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Brian Potter (front left) with protesters outside Islington’s housing offices in Highbury on Monday |
Demonstrators angry at poll ban stage homes HQ protest
Housing chiefs accused of interfering in elections to leaseholders’ group
DOZENS of demonstrators gathered outside the Highbury offices of Islington’s housing chiefs on Monday in a protest over their right to elect their own representatives
The protesters complained that Homes for Islington (HfI) is “interfering” in the democratic process of electing 15 directors to newly formed independent Islington Leaseholders Association (ILA).
The borough’s 11,000 leaseholders, who have bought former council homes, have agreed to pay a 40p weekly levy to fund the new association, which has an office at Holloway Road library.
But HfI has laid down stipulations on who can stand. Among those barred are leaseholders who owe service charges for more than a month, anyone who belongs to another local housing organisation and HfI employees.
Also barred are residents having major work done that has not yet been approved by HfI.
Brian Potter, chairman of the Federation of Islington Tenants Associations, has accused HfI of trying to undermine the democratic process.
He added: “We are an independent organisation. That’s why we pay 40p a week to fund ourselves. Stopping people who owe service charges from being elected precludes thousands of leaseholders who have bills of £30,000 to £40,000 to pay for major work.
“They are the very people who want to stand because they are angry about the situation.
“Barring people who work for other organisations stops people like me from standing.”
The demonstrators have the backing of HfI resident board member and former Islington councillor, Eddie Niles.
He said: “From what I understand, the leaseholders have a point. I believe the election of directors should be independent of HfI.
“The leaseholders funded themselves and HfI are simply the custodians. It is not for HfI to determine the criteria of who should be elected to the leaseholders’ board.”
The new ILA was set up following a ballot of Islington’s leaseholders and will be funded through a levy on their annual service charges.
A ballot of leaseholders, independently conducted by the Electoral Reform Society, will elect the new ILA board in November.
HfI chief executive Eamon McGoldrick said that, to ensure a professional and objective approach, an independent consultant, with experience in establishing tenants’ and leaseholders’ associations, had been appointed to help set up the ILA.
He added: “This does include some rules on eligibility to stand to avoid conflicts of interest with other bodies and to ensure leaseholders are properly represented.
“Although ILA board members must not be in financial arrears on their property this does not preclude them going through agreed dispute processes or payment plans. These are the same standards that are applied to candidates to the HfI board.” |
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I was just wondering "has the Tribune managed to confirm or discount the illegal nature of the 40p charge with regard to the terms of the leases?"
If there were going to be criteria excluding leaseholders from being fully involved with their own elf-funded organisation, the time to declare this was before they agreed to pay 40p every week for independence. At the HfI Open Forum Eamon Mc Goldrick described the money collected as the council's (only collected by HfI) - I doubt that anybody did or would vote to give the council 40p per year, much less 40p per week.
Thomas Cooper |
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