Around three months ago, my partner (who was assaulted first by this woman) had gone downstairs and successfully diffused yet another altercation from this particular flat which had spilled out onto the common areas. He had achieved this by the time I went downstairs after him. I followed him back to our flat only to find him on the second floor holding at arms length a spitting, snarling, kicking and scratching female who felt his intervention was none of his business, even though the altercation didn’t actually involve her! The police were called by both parties and although he had plenty of physical evidence of an assault on him (and she had nothing, despite claiming he had assaulted her), nothing further happened as there were no independent witnesses. Even if I had seen what had happened prior to the scene I actually found, such a statement from me would not have been considered independent as I was his partner.

Three months later I came out of a friends flat to find the same person again verbally abusing my partner. I got between them because not only did I remember what she had done to him the last time, but he is desperately trying to recover from depression. When she shoved me out of the way, I physically removed her from the premises. At this point you would think that this would be when I got my black eye but it wasn’t. It came a bit later as I was watching to ensure she did not come back onto our forcourt. After shouting abuse at me, she actually deliberated before she punched me in the head, giving me a serious black eye. I was taken to hospital by the paramedics, checked over and given painkillers. What also should have happened was that a police officer should have followed me in order to take my statement, particuarly as I was the one that actually called them.

Instead, they focused on my partner, arresting him because again, this woman claimed he had assaulted her first and she was acting in self-defence. He spent the night in the cells, and no one was interested in talking to me until my partner contacted Victim Support. Even then it was 12 days after my assault that my statement was finally taken. I took photos of my injuries and was hopeful that when her bail expired, she would be arrested for her attack on me but again, nothing happened because there were no independent witness statements and no CCTV footage.

However, on this occasion there were two witnesses. One had called the police but was not prepared to take it any further and stand up in court. The other felt compelled to get himself physically involved but when I confronted him asking him who he was, he fled the scene.

So what happened next?

In the absence of CCTV footage, and the unwillingness of potential witnesses to stand up in court, absolutely nothing.

Despite the police admittting my attacker is well known to them as a nasty little thug, my comprehensive witness statement and photographs were not enough. They were not prepared to take it to the CPS as it was essentially my word against hers. Even when she broke her bail conditions for her assault on my partner the day after she was given them, we called 999 as we were advised to. A police officer came to our flat the next day (by appointment!) but I was later told that it wasn’t really worth doing anything about it because a) they weren’t worth the paper they were written on and b) the most that would happen would be that she would be picked up, spend a couple of hours in the cells and basically told not to do it again.

As the victim I would have been more than happy for that to happen but as I don’t believe it did, why bother issuing them in the first place? What kind of message is it sending other than it’s OK to breach them because nothing will happen?

So not only did we have to see her nonchalantly do the very same thing she was told not to do (which was to not come near our block) we also had to see her essentially stick two fingers up at the both of us and carry on as normal, a privilege that I have certainly been denied ever since my own assault happened.

I get that the police are duty-bound to investigate when assault claims are launched by both parties. There is however a marked reluctance to do anything when the person who gets the call in first doesn’t want to press charges, which is what happened the first time she assaulted my partner. He not only had to insist on pressing charges himself but he also had to get himself arrested in order to do so! What I also don’t get is why, when there is no CCTV footage and independent witnesses, my witness statement and photographic evidence counts for nothing. In fact it puts my word on the same level as hers and she did not produce any photographic evidence of her own despite stating that I assaulted her. I am also NOT known to the police as an aggressive little thug (or anything else for that matter!).

The bottom line is that people like her are all too familiar with the legal system and therefore play it to the max. We on the other hand are not.
I am now anticipating her inevitable return to the block and whilst we are now in a position to install security cameras my mood is alternating between distress, downright anger and nervousness!
I am also still getting pain from the injury and none of this is made any easier to deal with due to the fact that because of the screw up by the officers on the ground (which has been acknowledged) I didn’t even have the satisfaction of getting her arrested in the first place!

What kind of message did THAT send?

