COST OF LIVING
Eyesore scaffolding has ruined my home for the past five years – now we’re being charged £99,000 EACH for repairs
Others claimed the scaffolding has created conditions for antisocial behaviour
FURIOUS residents have slammed eyesore scaffolding that has ruined their home for the past five years.
Disgruntled residents living at Old Market Square in Tower Hamlets, London, claim that the scaffolding was initially put up to treat concrete problems in 2019.
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But they say the scaffolding has never come down due to an "admin error" at Tower Hamlets Council.
Last month, leaseholders at Old Market Square were issued Section 20 consultation notices by the council.
Locals have been left fuming after being asked by the council for up to £99,000 per flat to carry out other external refurbishment works, depending on the size of each flat.
As part of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, a Section 20 notice is given to leaseholders if their freeholder or management company wishes to carry out any major works which will cost over £250.
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Sarah Barraclough, a leaseholder on the estate, estimates she has replied to around 70 different email chains asking the council about the scaffolding.
Sarah and other leaseholders had threatened to take the council to court and have sought legal action after years of "begging and being fobbed off".
Sarah and her partner were issued a Section 20 consultation notice amounting to £95,000, which she claims is not only inaccurate but has been "completely fabricated".
The couple's Section 20 notice shows the council wanted to charge them £30,591.46 to supply and fit "keep shut" signs to store doors and lift lobbies as part of "fire safety works".
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However, the block they live in doesn't have any lifts.
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Sarah told : "We don't have lifts, and you're telling me a 'keep shut' sign is going to cost £30,000?
"How have they worked this out? It cannot be correct, how can you send this bill to people for £95,000 which is a life-altering amount of money."
The residents of Old Market Square are made up of leaseholders, private renters and social housing tenants who all share the same goal, for the scaffolding to be removed.
Council tenants do not pay for the works to be done, however it is the leaseholders who will have to pay the costs to their freeholder, the council, which range from £38,000 to £99,000.
Sarah added: "We do have a duty as leaseholders to pay for major works, it's something that you know so you brace yourselves for that, but you also wonder would it have been cheaper had the work been done 5 years ago? Has this building degraded more?"
How have they worked this out? Billing people £95,000 is a life-altering amount of money."
Sarah Barraclough
"The council says you can pay it off over four years, which sounds nice but then you do the maths, that's £2,000 per month, who's got that much?"
In response, the council have said some costs had been "incorrectly allocated", but that the overall cost was correct.
The council is now withdrawing the Section 20 consultation notices and is getting a third party to validate the scope of works and costs.
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson told The Sun that they are not requesting money from leaseholders for the removal of scaffolding and that costs are for works only.
Meanwhile, Afruz Miah,said it was unfair that his block and home where he has lived for almost 40 years was still surrounded by scaffolding.
Afruz said: "They should remove the scaffolding, it's not fair. They took scaffolding from the other buildings but for our building they didn't take it away. Work was done everywhere but our building [has been] left."
George Jennings is a leaseholder who lives in another block of flats and has had scaffolding outside his home more recently in September 2023.
George says he wasn't initially told that scaffolding would be going up outside his flat, and said a crack has appeared in the wall of his flat after the scaffolding was put up.
'DISGRACE'
He explained: "They said someone would be doing work in February [2024], someone went up there and said it needs repairing and then they said 'we don't know when it's going to be repaired'.
"It seems such a waste, [the council] don't care, they just don't care what it's like to have scaffolding outside your house."
The disgruntled local added: "They didn't tell me it was going to happen, which I think is a disgrace. We've had people climbing it, we've had a pigeon infestation, it's dodgy."
George's neighbour, Adam Jones, has called the situation "deeply bizarre and concerning" and said the scaffolding has created conditions for antisocial behaviour.
The Sun understand the council has written to leaseholders to apologise for the Section 20 consultation notice it sent out and has provided a new and accurate version of the costs.
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson said: “We understand the scaffolding has been up for some time and is an issue for residents. We accept this situation is far from acceptable and are doing our best to get to a resolution.
“Works need to take place to maintain the structural safety of the building. Unfortunately, there have been various challenges over a number of years that have led to delays.
"We have been consulting with residents over the past year and had hoped works would have started many months ago.
“We accept there was an issue with the supplementary information enclosed in the section 20 pack that was sent out to residents.
Some costs were incorrectly listed, including the amounts listed for signage, but the overall cost was correct. We wrote to leaseholders to apologise for this error and provided an accurate list of the costs.
“Last week we held a meeting with residents and have agreed to withdraw this notice.
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"An independent review will be undertaken to validate the scope of works and costings and hope this gives residents peace of mind.
“We understand that the high cost causes concern for leaseholders and are currently reviewing the options that are available to support them.”
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