Rendall and Rittner ‘invited’ to Answer Questions in Parliament as Nationwide Petition Nears 6,000 Signatures

Rendall and Rittner have accepted an ‘invitation’ by Labour MPs to be interviewed in Parliament on May 22nd to answer questions about their performance and conduct, following complaints from a considerable number of leaseholders to their constituency MPs and an open letter and petition started by the author of this blog which is nearing 6,000 signatures (and which Rendall and Rittner and the Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents Association tried to stop) . It also follows an online conference of 300+ leaseholders at Rendall and Rittner developments which I organised in September 2024. The ‘interview’ of Rendall and Rittner in parliament on May 22nd will be just three days before Rendall and Rittner are due to leave Chelsea Bridge Wharf, following a successful Right to Manage process which Rendall and Rittner and the Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents’ Association denied for many years was possible.

The parliamentary event is organized by a group of Labour MPs with a particular interest in leaseholder issues and they are responding to the increasing pressure from leaseholders and (I believe) pressure from the Rendall and Rittner Action Network, including our petition and 2025 open letter which will be published in the near future. Issues which MPs will ask Rendall and Rittner have much in common with those raised in our open letter. Rendall and Rittner will apparently be represented by Richard Daver and Catherine Riva. Richard Daver, working with the Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents’ Association, tried to stop the petition, some years ago as mentioned above and (like CBWRA) claimed until very recently that Right to Manage was impossible at Chelsea Bridge Wharf. Mr Daver has also defended the outrageous ‘captive company’ scheme run by Rendall and Rittner until quite recently which allowed them to financially benefit from buildings insurance, while avoiding this benefit being classified as commission, so that they could continue to claim they took no commission on buildings insurance.

While it is great news that Rendall and Rittner will be replaced by Urang, this was done without meaningful resident consultation and leaseholders still cannot see the contract signed with Urang in mid 2023 or the new contract which will cover them taking over at Chelsea Bridge Wharf. Residents have no idea what the terms and conditions of the contract are, what period it covers or what fees will be charged. Following previous posts from me highlighting the absence of any information about Urang’s plans for CBW, they sent round an extremely vague letter which leaves us little wiser. It seems clear that Urang and the Chelsea Bridge Wharf RTM Company are talking down the possibility of a service charge cut, even before the RTM has commenced. Chelsea Bridge Wharf RTM Company has been forced into holding elections for directors, very much against their will, and it is clear that these elections (conducted by Urang) cannot be fair, since at least one potential candidate (the author of this blog) has had their CBW app account closed simply for stating that Right to Manage was possible (which it clearly is). The CBW RTM director who was responsible for closing my CBW app account — and who has been the subject of several police complaints (one resulting in a charge of common assault being authorised) remains in place.