As the management of our block has been farmed out to the Trinity part of the newly merged Trinity Chainbow, I decided to assist the handover by providing a full introductory letter to our new property manager regarding my role in the management of our block. It reads as follows:

Request Date For Site Visit And Information

Along with an e-mail asking when we could expect a site visit I also asked for the last quarterly arrears report (for 2011) to be sent ahead of it. I should have received it in January but the merger was given as a reason for my not yet having it. I also asked whether there were any outstanding invoices to be paid from the service charge account and how much interest we are receiving on our ground rent account, something I had been requesting for some considerable time but to no avail.

I also asked whether our main contractor for the building remains in place as we are waiting on quotes to repair and place sharks fins on our front boundary wall, paint the stairwells, and fix the hopper at the side of the building. We are also waiting to have the last segment of our roof repaired.

I had to send a follow-up email asking for an update as all I got initially was that he would deal with it. Really must get a refund on my crystal ball!

Letter To The Council

I decided to write to the leader of my local council, asking them to work with me in preventing tenants with drink, drugs and anti-social tendencies from being homed here unless they had a) checked that the landlords were fit to be operating as such and were fully able to offer the additional management that such tenants require, b) the properties passed the Decent Homes Standard all health and all safety requirements and c) they check that permission to sublet has actually been granted, particulaly under Private Sector Leasing.

My letter reads as follows:

I am writing you on behalf of the freeholder owners of Wellington Mansions, 183 Church Road, Leyton E107BX. I don’t know if you are familiar with the history of our block but it is a 22-flat private block with 18 flats being sublet and, as far as we are aware, they are all sublet to tenants on benefit.

To provide a bit of background, Waltham Forest Council was very helpful a few years back when, as private leaseholders, we tried to get our (then) managing agents to carry out repairs to our roof. When we received no assistance I naturally turned to the council for help. We had regular visits from an Environmental Health Officer who took a number of photographs of the roof and the tanks, and a number of notices were issued to the managing agents in an attempt to get them to carry out their responsibilities under the terms of the lease. We thought that we were going to be able to get the works done in default but because we were long leaseholders, (rather than renting tenants), no such work could be carried out. We had already told them that we were owner/occupiers but they forgot! By that time common area grants had to all intents and purposes been removed and whilst they could be granted on a discretionary basis, we were denied such assistance.

When we took Wellington Mansions over, first via Right to Manage then by securing the freehold, we thought that we were well on the way to restoring the block to its former glory but we now have a major problem with benefit tenants that have drink, drugs and anti-social behaviour issues being being placed here. There are no checks being carried out as to the suitability of the landlords to be operating as such, no checks made on the property to ensure they are safe and no checks as to whether such landlords are able (and prepared) to take on the management that these tenants inevitably need.

Because of this lack of checks, it has been my partner and myself who have had to deal with the subsequent problems when they have spilled out into the common areas and in the course of doing so we have been threatened and assaulted, not to mention the number of times we have had to call the police and on some occasions, the paramedics.

We have recently had to bring two such situations to the attention of the council. One is that of an alcoholic tenant with a slum landlord that has just been fined by the neighbouring borough of Newham for renting out the worst property they have ever seen. I requested an inspection of the flat under HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System) as the tenant lives in a flat that is ‘managed’ to a similar standard to the property in Newham. I also reported the situation under POVA (Protection of Vulnerable Adults as) because this individual is also unable to prevent himself from being assaulted by the very people he brings back to the flat. In actual fact my partner prevented such a situation from occurring in the latter part of last year when the visitor concerned had to be prevented from racing back upstairs in order to hit the tenant over the head with a shovel!

The other is an aggressive and anti-social tenant who lives above a flat lived in by a couple of owner-occupier pensioners. It’s a long story but basically noise levels emanating from this tenant and her friends has caused a tremendous amount of stress which the landlord did nothing about. He has also done nothing about the people who also live there but are not on the tenancy agreement. This tenant launched a malicious and unfounded harassment complaint against the couple and they had to endure the indignity and stress of not only four police turning up at their flat but also had to attend a formal interview on camera at the police station. I also brought this to the councils attention under POVA because of concerns for their health (one of the couple is on heart medication).

