Mike Wilkins
Mike Wilkins is chief executive of Ducane Housing Association, a small association in west London which specialises in delivering affordable homes to students and key workers. He is also the treasurer of the G320, a group which represents smaller housing associations in the capital.
Mike worked previously for Network Housing Group and Notting Hill Housing Association as a development manager, and then he was appointed director of North Lambeth Day Centre where he worked with homeless people.
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What you might need to think about in 2011
The season for vintage comedy has been in full swing. During one Laurel and Hardy rerun, I’m sure I heard Oliver Hardy say to Stan Laurel, ‘This is another fine Pickles you have got us into’ – although that might have been the sherry!
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Posts (34)
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Posted in: Parlour House rates
Derren, do other tenants with the same layout pay similar rents? There are no set rules for setting rent- it's up to each landlord.You might try asking (if you dont use the room as a bedroom) for a rent reduction, but I dont think you will have a high chance of success. They may take the view that the house was allocated to you on the basis that it is a 4 bed house and that even if you are not using the room as a bedroom that is the rent. Do you want to transfer to a smaller property? If so, the landlord will certainly be happy to advise.
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Posted in: Management Agency's of a Housing Association
I am interested in your question because it sounds like a rather complicated set up.
Housing associations do often outsource day to day repairs and structural repair work
but normally this is done under contract to the association concerned and not often
via a managing agent. What you describe sounds more like the position that a private
sector tenant might face with a landlord who outsources all the housing management
functions, including repairs, to a managing agent. You say that you don’t know who
owns the building, again unusual for a tenant of a housing association, unless you
are in a home that is privately leased by the association for a fixed term and the
landlord is a private landlord letting to the housing association. Without seeing
your tenancy agreement it is hard to advise on what your rights are with regards
to the other users of the buildings you live in. If the association does not own the
building and presumably leases it, then you will probably have little say over how
the owners decide to let the commercial elements. If it is a lease arrangement does
your stay there end at a particular point- it should say on your tenancy agreement.
I suggest you talk to the housing association about the service charges in the
first instance and ask them to clarify the points you have raised. -
Posted in: Should separate Communal areas have separate electricity meters?
David; I suggest that you talk to the landlord about removing or disconnecting the storage heaters in both communal lobbies.
If the night storage system works well, it should pick up heat during the off peak period at night, and provide warmth during
the day or part of it. If you can do without heating in the communal hall, this is probably your best bet. Night storage heaters,
f they are old, can also be quite inefficient and use large amounts of electricity for a small heat output. The heaters should
have a 'fused spur' (switch), that enables them to be turned off, but if they are pretty old then it might be best to remove
them altogether to give you more space in the entrance lobby. -
Posted in: CBL - medical information in assessment of banding
The sad fact is that time on the waiting list is not usually a significant factor for waiting list priority.
Probably the most significant measure is some degree of 'medical priority. The idea is that the more debilitated you are, the
higher your priority for re housing, particularly if your medical condition, (and where you live), stop you, for example, from
getting around or about of your home. This could be inability to negotiate steps or stairs,for example. But just being poorly,
even very ill, is not in itself enough.Other factors also count, like overcrowding and disrepair, particularly where any
disrepair has a negative effect.
Your local authority should be able to tell you say what kind of information they require about your health.This is either
a letter from your GP or consultant, or a form signed by them. Landlords may assess this either themselves or refer this to
a medical advisor who will say what priority this gives you. The key point here is that the information you present should be
confirming how your medical condition is affected, or made worse, by the place where you currently live. -
Posted in: Rent of decanted tenants still being counted as rent arrears
I would suggest that the way to treat this is to re classify the fire damaged propoerty as a 'management void', so this would fall into the
same category as properties which are undergoing major repairs or in a major works programme or similar. If this is not something that you
have come across thenit would be worth checking with colleagues or your boss - it might be that this would usefully apply to other
properties that you manage. One definition of a 'management void' might be a void that for some reason, falls outside the normal re-let
arrangememts or is void because you want, or have to, do some work that necessitates it being empty for longer than normal.
Whether you can eliminate the rent due on the fire damaged prpoerty I would doubt, it will still rack up a charge until it is re let, but
at least it will not count against your performance, as the matter is in the hands of the insurers. It would be sensible to check that
the insurance money, when it is recieved, is in two pots, first the cost of the capital works and second, the lost rent and service charge
income.You might also want to think about whether to re let the damaged flat to another tenant, once the works are complete, and leave the
decanted tenants in place. This is up to you and a lot more information required before I could comment, but, a one way move only
might suit you and the tenant. If they are moving back, then check that the legal position is tied up and their occupation of the decant
house or flat is a temporary one.