, if you were resident for the ballot, but have subsequently moved out, are you still classed as resident? Or is it going to be whether you are resident on the date of the planning application? The initial masterplan application, or the planning application relating to your block’s phase? We continue to push for an answer, Newlon has suggested that this may come in a couple of months.

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6. Phasing

IMPORTANT PHASING UPDATE – Bill Henderson at Newlon says that Phase 1a (Blackmore) and 1b (Messiter, Molton, Jocelin) are unlikely to be changed, and will go to planning in Spring 2022. He also stated that, as in the original proposal in the Offer Document, the blocks by the canal (Amory, Aldrick) are very likely to be towards the end of the redevelopment.

Bill Henderson also advised us that Phases 2 onwards would NOT be decided until AFTER the Phase 1a/1b planning application has gone through. This is the nature of such a huge development, unfortunately. It leaves many of you in middle phases that are not in Phase 1 or canal side facing, years of uncertainty. The Residents’ Association (see more below) will meet Mount Anvil later in the year to push for more phasing information. 

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7. Selling and Moving?

Do you know of any flats on New Barnsbury that have sold since the ballot was announced? Are you trying to sell your New Barnsbury flat on the open market? Newlon has suggested that this is an option for us, but there is no evidence that any sales by leaseholders have actually happened in the past year. [One flat was repossessed, and one “sold” board seems to be fraudulent.] Hannah (New Barnsbury resident leaseholder) would like to hear from you if you have any information about trying to sell your flat/what estate agents have said, etc. Please email her on hannahlickert@googlemail.com

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8. Parking after redevelopment

Bill Henderson said that ultimately parking will be decided by Islington through the planning process, but that Newlon want all residents that had parking before the redevelopment to keep their parking rights. This includes existing leaseholders who have current parking permits who buy into the new development.

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9. Considerate Construction?

Disruption from construction – Newlon states that any concerns must be raised through the planning process, and that Islington is pleased that Mt Anvil is the developer, since they are large, rely on their good reputation, and are keen to be considerate to residents and please the Council.

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10. Service Charges

About Service Charges – What do these cover? Monthly service charges only apply to your block and the communal areas associated with it. You do not pay for anything in other blocks, or anything on Old Barnsbury, or on other Newlon estates. We are clarifying with Newlon which areas would be considered communal (for example, a car parking or refuse collection area that may be used by more than one block).

Leaseholder Service Charges – Why do leaseholders pay higher service charges than tenants? Newlon states that this is the law. We think the discrepancy is because social tenants do not pay for insurance, management or repairs, but leaseholders do – but we want to double check this. NB – if you do equity transfer into the new development, shared equity leaseholders will pay full service charges.

UNANSWERED – We are all still paying service charges, but are cyclical decorating and necessary maintenance works/subsidence repairs, etc. on New Barnsbury going ahead according to the schedule they are supposed to? Or is Newlon going to withhold this, even for blocks that will still be standing in 5+ years?

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11. Section 20 notices

You can download the Newlon powerpoint presentation here.

Confusing letters – Why have 3 out of 5 of Newlon’s recent Section 20 notices been delivered to us, when they don’t apply to our blocks? Newlon’s person in charge of dealing with Section 20 notices, John Williams, replied to my email saying this:

“There are instances where the Section 20 consultation paperwork has gone out where my colleagues procuring the service, have told us the schemes for which the service should be notified. In some cases, we have been mis-informed, however, we have now put further checks in place before the Section 20 letters are issued to avoid any further distress to our residents.

“We do apologise for any confusion or stress this may have caused, and we hope to avoid such instances in future.”

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12. New Leaseholder Rep

Welcome to our new Rep, Adele, who is a New Barnsbury non-resident leaseholder. She’s based outside London but has generously offered her time to help with the admin that makes this leaseholders group possible. Adele will be helping to monitor the shared email address – barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

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With best wishes from your New Barnsbury Leaseholder Reps, Jane (resident), Annie (non-resident) and Adele (non-resident)]Many thanks from your New Barnsbury Leaseholder Reps
barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

CONTENTS

1 Newlon powerpoint presentation from 5th August
2 Consolidated list of questions for Newlon

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Hello, here is a small update following on from the presentation and Q&A session hosted by Newlon on 5th August. You can download the Newlon powerpoint presentation here.

