Skip to main content

Southwark Labour to deliver on key changes for leaseholders

By PeckhamRyeLabour

Southwark’s Labour-run Council has agreed to adopt all the proposals of an independent Housing Scrutiny Committee report into leaseholder charging.

Among the key recommendations are to provide leaseholders with an individual online account so that they know exactly how much money they will have to spend at the end of the year.  They also include a new two-tier system of charges to cater for requests to make minor changes to properties; at present leaseholders are charged a flat rate of £203 simply for enquiring about making a change to their property.

The Cabinet action plan agrees to allow leaseholders to know who signed off works which leaseholders are expected to pay for, increasing transparency and accountability.  

The Council has also agreed to investigate offering leaseholders the option of a fixed service charge which incorporates both the annual services charge and major works service charges. This will help leaseholders plan for the future and avoid a situation where a leaseholder’s final annual service charge is significantly higher than they were expecting.

Labour believes that efficiently administered leaseholder charges will benefit tenants and leaseholders alike – ensuring that money is not wasted on tribunal and court disputes.

You can see the full Cabinet response here and the action plan is here.

As Chair of Southwark’s Housing Scrutiny Committee I'm delighted that the Council cabinet has agreed to accept all the recommendations of our report. It demonstrates Labour's commitment to ensuring a fair deal for Southwark’s leaseholders.”

Councillor Ian Wingfield, Southwark Labour’s Cabinet Member for Housing recently said:

“Under the previous Lib Dem administration, leaseholders were made to pay unfair charges for refurbishment and fire safety works. That is why Labour pledged in 2010 to write a new leaseholder compact on fair charging. This is a significant first step in delivering on that promise.”


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lib Dems claim they're not in charge in Peckham Rye

By
(A tweet from the Peckham Rye Lib Dems) Peckham Rye Lib Dems are now claiming that Labour 'run' Peckham Rye (take a look above). When asked by a local resident "Am I right in thinking Lib Dems run Southwark but Labour run Peckham Rye?", a Peckham Rye Lib Dem candiate replied, "Yes you're right. For the next three months Lab run Peckham Rye. Then we take over..." Given that, just like every other area in Southwark, Peckham Rye is run by the Lib Dem-Tory Executive it seems this is just the latest in a string of attempts to mislead people into thinking they've got nothing to do with Southwark's failures. Of course, Peckham Rye does have three Labour councillors, who do a great job of representing our area and our concerns at the Town Hall. However this is very different from 'running' Peckham Rye. If only we could just opt out of the Lib Dem chaos! In truth, the policy levers and almost all the money spent by the council are under the cont...
10 comments
Read more

Peckham Rye Playground Opens

By
Gavin and I were delighted to open the new playground on Peckham Rye this morning - and to test out the equipment! The opening marked a long year of campaigning to get the playground built after many years of delay. As locals and regular visitors to the Rye may know, the new playground has been in the pipeline for some time. To make matters worse, back in August 2010, the Tory-Lib Dem Government ‘clawed back’ most of the funding for the project, leaving its future in doubt. Following a lot of hard work we are really pleased that in the end we secured the funding and that the work has been completed - just in time for the school holidays. During the election last year we made a firm promise that we would get the playground sorted-out. Today has been brilliant because, despite Government cuts we have kept our promise and local children have another great area for play.
8 comments
Read more

Another Bog Standard Update

By PeckhamRyeLabour
Many local residents may well be wondering what is happening with the previously proposed development of the toilet block near the junction of Peckham Rye and East Dulwich Road. Before Renata, Victoria and I were even elected as councillors, this had become quite a lively issue. I recently asked officers at the council what is going on, because nothing appeared to be happening with the block. Well, since the last update, this is what has happened: 1. The last proposed tenant - a not-for-profit gallery offering outreach programmes to local schools and groups - dropped out of the process without having made the required planning application. 2. The property is now under offer to a new proposed tenant. They run a children's nursery and wish to expand. 3. They have already made a planning application for a change of use. 4. We are currently waiting for a formal decision from development control so that the lease can proceed. I'll update again here as soon as I have further news. Sp...
7 comments
Read more