EEHLFA – Deputation to the Council – 27th January
and to Eastendhomes Main Board – 28th January
At the Tower hamlets Full Council meeting on the 27th January, all Councillors voted to support a call to urge Eastend Homes (the Registered Social Landlord or RSL) to recognise the Eastend Homes Leaseholders and Freeholders Association. Cllr Tim Archer put forward the original motion calling on the Council to support the group, and the Council heard a deputation led by Gloria Thienel Chair EEHLA & Interim Vice Chair EEHLFA explaining the treatment she had received at the hands of Eastend Homes, her social landlord.
Jan Anstey Hayes – Interim Chair EEHLFA also spoke and Andrew Coles from the THLA was there along with supporters in the public gallery.
On Thursday 28th January the Group presented their case to the main board of Eastend Homes – they await the outcome on their call for recognition.
Click here to see report of EEHFLA meeting on 19th November
Click here to view the EEHFLA manifesto
Click here to read “leaseholders battle for recognition” in the Advertiser
From the Council Website
11.4 Motion proposed by Council or Tim Archer regarding East End Homes Leaseholders and Freeholders Association
Councillor Marc Francis moved, and Councillor Lutfur Rahman seconded, an amendment to the motion to delete text after “This Council notes” and replace with text as tabled at he meeting. This was agreed and the substantive motion as amended was then agreed as follows.
DECISION
This Council notes:
- East End Homes is a resident-led housing association, with six tenants and two leaseholders on its Board
- East End Homes took on some of those council estates suffering most from the historic under-investment in council housing
- East End Homes has been assessed as being a Two-Star “Good” organisation by the independent Audit Commission
- The dissatisfaction expressed by some leaseholders and freeholders of East End Homes
- The formation of the borough-wide East End Homes Leaseholders and Freeholders Association (EEHLFA)
- That East End Homes is committed to working to establish a constructive relationship with EEHLFA and has invited representatives to its Board meeting on 28th January.
This Council believes that:
- Genuine engagement, transparency and accountability are the key to achieving a high quality housing management service and improving Value for Money for leaseholders and tenants alike
- Democratically-elected local Estate Management Boards are an essential component of the governance arrangements at East End Homes
- A good working relationship with other groups set up to represent residents of East End Homes would be a positive step forward
- Increased involvement with EEHLFA would help address the concerns of some of East End Home’s freeholders and leaseholders
This Council therefore resolves to:
Encourage the Board of East End Homes to recognise the EEHLFA through an agreed Memorandum of Understanding with that organisation and work positively to resolve leaseholder/freeholder issues.
2 thoughts on “Eastend Homes Leaseholders win first step in battle for recognition.”
Will it make any difference. Walk along Southern Grove and around the area. You would never think that these are leasehold properties with conditions in the leases how the external appearance of the properties should be kept.
Washing hanging out on balconies, garages appear to being used for business, different types of garage doors and increasingly different external front doors, tatty old fences and sheds, 100’s of satellite dishes, even the EEH caretakers / store property in Southern Grove / Loweswater has tatty blanked out windows. Gas pipes run along the outside of properties and not boxed in, boiler flues running across balconies.
Neither – a significant number of – local residents or EEH take any pride in the external appearance of the properties / areas. Considering EEH giving the impression they want to maximise income on the new builds, they appear happy to loose thousands by letting the surronding properties look so unkept. Who will want to pay £200K plus for a property looking out on these properties / surrounds and with the knowledge that within a few years the probablity is that their nice new block will lock as bad.
As well as campaigning for reductions in service charges, perhaps the associations should also be looking at how to maintain the appearance of their members’ properties.
EEH are collecting over twice the service charges Tower Hamlets were – where is the extra money going. Stairs are being kept cleaner, but difficult to see that would equate to a doubling of the service charges.