There is a consolidated list of notes/clarifications and further questions below.

As ever, if you find out any information that could be useful to the group, please email us: barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

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Notes/clarifications and further questions for Newlon from Old Barnsbury Leaseholders following meeting with leaseholders August 5th 2021.

Please note, there was an action taken by Newlon also to arrange a further meeting with Newlon and Old Barnsbury Leaseholders (in person and Zoom option) to discuss the specifics of Section 8 of the residents’ charter and other questions raised/not responded to below. This will be arranged in due course.

Service Charges

1. Do monthly charges relate to the cost being charged to the individual block plus communal areas you live in only vs wider estate in Barnsbury or beyond? Please can you advise which areas would be considered communal? For example:
   1. A car parking or refuse collection area in one area of Old Barnsbury, would this be considered communal across the whole of Old Barnsbury or just the adjacent blocks? 
   2. Would Old Barnsbury leaseholders ever get charged for any communal area work in New Barnsbury
2. Please confirm why leaseholders pay more service charges than tenants? We think this is because HA tenants do not pay for insurance, mgmt or repairs but leaseholders do but we want to double check this.

Section 20

Newlon was asked to explain why sometimes we receive Section 20 notices in Barnsbury for work or services which we don’t receive here. Three out of five recent Section 20 letters have not applied to us recently. The  problem with the letters is that we don’t know which apply to us and which don’t so they have to be checked individually. This wastes time all round,  including Newlon’s. This is an admin query vs anything about the contents, the letters need to be targeted.

1. In future, can Newlon include in the letters which addresses/blocks/estates are subject to the costs/charges and stop sending them out to us if not applicable? 

2. Aside from the transformation work, when can we expect Section 20 notices for cyclical decorations? These are overdue and Old B cannot wait for the refurbishment work as the estate will get further run down.

3. Invoices for Section 20 work can be issued up to 18 months after the work, do we always know exactly how much we will be charged before the work begins?

Old Barnsbury Refurbishment 

Re. Newlon’s proposals for charging non-resident leaseholders transformation fees up to £50,000 for the external refurbishment work planned. Note: Section 8 of the Residents’ is Newlon’s text and was not drafted by residents and there was no or extremely little leaseholder engagement in it so it’s not something many of us feel comfortable with. 

Also note that a recent purchaser of an Old Barnsbury flat has advised that no details were provided about non-resident leaseholders  paying 20-100% of charges for refurb work and this has come completely out of blue and did not get revealed in searches. It was not explicit in the the estate transformation offer document either. The following are the current key unanswered questions we have:

1. What happens if you are a non-resident leaseholder and sell your property and the new leaseholder becomes a resident leaseholder?

2. Do the proposed charges for non-resident leaseholders apply only if people leave after the works are finished, not if they leave before or in the middle?

3. What if a resident leaseholder becomes non-resident? Is that treated the same as a resident leaseholder selling?

4. Hard to see how the cost of up to £50,000 can be justified for Old Barnsbury Leaseholder costs. What is behind this estimate/cap that Newlon has suggested?

5. When does Newlon expect to know the exact costs which could apply to NRLs?

6. If the Residents’ charter is owned by residents, why would Newlon’s proposals for charging non-resident leaseholders be included in it? 

7. If the Residents’ Charter is a non-binding draft document, how is it holding anyone to anything? 

8. Is the proposal that the Residents’ Charter becomes binding after it is submitted as part of the planning application?

9. If so, will it become binding to the extent we can object to any breaches through the planning process at Islington/GLA?

10. Would it be an ombudsman/service charge challenge appeal if there were Residents’ Charter breaches by Newlon?  Islington Council would likely be concerned if commitments made at planning were broken.

11. Is Newlon saying that there will be no Section 20 bills related to the transformation work for four years from now, i.e. nothing until at least 2026?  

