Big win for HLA!

The Haringey Leaseholders’ Association has scored a major victory in its battle for leaseholders’ and residents’ rights. One day before the Judicial Review hearing that was scheduled for this last Wednesday 14^th June at the High Court in London Homes for Haringey and the London Borough of Haringey jointly capitulated to the HLA.

They have agreed that Homes for Haringey will quash the decision to abolish the provisions for supporting borough-wide groups such as the HLA and that the original consultation on this issue that had been criticised by the HLA will be re-run to take into account the concerns raised by the HLA.

They have further agreed, that in a departure from normal protocol, the HLA will be allowed to address the Board of Homes for Haringey on this issue. In some ten years of an occasionally stormy relationship this would actually mark the first time the Association has been allowed to meet the Board officially. It is thus a welcome step forward.

HFH and the Council have to bear the entirety of the costs they have incurred.

It has also emerged that the social housing regulator, the Homes and Communities Agency, wrote to Haringey Council shortly before the hearing to say that there had been ‘insufficient’ consultation about the proposed new management agreement between the Council and the ALMO. This came on top of concerns that it was legally arguable that there is currently no lawful contract between the two bodies. As a result Clare Kober, Leader of the Council, took last-minute steps ahead of the hearing to sign a key decision under the Council’s urgency procedures purporting to retrospectively ratify everything done by the ALMO since their last contract expired on 31.3.16.

Lloyd Grandson, HLA Chair, commented “It is a scandal that HFH and the Council should have waited until the last minute to cave in when this all could and should have been sorted out long ago. In fact there was never any need for it to go to court at all. Instead of treating leaseholders with respect and making proper arrangements for their voice to be heard the other side have spent well over £100,000 for nothing. After our grant was only ever £1,000 pa and even that was discretionary. And then you have this chaos over the legality of the management agreement. It’s just staggering. Nonetheless the HLA looks forward to being able to put all this behind us and establish a proper working relationship with HFH. Only then will we be able to deal with the numerous problems in the service amongst them of course now the threatened demolitions.”