Home ownership (leaseholder) Q&A
These questions were asked by residents at the Leathermarket JMB home owners meeting on 31 March 2009. The JMB has committed to publish answers to all the questions asked on that day.
These are the majority of questions that were asked on the day, a small numberare still to follow when we have all the information required
More answers to home ownership questions can be found on the About Leasehold page of this website.
Click on the questions below to take you the full answer
Repairs and other JMB Services
- What are ‘responsive minor repairs'?
- Who takes care of damp problems in a leasehold flat?
-
On the major works contract on Meakin why did the contractor tarmac along the edge of the wall?
Estimates, actuals and details of service charges
-
Why have I only received an estimate bill for 2008-09 when it is the end of March 2009?
- Why is the actual bill for 2007/08 approximately £600 more than the estimate bill?
-
With district heating, many tenants who are on benefits do not have any motivation to reduce the amount of heating and hot water they use. Is there not a fairer way of charging so people who use the system less pay less?
Service charges - general
-
What financial support is available to leaseholders who have no money (e.g. retired people)?
- Why have leaseholder charges increased while tenant's charges decreased? Is this Southwark's way of reclaiming losses?
Complaints and independent representation
- How do we apply to the leasehold valuation tribunal to decide a fair assessment?
- Leaseholders need a strong leaseholders association. What can be done about it?
- Why do leasehold management staff not give their names when you ring them?
Answers to your questions
Repairs and other JMB services
Q: What are ‘responsive minor repairs'?
The JMB sometimes have to make repairs to the structure and communal parts of a building or repairs to the communal part of an estate.
The responsive minor repairs charge is calculated based on the cost of these repairs. This charge also includes maintenance to any water tanks provided in the block and any pest control measures taken in the block. We have reduced the charge to leaseholders for any glazing repairs to communal windows to £50.00 per repair order for the block, as we will claim the excess charge above this from Zurich, the buildings insurers.
Your charge will be weighted according to the number of bedrooms in your home, but you will only be charged for repairs carried out on your own block or estate.
When the costs for a year have been finalised, you can request a report of all the individual jobs you have been charged for. We have only charged freeholders for any repairs on the estate and not for any block repairs.
You can request a repair to the external part of your block or to a communal area by contacting the JMB office. Any repairs to the internal parts of your home remain your responsibility.
Q: Who takes care of damp problems in a leasehold flat?
If it is a structural problem in the block (ie water coming through from the roof, a damp proof course or another part of the building) the the JMB is responsible for putting it right. If the damp is caused within the flat – such as through condensation or a leak inside the property – then the home owner is responsible.
Q: On the major works contract on Meakin why did the contractor tarmac along the edge of the wall?
This is a deliberate design – called an upstand – which is designed to prevent water creeping beneath the balcony surface.
Q: Why are leaseholders paying for a major building contract (Symington House) when minor repairs were not dealt with quickly that could have reduced the works now needed
This is not the case as doing the work all at once is cheaper – and so cheaper for leaseholders. At Symington House, the biggest part of the works required at involved window replacement and concrete repairs. Had these been carried out on a day to day basis, would have cost 4 times as much. Leaseholders would then have paid four times as much through their service charges.
Q: Have you allocated 100% of repairs staff costs to be proportioned to leaseholders even though much of their time is spent on carrying out repairs in tenanted properties?
No. Only a small proportion of the costs of repair staff is allocated to leaseholders as only a small proportion of the their time is spent doing communal repairs to blocks. The proportion of staff costs allocated is been based on the JMB's estimate of the time spent on communal repairs
Estimates, actuals and details of service charges
Q: Why have I only received an estimate bill for 2008-09 when it is the end of March 2009?
The usual timing is that leaseholders get an estimate bill for a year at the beginning of the financial year in April and they would receive the actual bill for the prior year sometime in October. So the 2009-10 estimated bill would April 2009 and actuals for 2008-09 would arrive in October 2009. However there was delay in sending out the 2007-08 actual bills due to unforeseen circumstances at the Council's Home Ownership Unit.
Q: Why is the actual bill for 2007/08 approximately £600 more than the estimate bill?
Estimated bills are an estimate of the charges for the year ahead, based on what was spent in the previous year. Actual bills are based on a fair share of the total cost of the management and maintenance of the block in that year.
If there are extra costs in one year – for example, if repairs are required to part of the block during the year – then this will increase the actual bills. Once the actual bills have been produced, you can ask the Council's Home Ownership Unit for a breakdown of the costs to show how the money was spent.
Q: Can we have a full breakdown of the charges?
As soon as the accounts for a particular year have been finalised, then you can request a breakdown by contacting Southwark Council's Home Ownership Unit.
Q: What does building insurance cover?
Information about the buildings insurance cover and a document detailing the policy details can be found on the Insurance - Information for home owners (leaseholders) page of this website.
Q: With district heating, many tenants who are on benefits do not have any motivation to reduce the amount of heating and hot water they use. Is there not a fairer way of charging so people who use the system less pay less?
Southwark do not have any system to charge for district heating based on usage and there are no plans to install such a system on the JMB estates.
Putting in such a system would have significant installation and ongoing running costs, which leaseholders would have to pay their share of.
Q: Shouldn't leaseholders benefit from a fair proportion of the income from any telephone aerials in the same way as they pay a proportion of block charges such as for lifts?
Leaseholders are obliged to pay a fair share of the cost of maintaining and managing their home. However they are not entitled to any income that is generated from parts of the building that are not part of their home – including telephone aerials, advertising hoardings, garages, shops or commercial properties that are part of a block, or indeed the rent from other properties in the block.
