Irate about repair bills

Published: 11 March 2010

• I ATTENDED a meeting organised by the Camden Leaseholders Forum at the council chamber in the Town Hall.
The place was full to overflowing with irate and worried leaseholders who are being charged exorbitant bills for repairs under the so-called Decent Homes scheme.
Some of the stories were horrific, where costs were astronomical. One man told us that his bill from Camden for repairs to his Hampstead flat were going to be £70,000.
A person could buy a whole house in the north of UK for nearly that. One person told of his repairs to heating bill escalating over a 14 or 15 months period by £7,000. Inflation must be astronomical for that to happen.
My own “estimated” bill will be nearly £10,000. This after the last round of dire works finalised only three years ago and after a long battle with the council over appalling repairs and charges that were not even in the spec. We ended up in the Leaseholders Valuation Tribunal, at our expense, a case which we leaseholders won. Tenants will also suffer as their rents will rise to pay for these inflated costs. Many of the residents in blocks are up in arms particularly when there is no consultation process from the Camden Home Ownership Services. I have been asking for a detailed breakdown of costs yet nothing is forthcoming and I have been requesting this from last year.
It seems to me this is all part of a hopeless management.
They see leaseholders as a milk cow or a golden goose there for the taking. These charges are way out of proportion and indeed my neighbour across the road who is in a private block pool, paid only half of what I paid for a comparable block repair in Tavistock Place.
We are told constantly how we can and should pay or else and in threatening tones that frighten me never mind the older pensioner leaseholders trying to live on £98 a week state pension. It makes one very suspicious of the goings on as now Camden tenders out everything to private contractors and we know what that can lead to!
I am quite happy to pay what is fair but it should be value for money.
CLEM ALFORD, WC1