LEASEHOLDERS CAN NOW FIGHT BACK

Carlisle Councillor William Whalen today issues the  following press release on behalf of Carlisle Leaseholder Group

Leasehold Advisory Service to provide legal advice to leaseholders in Carlisle who are challenging Riverside Housing Association over breaches of their leases and unwarranted bills for so called fire safety upgrades and improvements.

Since the stock transfer of Carlisle’s social housing to the Riverside Group in 2002 Riverside Housing Association has consistently refused to comply with the terms of leases it inherited from Carlisle City Council.

Service charge billing no longer complies with lease terms and routine maintenance of the windows and doors of leasehold properties has never been undertaken.

This failure of maintenance over many years has in part led to Riverside attempting to charge leaseholders thousands of pounds for so called fire safety upgrades that in the main are a necessity because of years of neglect by the landlord.

Many leaseholders have received bills, and estimated bills, for thousands of pounds. 

The majority are pensioners who can ill afford to pay for Riverside’s failure to maintain the exterior of their homes. Other leaseholders have received exorbitant bills for reroofing their properties while Riverside fails to provide evidence that the work is genuine or that the bills that follow comply with the terms of individual leases.

Riverside has also refused to negotiate with the Carlisle Leaseholder Group and has taken to isolating leaseholders so that they can be bullied into complying with the association’s wishes.

In some cases these actions have led to leaseholders becoming suicidal as they find themselves battling alone against a publicly funded charity that treats them with utter contempt.

Leaseholders now have an opportunity to fight back.

Councillor Whelan has taken up the cases of Riverside leaseholders with the  Leasehold Advisory Service and it has agreed to hold an advisory meeting in Carlisle to discuss with leaseholders how best they can challenge Riverside over bills and service charges they have received.

This is the first opportunity that leaseholders in Carlisle have had to get free unbiased legal advice and it is imperative that any Riverside leaseholder who is experiencing difficulties with their landlord over any of the terms of their leases makes very effort to attend this meeting so that they can receive expert advice and so that the magnitude of the leasehold problems at Riverside Carlisle HA may be gauged and then acted upon.

Leaseholders are therefore invited to attend a meeting with the Leasehold Advisory Service in the Council Chamber of Carlisle City Council, The Civic Centre, Carlisle,  on Saturday 31 May 2014 at 10.00 am.

Any leaseholder who wishes to discuss this meeting further should contact Councillor Whalen. 

Contact details:

Councillor William Whalen, 32, Brook Street, Carlisle, CA1 2HY Tel: 01228 490668