Dear all,

Happy New Year to you. Thanks for your massive support for this petition and a special thankyou to those who donated (nearly £1,500 in total) to help the petition get even more views and signatures. The total number of signatures will soon reach 5,000 and there will be a special event to mark that (details to follow)   


In the meantime I enclose a post below in relation to the costs being charged by Rendall and Rittner to leaseholders at Chelsea Bridge Wharf in relation to the Building Safety Act 2022.

https://chelseabridgewharf.org.uk/2023/12/31/cbw-400000-bill-for-fire-safety/

These charges are budgeted by Rendall and Rittner at around £350 per apartment (nearly £400,000 in total)  which does not include any changes which might be needed to apartment doors to be compliant with the new legislation).   

Although this article is based on data from Chelsea Bridge Wharf it seems likely that other developments will have similar costs, pro rata.  So I am asking you to share data from your development in terms of what you are being charged by Rendall and Rittner in relation to the Building Safety Act, so that we can compare and analyse, and get independent expert analysis. We are also interested in similar data from developments managed by other agents. 

Please contact me, Mike O'Driscoll at residents@chelseabridgewharf.org.uk

While there may be legitimate additional costs arising from the bill, initial analysis makes us very sceptical of some of these charges. 

Obviously the best way to combat these charges is independent expert advice and exchange of information between developments so please get in touch so that we can work together to resist any unjustified charges.

From speaking to people at many developments throughout 2023, a very common theme (apart from the high and unjustified service charge increases  and poor service from Rendall and Rittner) has been the undemocratic nature of many residents' associations/Right to Manage companies.

Many residents' associations/Right to Manage companies are doing great work and it has been a pleasure to work with them and hear their stories and offer support or advice where possible. 

However, there are many cases where  a small group of self-important/entitled people take control and do their best to supress criticism of the residents' association or free discussion amongst residents, do not consult on important decisions and refuse to hold fair elections. Such Residents' Associations may form close relationships with Rendall and Rittner and can often be an obstacle to Right to Manage.

This has certainly been the case at Chelsea Bridge Wharf where the residents' association told residents for 2 years that Right to Manage was not possible, that Rendall and Rittner were improving. Those who disagreed were bullied and excluded. Indeed I was forced to leave the CBWRA committee following an ultimatum from the then then Chair Stephen Thompson, to take down this petition, following lobbying from Rendall and Rittner.

 Although preparation is now underway for RTM at CBW the residents' association have never given any apology or explanation for two wasted years and are unwilling to give clear information to residents about progress and any criticism of the committee (unelected) or co-chairs (unfairly elected) is not possible unless you want to face online bullying or have your CBW 'app' account closed. The co-Chairs of CBWRA (Larissa Villar Hauser and Louis-Sebastian Kendall) closed my CBW app account and say there are 'legal reasons' why they cannot discuss this arbitrary act of censorship but they are unable to tell me or my solicitor what the legal reasons are or to provide any evidence to support this claim. It is of course arbitrary censorship and prevents fair elections. 

The former chair of the CBW RA has been the subject of several complaints to the Police but remains on the CBWRA committee and a Director of the Right to Manage company. 

Directors of the CBW RTM company are not elected so decisions about how leaseholders' money is spent will remain out of our hands, even if Right to Manage is achieved. 

If you have a story you would like to share about your residents' association /RTM company please get in touch as I am working on a piece about this and there is considerable media interest. You can certainly remain anonymous if preferred.

Despite the above, I think 2024 will be a better year for leaseholders. Some reforms have come in which, although weak, are a step in the right direction and we may expect more from a change of government. The Fleecehold scandal has now received such widespread media coverage that politicians can no longer ignore this scandal which has had such a deep impact on millions of people. The tide is turning so keep on keepin' on!

Mike O'Driscoll