Agenda and minutes

Appendix A lists those Tenant and Resident Associations (TRAs), which have satisfactorily completed the registration process at the date of despatch of this agenda. It gives details of the representatives of those TRAs to be co-opted onto the DMC, in accordance with the constitution, together with the names of the substitutes.

Appendix B lists those TRAs whose registrations have lapsed. If a TRA wishes to register it must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM), open to all members, once a year (with an independent observer in attendance). The minutes must be sent to the Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Team together with a membership list and a completed registered form.

The DMC considered the list of registered tenant and resident associations (TRAs) provided by the Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Team listed at Appendix A to the agenda and those TRAs whose registration had lapsed, which were listed at Appendix B.

RESOLVED –

THAT the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lists be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Ian Schofield (Dudley Court TRA), Richard Walker (Red Lion TRA), Mark Quinlan (Trentishoe TRA), Michelle French (New Calthorpe Estate TRA), Julia Pascal (Flaxman Court TRA), Maureen Murphy and June Holland (Tybalds Close TRA), and Councillors Sue Vincent and Julian Fulbrook.

There were no announcements.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no items of urgent business.

Report of the Director of Finance

This report summarises the financial position of the Housing Revenue Account and the draft recommendations on rent and service charges to be made to the Cabinet in January 2025.

The report also seeks the views of the DMCs on the draft recommendations

The DMCs will retire to the following rooms to discuss the budget proposals separately:

Gospel Oak             - Council Chamber

Hampstead              - Committee Room 1

Camden Town         - Committee Room 2

Kentish Town          - Committee Room 5

Holborn                   - Committee Room 4

At 8.15pm the DMCs will be recalled to report the outcomes from their respective meetings if they wish.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Finance.

Preventative maintenance and repairs

There was discussion about how the lack preventative maintenance and prompt repairs led to increased cost in the longer term, while financially and emotionally affecting residents. The Falcon TRA representative highlighted continued issues with works from 2021 and drainage/sewage issues reported two weeks previously that had not been dealt with as the ticket had been lost twice.

Officers acknowledged the need to invest in housing stock and highlighted the published asset management strategy that outlined how funding would be secure for future years.

The Tybalds Close TA representative outlined quality issues arising from the Better Homes programme that had not been addressed at the time they were identified resulting in the situation worsening. Susanne Afra, Head of Capital Works explained that the defects process would usually take about a year. Officers agreed to investigate whether CCTV surveys had taken place.

ACTION: Susanne Afra, Head of Capital Works

Concerns were expressed about emergency repairs falling off the WhatsApp system. The new process was hit and miss. The Tybalds Close TRA representative highlighted a case with lighting not operating for four days. Officers agreed to feed back issues with the WhatsApp repairs reporting route.

ACTION: Susanne Afra, Head of Capital Works

The New Calthorpe Estate TA representative reported on problems with reporting and following up on a leak. Officers agreed to follow up on the case.

ACTION: Susanne Afra, Head of Capital Works

The Tybalds Close representatives discussed cases which indicated a lack of communication between parts of the organisation and contractors, resulting in works not being carried out for two months with a resident carrying out repairs in the end. Other emergencies with residents being without heating and water required days of chasing. It was noted that these processes resulted in wasted money. A resident of Powis House TRA stated that three residents had paid for their own repairs separately. Poor management of damp and mould in a flat resulting in further costs later on was also identified as a concern when an increase in charges was proposed.

There were suggestions that TRA representatives circumnavigated the repairs system by going directly to Heads of Service which should not be necessary. Concern was also expressed that repairs did not answer the phones for an extended period over lunchtime.

A Brunswick TA representative commented on calls about a lack of heating and hot water. Upon being advised that the heating was a communal issue, repairs would instead send out someone to deal with an individual issue resulting in a delay to repairs for a communal system. It was noted that many had resorted to installing electric heaters and paying the additional electricity charge. Officers agreed to follow up on recent issues with the communal heating system at Brunswick Estate.

ACTION: Susanne Afra, Head of Capital Works

Residents highlighted the Housing Ombudsman’s report on the Council’s complaint handling and a Bourne Estate TRA representative and commented on the TRA’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There was no urgent business.