Higham Hill councillor Patrick Smith has defended the rights of leaseholders in a letter to this week’s Waltham Forest Guardian:

“The legal rights and entitlements of leaseholders must be at the heart of all project works on their homes which are carried out on behalf of the Council.

Leaseholders should also be free to state when and how the project is done.

We must avoid residents being billed high amounts in one go and introduce an upper monthly limit charging structure.  This policy would respect individuals and the more vulnerable leaseholders, whom do not deserve the shock of a sudden debt in this current financial crisis.

In Higham Hill our leaseholders have told us in Carlton Road and Garnett Road that they would like their views to be fully understood in the public consultation process and to remain fully informed and updated throughout.

I advocate an explanatory booklet be issued to each leaseholder setting out their rights and entitlements and the duty of social landlords. 

The borough must aim for best practice to create a close watch on leaseholder rights in future, especially where our elderly and vulnerable families in Higham Hill are concerned”.