12. What is Newlon’s proposed mechanism for charging the 20 – 100% of the estimated 50k figure if resident leaseholders move out or sell? What is the impact of the phasing of works on works on this, assuming that the planned refurbishment work will be carried out over several years, what timeline apply to the billing?

13. There is no detail about the date for determining residency – what is this? And is it a snapshot date or one that gets checked ongoing? How will Newlon check this?

14. Might payment plans for any NRL bills be possible or will bills have to be paid in one go?

15. Are non-resident leaseholders able to opt in to the internal property refurbishments, paying for them but taking advantage of any economies of scale/shared disruption? We understand the resident leaseholders can, please confirm. Note: We are aware that the  ‘up to £50K charge’ for NRLs  proposed is for external common improvements only, not internal work.

16. If Newlon moves the toilets in OB flats, the soil pipe will possibly cross the windows of the flat below contravening leaseholders’ right to light.  Newlon is asked to comment on this please, will design of the refurbishment guarantee that this will not happen? 

17. Please re-confirm that Mount Anvil is not involved in the refurbishment of Old Barnsbury.

18. Concerns over quality of work across the estate.  What will be different this time for the work being undertaken? There is lots of evidence of very poor workmanship in the flats over the years to current work being. Newlon to comment please.

19. How will Old Barnsbury leaseholders and their tenants be compensated for noise and dust etc during the refurbishment works? It may be harder to rent out flats with adjacent building work going on.

20. What can be shared now about phasing for the Old Barnsbury work?

21. Please confirm that Newlon has said that it will not buy back any flats from non-resident or resident leaseholders in Old Barnsbury under any circumstances.

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Many thanks from your Old Barnsbury Leaseholder Reps
barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

CONTENTS – 1 Date for diary 05/08/21 – 2 !!Response needed!! free individual advice from Keith Murray – 3 NEW Phase 1 info – 4 Cut-off for residency – 5 Section 20 notices – 6 Update: Newlon’s new res group – 7 Warning: scam agents – 8 Source still here to help

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Hello from the New Barnsbury reps. We hope you are getting a chance for a holiday this summer. Quite a few things to tell you this month – it’s a long one, we hope it’s useful to you. As ever, if you find out any information that could be useful to the group, please email us: barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com

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1. Important date for your diary – Newlon leaseholder meeting 5th Aug 2021 6-8pm (zoom)

All leaseholders are invited to this important Zoom meeting next Thursday, with key Newlon staff, Source, and other leaseholders. Lots of very helpful information will be shared and you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions. Please attend if you can.

The full invitation letter with the agenda, attendees, and details of the Zoom meeting, is at the bottom of this update.

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2. Response needed! opt in for FREE ongoing individual advice from Keith Murray

Keith Murray, the Compulsory Purchase Valuer we approached, is now working on the initial report on key documents.

The next step is for Keith Murray to apply to Newlon for a fee undertaking so that he can advise individual leaseholders at Newlon’s cost (free for us), going forward. You will be able to ask him detailed questions about your unique individual circumstances, but ONLY IF you opt in to be on the list of those he will represent. Send an email to us at barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com with the subject line “NB opt-in”. The deadline for this is Friday 13th August 2021.

Keith is one of the most experienced and respected CPVs in the country, and working with him so far has been straightforward and informative. Please see his website for more info – HERE

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3. NEW! Updated Phase 1 information

Newlon has sent out a letter informing leaseholders that the plans for Phase 1 of the redevelopment have changed. No new information about any other phases has been released yet. The full letter is at the bottom of this update.

Blackmore House is now Phase 1, so it will be the first block to be demolished. Leaseholders in this block will be the first to be bought out, or re-located. We only have 1 leaseholder member in Blackmore House – if you know any other leaseholders in Blackmore, please encourage them to join us.

This means that Adrian and Thurston are no longer in Phase 1. We imagine that those of you in these blocks will be frustrated about this change and about being left in the dark about which phase they will be in. Please attend the leaseholder meeting on 5th Aug to ask about Phases 2 onwards. 