Both my partner and myself were again assaulted on Monday evening by visitors to the second flat when yet another dispute spilled out into the common areas!

I am therefore asking Waltham Forest Council, through you, how we can stop such tenants being placed onto our block and respectfully request a meeting to discuss the issues raised.

Council Reply But Don’t Agree to Meeting!

The council did reply but unfortunately did not grant me a meeting and also did not give any indication as to how (or if) they could assist in the areas I had focused on. This response led to a second letter, reiterating a number of my original points. Once such point was the fact that a number of flats have been let under Private Sector Leasing but there has been no contact made with either the freeholders or the managing agents to ensure such permission to place the properties under the scheme has been granted. This situation can also be further complicated when issues arise from tenants placed here from other boroughs and again, we have no knowledge of which one!

I also drew their attention to the fact that Newham Council are pro-actively working towards getting private sector landlords licenced because there are so many out there that are not only unfit to be operating as such but rent out properties that are as sub-standard as they are.

I finished by saying that these problems are also impacting on our ability to protect our own asset (that of our home) and this needs to be addressed.

I again requested a meeting.

Building and Re-Instatement Value Request

I requested a BRV report ahead of the automatic buildings insurance renewal quote (due end of March) as per the ABI recommendations.

We have a really nasty situation on our block resulting from the actions of a renting tenant and the non-actions of her landlord. The flat above our pensioner neighbours has a laminate wood floor with no soundproofing. The number of occupants has steadily increased, so therefore the noise has increased too. Everyone has been asked to at least remove their shoes whilst in the flat but this doesn’t always happen leading to relations between the two flats becoming strained. Somewhere along the line, someone reported the tenant to social services for physically abusing her children. Instead of simply refuting the allegation, as made by persons unknown, she lodged a complaint of harrassment against her neighbours resulting in a heavy police attendance of 4 officers to their flat some weeks later. They nearly had a heart attack, thinking that one of their family had been in a fatal accident. After an informal interview in their home, then they had to attend a police station just after Christmas, where they were interviewed on camera.

The tenants landlord is keeping his distance from his tenant, instead approaching our neighbours asking them to confront her themselves! An eighty-year old couple, (one of whom has a heart condition) are supposed to deal with an aggressive woman in her twenties, who has friends who are as aggressive as she is? I don’t think so!

I visited their flat New Years Eve and I was horrified at the noise levels after only twenty minutes. At some points I honestly thought they were going to come through the ceiling! Living noise is one thing but the types of thumps and bangs and the deliberate stamping of shoes on laminated floors was something completely different! I contacted Noise Pollution and also spoke to the police but before they could send someone out, the flat was vacated for the night and all was quiet again.

Our neighbours are now on the council radar as vulnerable adults not just because of the involvement of the Noise Pollution team and the police but because of the sustained and deliberate noise being carried out by the tenant and her associates, the lack of action by the landlord (he can’t evict because he can’t afford to lose a tenant) and the fact that one of our neighbours has a heart condition!

Flat For Sale

I noticed that a flat on our block is up for sale and so I contacted both estate agents via Zoopla to advise them that we are an owned and managed block and providing them with the details. This was done in order for them to pass such information onto prospective purchasers. The agents were Churchill and Central Estate Agents.

Whilst the faulty grouting that could be seen was re-done, the fact that the leak is still there indicates that more ‘tracing’ needs to be carried out.

The insurers have agreed to this and we wait to see what happens this time.

Hopper Blocked?

We may also have problem with the hopper to the side of the flat being blocked. I sincerely hope that’s all it is and not a problem with the pipework. Look at the proximity of our neighbours house!

Getting Tough With ‘Rogue’ Landlords!

As it seems nigh on impossible to get the covenants to sublet adhered to, it left me wondering what to do when individual landlords put the block and its occupants at risk by not carrying out even the most basic of health and safety requirements. I’ve got one in particular who thought nothing of placing tenants in his flat with a faulty gas meter and refused to provide confirmation that it had been made safe.

So, I thought ‘bugger this’ and contacted my local council and asked them to carry out a risk assessment under the Housing Act 2004, specifically HHSRS. This has been done and we wait to hear the findings.

