This Leaseholders' Forum was scheduled to elect its new Chair, Vice Chair and Communications Member after the triennial elections, receive updates from the Associate Cabinet Member for Leaseholders and the Head of Leaseholder Services, and consider Camden's new Asset Management Strategy. The Forum was also scheduled to receive presentations on the impact of HS2 on leaseholders in Camden and a report from its Major Works Working Group.

Asset Management Strategy

The report pack includes a presentation entitled “Asset Management Strategy”. This states that Camden Council will require a strategy “to demonstrate how it can be compliant with regulations, secure financial resources and invest in quality housing.”¹ The document goes on to say:

The strategy will outline an investment plan for Camden’s homes from 2025-2029 based on the Stock Condition Survey, current regulations, financial resources and resident needs. It is part of a 30-year financial business plan, so it needs to respond to current priorities while ensuring the council is on path to achieve longer term goals.

The document summarises the challenges facing the council, including the costs of compliance with the new regulatory regime under the Regulator for Social Housing, the increase in construction costs caused by inflation, and the impact of the cost of living crisis on residents. The document states that the total “Identified Investment Need” is £1 billion, but the council only has £670 million in its “Proposed Minimum Investment” for the next five years.

Impact of HS2 on Leaseholders

A document entitled “CLF 04.12.24 HS2” states that leaseholders in Camden are being adversely affected by the construction of the HS2 rail link. The document says that the construction work is causing:

• an inability to obtain mortgages due to concerns about structural issues
• increased mortgage costs, at times causing leaseholders to go onto tracker mortgages
• health and safety issues, requiring more frequent building surveys, and an increase in pollution, especially during winter.

The report states that HS2 is also adversely affecting the “Quality of life for all residents including elderly and disabled” by causing road closures and increasing traffic congestion. The document goes on to say that these problems have been compounded by a lack of coordination between HS2 and Transport for London, causing more bus cancellations. Finally, the document states that the construction work has led to an increase in pests, with rats “causing damage to car wires”.

The report raises particular concerns about The Combe, a block of flats in Munster Square, which had to be evacuated because of suspected structural damage. The report states that similar issues are likely to affect buildings in Clarence Gardens, a nearby street.

The document calls for more regular reporting by HS2 and more information on:

• the safety of buildings near the construction site
• compensation
• rehousing schemes
• community resources
• open spaces
• noise reduction
• leasehold valuations.

Major Works Working Group

The report of the Major Works Working Group makes a number of recommendations for consideration by the Forum. It starts with the observation that the new membership of the Forum and the Working Group should familiarise themselves with its past activities.

The report then summarises the responses to the questions about Major Works in the recent Leaseholder Satisfaction Survey. It states that only 21.5% of leaseholders expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done on Major Works projects, and nearly 70% said they were dissatisfied with the value for money of the works.

The report suggests that the Forum should consider the findings of Cllr James Slater's report, “Report of the Cabinet Adviser on Improving Services to Camden Leaseholders and Advocating for Leaseholders”. The report is included in the document pack as “JS report to CLF Nov 24”. Cllr Slater’s report states that:

it is essential that leaseholders have faith in Camden to ensure their money is being spent as best it can be, so I recommend that work is done to improve how Camden holds its contractors accountable.

The report states that the document pack includes Camden’s formal response to the Slater Report which is entitled “A strategy to tackle overcrowding and purchase family friendly homes”. This indicates that Camden is planning to establish a “Clerk of Works function” to monitor the performance of its contractors.

The report goes on to say that the Working Group had met with Sinéad Burke, Head of Property Asset Management, on 28 October 2024, but the presentation did not “include detail on the financials of the budget” as requested by the Chair of the Forum.

The report suggests that the Forum should ask Camden how it will be implementing the Asset Management Strategy and what measures it will be adopting to monitor the costs and ensure the projects are managed effectively.

The report then turns to the question of how Camden communicates information to leaseholders about Major Works projects. The Working Group had previously asked leaseholders to provide feedback on the timing and format of this information, but very little has been received. The report suggests that the new members of the Forum should provide Camden with their views on how this information should be communicated.

The report states that, at its meeting on 4 November 2024, the Working Group had asked Leanne Evans, Programme Manager and Member of South Team, whether there was an intermediate type of fire alarm control unit between those designed for individual properties and the LD2 control units “with the capacity to serve 20 flats”. This question arose from the perception that Camden was using unnecessarily expensive control units in smaller buildings.

The report concludes with a lengthy discussion of the chronic problem of missed contractor appointments. It starts with the observation that the Forum had passed a resolution in September 2023 calling for Camden to include penalty clauses in its contracts and to introduce a scheme to compensate residents who experience missed appointments. The report then describes the history of the Forum’s engagement with Camden on this topic. It goes on to say that Susanne Afra, Head of Capital Works, had said that compensation was payable through Camden's Complaints Procedure, which pays a maximum of £25 for a missed appointment. The report questions whether the relevant documents and online forms clearly communicate this to leaseholders.

The report describes the procedure Camden adopted for its in-house operatives to record missed appointments. It notes that Camden had previously committed to introduce a system for centrally recording missed appointments, but it is not clear whether this has been implemented. The report suggests that the Forum should ask Camden whether this database exists and whether it requires contractors to follow the same procedure for recording missed appointments that it adopted for its in-house staff.

The report states that Camden had previously agreed to investigate the problem of missed appointments and to provide the Forum with concrete data. The report suggests that the Forum should ask Camden to provide this data.

The report concludes by suggesting that the Forum should:

• encourage Camden to update its online documentation and to publicise the compensation scheme.
• ask Camden whether it has implemented a central database for missed appointments by contractors.
• ask Camden to provide the data from its investigation into missed appointments.
• call for Camden to implement an effective remedial programme, coordinated across all relevant departments, and monitored by the Cabinet Member for Better Homes and the Associate Cabinet Member for Leaseholders.

Other Business

The agenda indicates that there were three other items scheduled for discussion:

• The election of the Chair, Vice Chair and Communications Member
• A report from the Associate Cabinet Member for Leaseholders, Cllr James Slater
• A report from the Head of Leaseholder Services and Housing Income

The agenda does not include any reports on these topics. It does, however, include the minutes of the previous meeting which took place on 18 September 2024, the Forum’s Constitution, and an update on its activities (“CLF Action sheet 2024- 18 September 24”). The document pack also includes an update from Cllr James Slater, which states that he had presented his “Report of the Cabinet Adviser on Improving Services to Camden Leaseholders and Advocating for Leaseholders” to Cabinet on 9 October 2024. Finally, the document pack includes a short document entitled “CLF Leaseholder Services Update - Nov 24” which states that “Discovery has concluded” on an IT system review that “looks to improve and rationalise these, including those used for tracking and managing customer contact, correspondence and case management.”