Source is now focused on preparing for detailed discussions with residents in the first phase of work. Source is geared up to carry out individual advice sessions for Blackmore House leaseholders, and will keep our leaseholder group appraised of the issues arising.

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4. Cut-off dates for residency/non-residency

Source is chasing Newlon to clarify the definitive cut-off date for establishing whether you are a resident or non-resident leaseholder. This will be important if you are considering moving back to/away from your flat.

Source expects this cut-off date to be the target date of submitting the planning application, but this is still to be confirmed by Newlon.

We may be able to influence this through the Residents’ Association/Residents’ Charter (see item on this below).

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5. Section 20s – the services you pay for

Three Section 20 letters have been sent out in the past few weeks. Newlon sends them out to addresses they don’t apply to. Section 20 notices are confusing and cause anxiety, since none of us understand the process very well. The leaseholder meeting on 5th August is a key opportunity for all of us to understand the Section 20 process better, and how to challenge them if we wish.

Of the three recent Section 20 notices, the fire and concierge letters DO NOT apply to any of the New Barnsbury blocks. 

However, the water hygiene Section 20 letter DOES apply to New Barnsbury. A resident leaseholder in Molton wrote to Newlon to clarify and received this reply:

“Water hygiene maintenance does affect your property, apologies for any discrepancy you may have received in the past regarding this matter.

The service covers all water systems which Newlon are responsible for which includes large communal water tanks serving your building, supply pipework service those tanks, water risers and associated components, water booster and sewage pumps and any connected drainage pits.  The service also includes testing of the water supply and associated legionella checks.

The service the contract provides is already covered by your service charge. At current, as we are still in a tender process, we cannot advise if the charge will remain the same, increase or decrease, but residents will be advised prior to any charge changes.”

Section 20 – Molton and Messiter only 

There has been an email sent to Molton and Messiter residents regarding fire inspections and possible remedial work. A Leaseholder Rep has written to Newlon asking for clarification about costs, and why they would start any work when they will be demolishing the blocks. We will let you know when we get a response. 

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6. Update on Newlon’s new residents’ group

As we wrote in the June update, there is no Residents’ Association at Barnsbury, but Newlon’s community team (led by Graham Watts and Emma Preston-Dunlop) has started a new initiative to help establish one. It’s very early days, but a meeting was held in early July with c.10 residents (mix of leaseholders and tenants, Old & New Barnsbury) to discuss the broad principles. The meeting included two of the Old Barnsbury resident leaseholder reps, and a New Barnsbury resident leaseholder rep had also been invited.

It was suggested that this Group starts informally, potentially split into sub-groups (including Old and New Barnsbury, Leaseholders etc) and a follow up meeting is to be held in August to draft terms of reference for a formal Residents’ Association.

We understand that the next meeting will include NB leaseholder and non-leaseholder reps, plus Source staff.

We’ll update next month and share the draft terms of reference. If anyone is keen to get directly involved, please email <barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com> and we can pass your details on, bearing in mind that Emma and Graham are keen that the group is not dominated overall by leaseholders or tenants and is generally as diverse as possible. 

The role this new group will play in developing the Residents’ Charter etc. is to be further bottomed out at the next meeting. Watch this space.

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7. Warning: scam estate agents “Park Heath”

An estate agency claiming to be called Park Heath has been approaching leaseholders individually, falsely claiming that they have links with Newlon. This is not true. Please take care if you receive unsolicited contact from any lettings/sales agents about your property. If in doubt, check with Source/Newlon directly.

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8. Source Partnership is still here to help you

Some leaseholders have been concerned that now the ballot is over, Source Partnership may not be helping us any more. Be reassured that Source is still available to provide independent support for leaseholders (and Newlon tenants). Info on drop-in sessions in letter below. Source’s current commission through Newlon runs up until the submission for planning permission (i.e. early 2022, as far as we know).

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Phew. Well done for getting this far!

Many thanks from your New Barnsbury Leaseholder Reps
barnsburyleaseholders@gmail.com