I’ve also made the same request for another flat to the rear of the premises who’s landlord has just been fined £8,000 for one of the worst properties my neighbouring council of Newham have ever seen. We are very concerned on two fronts: his tenant is a serious alcoholic (its a long story) and not only is it likely he will resort to using candles for light, he could resort to trying to find (then use) a paraffin heater. Fire and carbon monoxide risk at the same time!

Whilst the incidents of the dumping of bulky items is considerably less than it used to be, we could have still done without finding this being dumped at the front of the block when we came back from a walk.

On asking our property manager to contact the flat owner to get it removed, we were advised that she could only write to him as she didn’t have a telephone number (although she has requested it in the letter) but this is where it got really silly!

I contacted the letting agent of the flat and they told me that they didn’t actually manage the property, they only found the tenants. Despite that, they had apparently arranged for a scrap metal dealer to take it (who didn’t) and so they were going to find out if he still intended to do so.

They did say however that it was whoever the landlord got to refurbish it that was responsible for dumping the cooker.

I thought I would make life easier and get the telephone number of the landlord myself but couldn’t get it because of Data Protection. This was despite the fact I act on behalf of freehold company Directors!

So, in a flat that was recently purchased and again where permission to sublet was not sought, we have a letting agents who only finds the tenants (but is prepared to try and get rid of a dumped cooker) a refurbishment company (or individual) who emptied the flat and left the cooker, and a landlord who doesn’t feel he should volunteer a telephone number so I can get the cooker removed quicker!

The result? This delightful cooking appliance remaining on the property for over a week! Yuk!

It has prompted me to ask how many of our sublet flats do actually have landlord telephone numbers.

Health and Safety Not a Priority

One of our landlords was asked a few months back to supply us with copies of his tenant’s AST’s along with copies of all the Health and Safety Certificates and Gas Safe certificates required by law.

We hadn’t heard anything so I chased it up, only to be told that his solicitors are refusing to reply and if we want to take the situation further, we would need to instruct solicitors to act on the RMC’s behalf in the matter!

Leaking Flat Gets Fixed Through Insurance (we hope!)

We were thinking that we might have to force an entry into this flat (under the terms of the lease) to trace a leak because it wasn’t getting fixed. Thankfully it didn’t come to that and an engineer has now attended the flat when the tenant was in.

All interior pipe-work was inspected and no leaks were to be found in them. Turns out the leak was due to defective mastic seal and grout in the bathroom which he cut out and re-applied.

This information has been forwarded to the insurers.

Information Request (again!)

For some reason it is taking an extraordinary amount of time to get certain questions about our service charge arrears situation answered.
For example, why is a long-term debtor still only at the ‘letter with the solicitor’ stage? Why was a debt collector/solicitor not used for the long-term debtors? What lack of repairs being carried out led a leaseholder to withhold service charges?

I’m seriously wondering just what exactly is going on there!

He advised that the official notification to the HSE for the refurbishment project for flat 17 advises a 14 week contract period from 20th July 2011 but work has yet to begin.

This is because of an on-going leak from the flat immediately above that has destroyed part of the ceiling and will clearly prevent its replacement until stopped.

He went on to ask me to liaise with the owner of the flat above and their property manager (not the one who wanted to tell me to ‘f**k off) to stop the water ingress. He also advised that the previous property manager had made contact with the owner of the flat above but no repair work was attempted.

I got back to him and advised that this was incorrect. The leak had been repaired shortly after it had been brought to the owners attention at the start of the year. During a meeting I attended with the managing agent, the owner of the flat above and the works foreman this month, we were shown that the ceiling joists have rotted through. This would indicate that the floorboards had not been removed in order to repair the leak as the owner thought he had fixed it.The issue is further compounded by the fact that Flat 17 continued to be neglected months after the repair had been carried out.

Drawing On Our Reserves

Andy has authorised the use of the reserve funds for all work relating to drains so I requested a new quote for a full camera survey, the replacement of all drain covers and the two manhole covers at the front of the property.

A Bit More Of The Roof Still To Do

I’ve requested that the area over Flat 22 be covered with roofing felt as per the other areas but it will need clearing of moss first. There’s also a small area between Flats 21 and 22 to do.

