Peverel OM - Shared ownership at Salamanca Place, Albert Embankment - 146% service charge increase!!!

Our lovely housing association (beginning with N) started action with the LVT against the managing agents on our behalf and asked us to be patient. They have now dropped this action (without telling us). The bill given to us has now been reduced to £1900 (still £150/month - for 'affordable' housing).

I would advise anyone to avoid NHHG shared ownership, and any block or estate serviced by the hideous Peverel organisation...

Surprise surprise! (not).

The idea of requiring developers to provide housing for shared ownership as part of a S106 is relatively new. There is a lot of political interest in making affordable housing work. Those politicians will not want this particular way of delivering affordable housing to fail as a result of high service charges and poor resale values.

Note:
Gordon Brown spoke about the need for affordable housing in his first speach as Prime Minister elect.
Ken Livingstone has affordable housing as a basic part of his London Plan and has a reputation for supporting large dense private developments in Central London as long as they deliver 50% affordable housing.

You would do best if you had a Residents Assn. You only need one meeting to which you invite local Councillors, MP, the Housing Assn and the Managing Agent. Have a constitution ready. Plus a plan of action and 12 neighbours ready to stand as a committee. The rest can be done by email.

You are then in a good position to approach those policy makers who want affordable housing to work; housing people within the GLA; regulation people within the Housing Corporation; and the Low Cost Housing people within Communities and Local Government (Ruth Kelly's department). If you really are excluded from a number of facilities, you should explain this, and say what you do get for £150 a month. You could also take a standard low/average wage (£25,000?), and then deduct housing costs (mortgage and rent), Council tax, and service dcharge and calculate this as a percentage of net salary. If it is over 40% there will be concern. Over 45% and I think there are some real risks should interest rates rise, housing prices fall or the employment market falter. Given the number of recent stories about mortgage rate hikes you might even get press interest.

Good luck,

Sarah

Thank you Sarah.

Its a shame that there isn,t a site for all anti-Peverel people to get together and compare notes.It seems to me we could build up quite a gathering.Peverel need to be shown up for the way they treat residents.I live in a retirement block of flats,and our service charges have gone by 23% in two years.Some of the residents are over ninety,and I am sure the must find it hard to meet rising costs and did not expect it to rise so high when they bought their flats.

If you want to set up such a society, believe me I'll join! Peverel are the pits.

Hi Jackie,
Well if there is enough interest might give it a go.

>>It is quite popssible that mainting one of the
>>areas Georgian houses would amount to an average of £5,000 a year

But that's inside and out. By the time you've spent £15k on a new roof with a 50 year life, £1000 for painting every five years that leaves you with a lot of money left over for the inside of the house.

thewatchman wrote:

Hi Jackie,
Well if there is enough interest might give it a go.

Hey watchman! I can guarantee there would be interest from people in our building on Grange Road. Approx 60 flats (some owner occupied although mainly rental) and I'd guess approx 20 of these owners would be prepared to join such group.

Well, let's get the ball rolling. Are any of you coming to our Summer Social at my flat on Bank Holiday Monday? Try and make it, and we'll know eachother's faces and can have an inaugural bitch. And fix a get together for action.