The money received from having the mast goes straight into the Council's Housing Revenue Account, as is the case with other commercial units attached to residential blocks – such as billboards or shops etc. The Council owns the building, is responsible for the structure and is therefore entitled to the money. There is no direct relationship between the money collected as commercial income and leaseholder service charge bills.
Service charges - general
Q: How can I avoid costs increasing in the future?
Leaseholders are obliged to pay their fair share of the costs of maintaining and managing the block that they live in. The best way for leaseholders to keep the costs down is to keep an eye on their block to avoid problems with antisocial behaviour, repairs or cleaning. If you do spot a problem - if it looks like a repair might need doing or if something needs cleaning – then let the JMB office know as soon as possible. This will let help help make sure that we can deal with the problem as quickly – and cheaply – as possible.
Q: What financial support is available to leaseholders who have no money (e.g. retired people)?
There is no direct financial support available towards service charges for leaseholders from Southwark. Leaseholders who are having money problems can seek advice from organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau. The nearest advice centres to the JMB estates are:
Bermondsey CAB
8 Market Place
Southwark Park Road
London SE16 3UQ
Tel: 020 7231 4410
Blackfriars Advice Centre
199 Walworth Road
London SE17 1RL
Tel: 020 7701 3999
Q: With leaseholder bills going up all the time how do leaseholders know whether they are getting value for money or being 'ripped off'?
Leathermarket JMB is a resident-run organisation which means that you are in control of what it does. If you want to have your say in how the JMB spends its money, or want to keep an eye on what it is doing, then you can get involved in the running of the JMB.
If you have any concerns about how the JMB is spending money for your block and home then you can ask for a detailed breakdown of your latest actual bill.
Q: Why have leaseholder charges increased while tenant's charges decreased? Is this Southwark's way of reclaiming losses?
Leaseholders do not subsidise tenants/councils costs. In fact the legal arrangements for leaseholders mean that tenants slightly subsidise leaseholders. This is because by having to cover any loss made in the service charges due to limits on leaseholders contributions.
Southwark Council reconcile all the recharges – including what would be recharged to tenants if they were leaseholders – back to the contract sum to ensure that the costs are accurate.
Leaseholders pay on the basis of the size of their property (number of habitable rooms) - known as the unit cost - divided by the total number of habitable rooms of all the properties in their block including the tenants properties.
The Council (ie tenants) pay for all those costs which cannot be recharged to leaseholders – eg aesthetic improvements, 'appendix B' losses etc.
Complaints and independent representation
Q: How do we apply to the leasehold valuation tribunal to decide a fair assessment?
The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal ("LVT") is the formal name given to the body appointed to make decisions on various types of dispute relating to residential leasehold property.
The LVT is an independent decision making body which is completely unconnected to the Council, the leaseholder or any other public agency.
The guidance on procedure for the Leasehold Valuation Tribunals can be found on the Residential Property Tribunal website (pdf, 161Kb). If you do not have access to the internet, you can request a copy by contacting the Residential Property Tribunal Service, 10 Alfred Place, London, WC1E 7LR. Tel: 020 7446 7700.
To apply to LVT download an application form, or contact the Residential Property Tribunal Service, 10 Alfred Place, London, WC1E 7LR Tel: 020 7446 7700.
Q: Leaseholders need a strong leaseholders association. What can be done about it?
There are two organisations representing leaseholders in the JMB area, the Homeowner Council and the Leaseholder Association of Southwark
Homeowner Council
The Homeowner Council is an elected body of leaseholders, which meets regularly with councillors and officers to discuss issues affecting Southwark leaseholders. The representatives are elected through Southwark's area housing forums, which are made up of representatives of each area's Tenant and Resident Associations.
The Homeowner Council acts as a link between the local area housing forums and the council executive, and advises on borough-wide matters that affect people who lease their homes from the Council.
Homeowners Council can be contacted through Southwark Council's Resident Involvement Team
For people living on the Lawson Estate, Elim Estate, Meakin Estate, Trinity Street, Decima Street, Peveril House, Rephidim Street, the resident involvement officer is:
Yetunde Ayanwale, Resident Involvement Manager (Borough & Bankside), Tel: 020 7367 6031 yetunde.ayanwale@southwark.gov.uk
For people living on all the other JMB estates, the resident involvement officer is:
Jo Wilson, Resident Involvement Manager (West Bermondsey), Tel: 020 7525 3326
jo.wilson@southwark.gov.uk
Leaseholder's Association of Southwark (LAS 2000)
Although the above questions has not requested details of LAS 2000, it is important the the existence of the group is made available to all readers of this literature. LAS 2000 is an independent body of leaseholders of Southwark Council properties who are represented on the Executive and are able to give advice on leasehold matters.
Leaseholders' Association of Southwark can be contacted by writing to: LAS 2000 PO Box 23394, London, SE16 2WA.
Q: Why do leasehold management staff not give their names when you ring them?
All of the Home Ownership Unit team are told to ensure that telephones are answered quickly, efficiently, helpfully and politely. In general, calls should be answered within five rings or fifteen seconds.
Employees are aware that the Council may record telephone conversations for ensuring compliance with its policies and procedures and the code of conduct.
There should not be any instance where an officer does not offer their name, or refuses to give their name during a call.
If anyone does encounter this, they should report it to Paul Hal pin or one of the other HOU managers so that they can investigate your concerns immediately.
The direct lines for the HOU team are
| Manager & title | Phone number |
| Paul Halpin, Collections Manager | 020 7525 1412 |
| John Buckland, Revenue Collection Manager | 020 7525 1449 |
| Chris Flynn, Revenue Collection Manager | 020 7525 1419 |
| Barbara Longley, Capital Collection Manager | 020 7525 1443 |
| Richard Pamintuan, Capital Collection Manager | 020 7525 1441 |