The guttering requires cleaning above Flat 8 and we also have one more water tank that needs re-housing.

RMC Directors Seek Help From A Solicitor

Due to the concerns we have raised a number of times regarding leaseholders who remain in serious arrears, I authorised our managing agent to provide any information on these leaseholders to a firm of solicitors. We were then told that there was no money in the service charge account and the expenditure was not budgeted for. They suggested we refrain from instructing the sending of a number of ‘Letters Before Action’ and as we are getting towards the end of the financial year, we make provision in next year’s budget for additional legal costs.

No More Site Visits!

We have had a new property manager (our third) for over 6 months now and not a single site visit. On enquiring about this a number of times, it appears that they have been reviewing and seeking advice with regard to the management of asbestos on the property. They have now considered that sending anyone to site outside of contractors is in breach of their staff safety policy. Since when??

In my reply I had to say that I didn’t fully understand this as firstly we were under the impression that our asbestos wasn’t dangerous unless disturbed and I couldn’t see where a visit from our property manager would lead to such a disturbance. I also asked why was it OK for contractors to attend when the risk of then disturbing it was much higher.I also had to wonder why it took over 6 months for us to obtain such a reason for no visits, and why were we only now being made aware of staff safety on the issue? Was this a new policy because her predecessor made hardly any visits either!

I was advised that all contractors attending our development are given a copy of the asbestos survey and they make a judgement based on that. Chainbow have decided that as they cannot monitor it daily, the risks are too great for them to endanger staff.

This does of course raise the issue that if we were not continually in arrears we could afford to remove it. In any event we won’t get any more site visits until it’s cleared!

I am pleased to report that my efforts concerning Flat 17 have finally paid off and they have started some serious work this month. I did get some unexpected leverage in my efforts though.

Having been given a start date for refurbishment of the flat which fell at the end of July, when this didn’t happen I requested an explanation. I got a new start date in two weeks time but no explanation as to why nothing had happened on the original date. So I again requested an explanation.

The response to this came to me in error because the property manager, instead of sending it to her boss, sent it to me instead. It read “Am I obliged to give this woman an answer?. I know the answer I want to give!!”

Well, I got straight on the phone to her and invited her to give me the answer she so desperately wanted to give but strangely enough she declined my invitation. She apologised but I personally don’t set much store by apologies that are only made because the person has been found out. I threatened the company with the press and instructed them as to how I wanted them to proceed.

Shortly after this, I got an e-mail from her boss (I had already forwarded her e-mail because after all it was supposed to go there in the first place!)

He advised me that the owners have a policy of retention for their residential properties. Because this flat is a single unit owned within a block over which they have no control, coupled with the vandalism that previously occurred to the property along with poor general environment of the block (since improved) the matter did slip from the radar for some time. As owners and operators of a significant number of residential properties it wasn’t in the owners interest to deliberately leave their properties empty and poorly repaired (could have fooled me).

He went to advise that six weeks has been allowed for the project to complete (26th September 2011) although it is likely the project will be completed sooner.

The time elapsed between the authorisation of the refurbishment work and the proposed start date started with implementing their Asbestos Management Plan (this could not commence until the premises had been cleared of organic waste i.e. rat excrement) along with the various construction phase plans and method statements required for the CDM Co-Ordinator to notify the HSE of the commencement of the work. All of their refurbishment work is notified to the HSE whether it is a lawful requirement or not, and the Asbestos Management Plan is also designed to ensure that their own staff and that of their contractors are able to carry out their duties in a safe environment. This phase of the project can, and often does, take several weeks to complete.

He finished by stating that he had intended to telephone me to convey the above but was unable to find my telephone number. So I called him.

I said I found it difficult to believe that the property had fallen off the radar, certainly from 2007 onwards because not only did we take over management then but they have been paying the service charges ever since. Not to mention the constant efforts to get someone to do something about the property. Turned out he was referring to circumstances surrounding the flat in 2003, when we had no freeholder and no managing agent!

