Nov 8th Park court RA newsletter

Sprinklers Update 7/11/18: First Tier Tribunal Case Preparation Hearing 16/10/18 (simplified – it lasted 3 hours!)

Wandsworth Borough Council (WBC) was represented by its own lawyers.
11 leaseholders (from blocks across the borough) represented by their own lawyers.
Hearing attended by over 100 residents/leaseholders, Labour councillors & Malcom Grimston (Independent), and Brian Reilly (WBC Director of Housing).
Various points made by attendees; the judge said she found all points from residents v useful and showed strength of feeling against WBC’s actions. She commended residents/leaseholders for their contributions.
Leaseholders’ lawyer main argument was that WBC has the right under our leases to do “what is necessary” for the maintenance of block, but before the case can go any further the tribunal needs to know how WBC came to that decision that it was necessary to install sprinklers.
WBC said they made that decision on a global basis i.e. not block by block. WBC was questioned by us as to whether this really is sufficient to deem such action necessary for every single block (99/100 blocks will be affected).
Leaseholders’ lawyer asked judge to make WBC show us how they came to the decision and what evidence it is based on, and that such a decision really had to be on a block by block basis to make any sense of the word necessary.
Judge made the order that WBC must make a clear case submission to the tribunal (and us), backed up with evidence, as to how they came to the decision that their sprinkler proposal is necessary. And also that WBC should provide detailed evidence of costs of proposed works. WBC must do this by mid-December, before the case goes any further.

What next?

We wait for WBC to come back with their detailed case submission.
Next case preparation hearing (i.e. still not the full hearing on the facts) is beginning of February – where we may challenge WBC’s case submission (depending on what it is like), and apply to have the case thrown out – which the judge can decide to do if WBC’s case submission is so weak that there is no point proceeding any further i.e. it will be a waste of the tribunal’s time. Or, we may go on to a full hearing.
Fund raising – 11 leaseholders have funded the lawyers so far – it will become more expensive if we go on, and they can’t afford to do it by themselves. So people will be asked to financially contribute if they wish and become part of the group action; more details to follow. The judge commended our legal team, and suggested that it was a good thing that leaseholders had got together in this way.
Of course, leaseholders can still represent themselves if they wish and attend the next hearing, or instruct their own personal lawyer, or other groups of leaseholders may also want to get together and create their own legal teams.

Support:

Wandsworth Labour Group and Independent Councillor Malcolm Grimston, are supporting us with meetings and advice, and are actively opposed to WBC’s current actions.
No current Tory councillors have as yet “broken ranks” in any part of the Borough to support residents and leaseholders on this matter. WBC is of course a Tory controlled borough, and they have taken the decision as a council to impose sprinklers on us despite there being no legal requirement for them to do so.
The current case is about them establishing legally if they can recoup some of the cost of this proposed sprinkler installation from leaseholders, and also to give them the right to enter our flats to fit them; whether we want them or not. So far, WBC have spent approx. £14,000 of “our money” on their own legal costs. They have given us no money to fund our own legal team; it is coming out of our own pockets.