Financial miseries for a number of leaseholders in Enfield

The Decent Homes external development scheme has brought quite a lot of money to the London Borough of Enfield to repair and make the homes decent for the use of the residents that live there.

The boroughs have been given extra funding from central Government under this scheme, but the side effect has created financial miseries for a substantial number of people who happen to be the leaseholders of these high-rise flats.

My wife has a one-bedroom small leasehold property in a high-rise flat from which she gets a monthly meagre income of around £650. From last year she has started paying nearly £6,000 in instalments for the replacement of the lifts. Before that commitment is finished, another bill of £18,000 has arrived for the Decent Homes scheme to pay for the general development of the building to include replacement of windows and doors, irrespective of their condition. This is in addition to the service charge of more than £1,000 a year.

As a previous councillor and mayor of the borough, I was approached by many leaseholders in similar situations who unwittingly bought the leaseholds and are now paying the price.

There was one case in which the wife was suffering from cancer and received a bill of £22,000 to pay. To my knowledge. many of them let the property, which enabled them to buy another property to live in. The rental from the leaseholds helped them to pay for the mortgage of that property. I do not see why the leaseholders should be charged for the improvements when the private landlords of houses or flats are qualified to benefit from house improvement grants generally.

The financial predicament facing many leaseholders are such that it needs immediate attention from the local authority so that leaseholders may not become homeless themselves with financial burdens on them.

Chaudhury Anwar

MBE Former Mayor of London Borough of Enfield