Leaseholder Won’t Let Insurers In To Trace Leak

We’ve written to the leaseholder a number of times asking him to grant access to his flat to enable the insurers to trace the leak that is coming from his property into the common areas. Admittedly he did get his shower replaced in attempt to deal with it but unfortunately it made the situation worse. I say unfortunately but in actual fact it was also fortunate as the worsening of the leak allowed the trace and access part of the buildings insurance to be used. Well, it would if anyone could get in. Looks like he’ll have to have the floorboards lifted which could explain the reluctance. Leaves us in an unenviable position because we desperately want to repair the fire damage too but obviously can’t.

Not only that but the the areas under the bath and inside the kitchen cupboards have been disinfected and the toilet removed.

The next stage is refurbishment and the job has already been awarded to a contractor. However an asbestos survey needs to be commenced within the next 7 days before the refurbishment works start which is most likely be the last week of this month.

Doing Our Bit (or trying to!)

I contacted our managing agent to enquire if we had any money for a rat trap to be installed in the drain outside Flat 1 and any other drains that require them. The answer? No. So the use of the reserve fund was authorised because if we don’t make our own efforts alongside those of the council in sealing entry points that we remain aware of, the problem will not be effectively dealt with.

Our next door neighbour also has rats now which we have advised her of.

Fed Up With ‘Rogue’ Landlords!

I wrote to the Housing Standards of my local authority asking for a list of private sector accredited landlords in the borough as I am increasingly concerned that a number of landlords on my block are not adhering to health and safety standards and coming up with arbitrary
rental figures that they then expect to be paid without question.

Managing agents don’t generally get involved with landlord and tenant issues because their remit is to look after the common parts but when landlords put the building and its occupants at risk, then something surely needs to be done. In their reply they said that whilst they didn’t keep such a list, the London Borough of Camden did but Data Protection issues would prevent them from divulging it, even to the Directors of the company that own the freehold!

Asbestos Surveyor Won’t Carry Out Survey Of Derelict Flat! (and I’m not surprised!)

We have been struggling for literally years to get the owners of the derelict flat to the rear of the premises to do something about it.

Recently they sent an asbestos surveyor round but he refused to carry out the survey due to the horrific state of the flat. Rat excrement and urine was absolutely everywhere and he meant everywhere! It was absolutely appalling and the stench was no better. No wonder the tenant next door had said she could smell something not very pleasant!

So now we need to know what the next move will be and when it will be carried out! Honestly, this situation is like pulling teeth!

Derelict Flat Owners Make Next Move

Our managing agent was advised that further to the surveyor’s visit the owners have decided to schedule deep cleaning works within the flat within 5 working days. This will be followed by another visit of the asbestos surveyor and then removal of the boards.

Derelict Flat Referred To My Local Councillor

Well it’s gone way past the five days and I have had enough. I have now referred the flat to my local councillor who is going to approach the environmental health department. Not only is the flat covered in rat excrement and urine, rats have also been spotted by other residents and yet again we have been fobbed off by the owners.

Environmental Health Visit Derelict Flat

The response from the Council was rapid and I notified the owners office that Environmental Health were going to attend as having a rat infestation had STILL not resulted in them actually doing anything. I advised that we would be removing the boards in order for the interior to be viewed and suggested that they might like to send a representative to attend (with keys) to save us damaging the door too much. As it turned out, the guy from Environmental Health had no wish to step inside and got all he needed by gingerly sticking his head through the window, probably not wishing to get rat excrement on his person from the droppings on the window sill!

After the initial assessment, I received a telephone call from Environmental Health advising that a letter was due to be sent that day to Freshwaters asking what they intend to do with their rat-infested and derelict property.

Whilst they are hoping to hear from them sooner rather than later, advising of their intent, we have been asked to wait 3 weeks. If during that time they do not reply, the flat will be entered and the rats dealt with in default and Freshwaters will be charged accordingly.

If on the other hand they do come back during these 3 weeks stating their intent but do not carry it out, we will be advised accordingly as to what the next step should be.

In any event the rats are the number one priority.

What A Coincidence!

By the most amazing co-incidence Freshwater sent someone to clear out the derelict flat and disinfect it, the very morning that the letter was due to be sent to them!

