LEASEHOLDERS CONSULTATION
EVENTS
26TH FEBRUARY 2015
SUMMARY
OF
MEETING
The leaseholder Consultation Events where held at: Retford Council Chambers, Retford Town Hall on Friday the
26th February 2015 between 2.00pm to 4.00pm.
Agenda
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News Update.
Management fee
Fire Prevention works.
2014-15 Service Charges
Annual Gas Servicing.
Open Forum.
What do you really know about being a leaseholder?
Leaseholders News Update
 The latest Leaseholders Focus Group was held in August 2014, productive
and positive. Minutes of the meeting can be found on the A1 Housing web site
www.a1housing.co.uk
 2015 –16 Leaseholder Service Level Agreement approved by Focus Group.
Can also be found on A1Housing web site www.a1housing.co.uk
 Service Charges - no increase for Buildings Insurance and Window
Cleaning, small increase on the Management Fee.
 Fire Prevention Works ongoing. All Leaseholders are being offered smoke
and heat detectors (free of charge).
Subject to access being made available.
 What do you really know about being a leaseholder? Test yourself.
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MANAGEMENT FEE HISTORY
The Management fee was set in 1985 when legislation allowed for a fee to be
charged. A token fee was set at the time by B.D.C. and was only increased by the
rate of inflation each year. In 2010 the Management Fee was £18.97
The Audit Commission had raised concerns over the inadequacy of the management
fee during inspections.
A1 Housing commissioned an Independent Consultant to look at a number of issues
including the Leaseholder Management Fee.
A1 Housing commissioned an Independent Consultant to look at a number of issues
including the Leaseholder Management Fee.
A1 Housing carried out consultation with all leaseholders in January 2011,
Leaseholders were invited to make written comments in relation to the increase, and
these would be passed onto BDC for discussion.
The £85.50 (plus VAT) was approved by BDC; however, the increase would be
implemented over a three year period.
CURRENT MANAGEMENT FEE
The A1 Housing Management fee for 2013-14 was £85.50 + VAT = £102.60.
The new 2014-15 Management Fee has been increased in line with councils rents.
This is an increase of 2.2%.
Therefore the new management fee is calculated as:£85.50 + 2.2% + = £87.38 + VAT 20% = £104.85.
An annual increase of £2.25 (Inclusive of VAT)
The A1 Housing Management Fee
It covers the overall running cost of the leasehold service by A1 Housing. We have a
legal duty to collect from leaseholders their share of the costs of managing and
maintaining their block of flats.
Costs include: Calculating, apportioning, billing and collection costs of service charges.
(Including debt recovery)
 Calculating, apportioning, billing and collection costs of service charges.
(Including debt recovery)
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 All communications, including correspondence, updates, newsletters, internet
web site, consultation.
 Estate Management, ASB Team, Communal Grounds Maintenance.
 Using resources from other areas, Legal Services, Customer Services,
Information Technology, Insurance Officer, Technical Design.
 Asset Management and Capital Works.
FIRE PREVENTION WORKS
 Fire Statistics: Great Britain April 2013 to March 2014.
 There were 39,600 dwelling fires in Great Britain, with 258 fire fatalities.
 103 of the above deaths in Great Britain occurred in properties where no
alarm was installed.
 Smoke alarm ownership increased rapidly from 8% in 1988 to 70% in 1994 in
England, and has continued to rise in recent years to 88% in 2011.
All Leaseholders are being offered smoke and heat detectors (free of
charge).Subject to access being made available
Further details telephone 01909 535184.
Leaseholders should ensure that they read the guidance notes when smoke and
heat detectors have been installed. Please carry out an alarm “test” as stated. If they
fail to work contact A1 Housing immediately. Telephone: 0800 590542.
Also ensure that any fire doors to your property or communal fire doors are closed
when not in use.
Please check that the door closures are working correctly.
If you live in a flat with a communal area, you need to make sure that your external
door is a fire check door and will resist fire for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Fire risk assessment surveys are being carried out and if we find your door does not
meet the fire door criteria we will contact you and let you know that you need to
replace it.
A1 HOUSING CAN HELP!
We can supply and install a fire safe door for you. After an initial deposit you can pay
in installments over a maximum period of up to 24 months.
If you are interested please contact Alastair Wild on 01909 534432 or e-mail
[email protected]
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Alternatively you can make your own arrangements for a new door to be installed,
but you must still contact Alastair to ensure the correct fire door specification and a
bonifide installer is used. An inspection will also take place once the work is
complete.
LEASEHOLDERS 2014-15 SERVICE CHARGES
Ground Rent
 This is unchanged at £10.00 paid in advance
 Payable by all leaseholders.
Buildings Insurance
 Current year cost is £57.82
 No increased this year
 This is also paid in advance
Communal Lighting
 Variable in all blocks dependant on usage
Communal Area Cleaning
 Following a tender process, Nottinghamshire County Council retained the
contract. There is no initial increase in costs.
 The cost to each leaseholder is variable dependant on size of areas cleaned
and number of properties in the block.
Window Cleaning
 No increase this year
 The contractor has started cleaning windows inside (4 times per year) and
outside (6 x per year). We anticipate this will provide improvements in
standards of cleaning by having a sole contractor.
Management Fee
 Annual increase of 2.2%.(£2.25)
 Management fee £104.85 includes VAT.
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Please note that there are various ways of paying your service charges.
 Direct debit, cheque, debit card, etc.
 Please see the back of the service charge statement for all payment methods
ANNUAL GAS SERVICE LEGISLATION
If you rent out your property, as a Landlord you have obligations placed on you by
the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to ensure that any gas
appliances, fitting or flues that you provide for your tenants are safe for use.
Failure to meet these obligations can lead to criminal prosecution by breaking the
regulations
Please arrange for a gas safety check to be carried out by a Gas Safe Register™
engineer annually. Please ensure that you and your tenant are given a copy of the
annual gas safety check on completion (Landlords Gas Safety Record, LGSR).
We will require either a copy of your current LGSR document or a telephone call to
the A1 Housing Heating Department on (01909 533245) to indicate who carried out
your last gas safety check and when.
OPEN FORUM
A PowerPoint quiz then took place “What do you really know about being a
leaseholder?” This was informative and enjoyable, all attendees participated.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE AND ATTENTION, ANY QUESTIONS?
Discussions took place within the group with various questions, answers and advice
given. All leaseholders were acknowledged and thanked for their attendance and
involvement during and after the presentation and quiz.
CONTACT DETAILS
Leaseholders general enquires
[email protected] or 01909 533243
Smoke and Fire Detectors.
[email protected] or 01909 535184
Service charge enquires
[email protected] or 01909 534531
Contact your local Neighbourhood Housing Manager
www.a1housing.co.uk (Leaseholder page)
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