I have notified Environmental Health of the clearance and been advised that we should still wait for a response from the letter as areas like the toilet pan will need to be sealed, as will any other access point that the rats are currently gaining entry by.

Anti-Social Tenant Calls On Neighbouring House For Help

During a recent convercation with one of our neighbours, it transpired that our anti-social tenant had approached him a while back and asked him if he would help fix his electrical problem. Our neighbour told him that it was surely the responsibility of his landlord but he agreed to take a look (probably to get rid of him). He subsequently found out the problem is not just down to the fact that £57 is owing on the electricity key meter but that the meter itself has been hotwired which is why the electrics went bang! He is also prepared to state, should we need it, that the flat is a death-trap.

When landlord later returned my call it also transpired that he had recently been to the flat himself and was aware of the hot-wired meter but needed to get under the floorboards. He has been trying to get the tenant to move some things to enable him to do so. I would have thought that doing something about the meter situation would have made more sense but there you go.

After getting into a little debate over his service charge arrears for good measure, he has arranged to come to the tenants flat and then to come and see myself and Andy at 6pm the same evening

This is primarily because he gave me the clear impression he wasn’t bothering with his service charges because he couldn’t see what work had been done to date. I therefore suggested that he some and see me for a guided tour on what has been done to date with the limited funding we have received over the years.

Slum Landlord Pays Us A Visit

The landlord duly turned up (which I admit was a bit of a surprise as he doesn’t usually take any notice of anyone) Andy escorted him to the roof (he didn’t really seem to want to see anywhere else) and then we had a rather long chat with him, drawing particular attention to his own arrears situation. One of the things that was somewhat amusing was his constant referall to all the money he had paid up front, when we first took over management. Easy to shut him up though when I brought out my records and reminded him that he hadn’t actually contributed anything up-front and has been in arrears for years!

We also finally got him to agree to serve a section 21 notice on his drunk and anti-social tenant, although we did ask for a section 8 notice (accelerated possession). He asked for proof of his tenants behaviour (which I found a bit strange considering all the letters he has been sent), and he has also requested witness statements which we are in the process of gathering.

I have to say at this point that I do not believe that he will commence proceedings and if does, he will actually get the notice correct but that obviously remains to be seen.

The Meter Hot-Wirer Confesses!

After the landlord had visited, there was yet another incident over the weekend involving his tenant, causing us to speak to some acquaintances of his. One of them admitted to us that they were the ones who had hot wired the meter for him which indicates it has been in this state for a considerable amount of time.

With this information we decided to report the situation to the police. We have a criminal reference number and the police have passed the information to the tenants service supplier for further investigation.

Water Pouring Into Walkway At Midnight!

One night we heard the sound of pouring water around midnight. On going down to investigate we not only found water pouring through the floor of flat 4 into the walkway, it was also pouring from somewhere down the wall and bouncing off the hopper (which may or may not be blocked) and is now starting to come through the support beam. I am also concerned as to how we rectify any problems in that area because of the close proximity of the neighbouring property.

Andy got the tenant to take a look so he could report it himself to the owner but quite frankly we need the help of the insurers to trace where this is coming from.

Scratching Our Heads!

After speaking to the tenant again over the weekend, we’ve been advised that the shower installation has been checked and they cannot see where any leak is coming from. So, with regard to my earlier request for some assistance from our buildings insurers, I asked our managing agent to check whether shower trays are included in the buildings insurance policy. I also said that if weaknesses in the pipework or the support beam were exascerbating the problems then it would be appreciated if someone from the insurance company could at least come to site to examine things for themselves rather than leave us wandering around scratching our heads!

A Risk Assessor Is Coming!

I’m very pleased that a risk assessor has finally been appointed by the insurance company to attend and inspect the water damage!

Someone Nicked Our Garden Tap!

Around 6.30am one morning I heard the sound of running water and at first thought it was from one of the rear flats that had previously had a pretty serious leak. On closer inspection however, I found our garden tap had gone along with some copper piping! Fortunately both were replaced later on in the day before our resident caretaker noticed, which saved him a trip to our flat to ask where the bloody hell was his tap!

We Are Not a Dumping Ground!

Actually we are because no matter how hard we try, every so often we get something like this. It’s only cardboad I know but all they have to do is tear it up and put it in a black plastic bag. Hardly rocket science!

Anti-Social Behaviour Team: Can You Help?

I decided to contact the council Anti-Social Behaviour Team for assistance regarding some legislation. Under s222 of the Local Government Act 1972 an injunction can be obtained in a county court to prevent a public nuisance, i.e. begging, drug dealing and prostitution, , the first two our particular anti-social tenant carries out. These injunctions can be quicker than obtaining a criminal prosecution and use civil rules of evidence. Courts can attach a power of arrest to the injunction and can also temporarily close any premises (including common parts of flats) associated with significant and persistent disorder or nuisance.

What I wanted to know essentially was whether any of this could apply to an individual.

Yet More Trouble!

This time a female associate of our anti-social tenant caused yet more trouble on the block. There was an altercation between them at the front gate as she alleged he assaulted her. This was followed by her following him to the rear of the premises, shouting and swearing and kicking over one of the refuse bins as she went. She refused to leave when Andy asked her to and she had to be physically restrained by him when she picked up a shovel with the intent to commit GBH on the tenant. All this led to the police being called (again).

We have asbestos on the balconies in boxing panels above the doors of the ground Floor and first floor flats and also in a redundant base panel on the ground floor that need to be removed. However, due to the amount of work that is currently being carried out on our roof, we have requested a quote for it’s inspection as it remains undisturbed.

Uprooted Tree In The Garden (fortunately only a very small one)
The recent high winds have completely uprooted a small tree in our garden which we requested be removed as soon as possible as it’s a health and safety issue (trip hazard). We asked for a professional garden waste removal firm as we need the root, (which is rotted) removed, as that too could be a trip hazard if it remains. It was dealt with on the same day, which we were very pleased about!

Leak from Flat 4

Another letter was received from our insurance company regarding the leak which basically said that they were unable to offer any financial assistance because the photographic evidence suggested that the fungus growing in the leaking area has occurred over a considerable amount of time and would be excluded under gradual wear and tear. The couldn’t believe that the damage could be caused as a result of one event. If they were to get futher information then they would be prepared to consider the matter further but otherwise their repudiation stands.

Hole In The Ground

We spotted a small hole underneath Flat 4 and requested it gets filled in before it gets any bigger as a heel could be easily caught in it.
There’s also some cracks round the back that need seeing to. In fact everywhere could do with some work but we’re focusing on the most prominent cracks to the rear of the building.

These were temporarily made safe shortly after the request was made and we are now waiting on an estimate for the permanent work.

Next Doors Tree

Our neighbour has been really helpful about the tree, having not only telehoned our managing agent but apologising for being slow to respond to a recent letter. He delayed writing because of trying to arrange for a tree surgeon to look at the problem so he could relay some positive news. However most of those recommended to him were either no longer in the business or have moved out of the area. Several leads he followed turned out to be steel erectors, roofers or even kitchen fitters willing to have a go. Not what he was expecting at all!

He’s now making his own arrangements and hopes to be able to report that the tree has been cut down very soon.

Contacting the Tree Clinic

I’d been thinking about our neighbour making arrangements to have the tree completely cut down and to that end I contacted a company called the Tree Clinic as I didn’t want to make the problems any worse. After explaining the situation to one of the Directors of the company, he advised that I should get a surveyor to fully assess the damage to the wall and surrounding area and to write up a report. Were we to use the Tree Clinic, they would base their remedy on the contents of that survey.

They would ensure that felling the tree in one go would be the best course of action because sometimes it is best to remove a mature tree in stages for example, 40 – 50% of the crown (with the tree being left for 6 months to a year) then a further percentage until the tree is fully removed.

Other factors to consider are the potential issue of water that is not taken away from the tree going somewhere else and what type of ground the tree is rooted in.

As a result of this telephone conversation we decided to ask our property manager to request that our neighbour put a hold on felling the tree until we act on the advice of the Tree Clininc.