Urang bizarrely claim ‘new era of transparency’ at Chelsea Bridge Wharf – but leaseholders cannot even see the contract with Urang and little prospect of fair elections
In a rather bizarre and laughable email to leaseholders on 9th May, Urang (the managing agent which will take over from Rendall and Rittner in under a week) announced their first meeting with leaseholders which will be on 9th June, 7-8pm at Battersea Power Station. The email claims that the meeting will ‘..mark the beginning of a new chapter in the management of Chelsea Bridge Wharf – one focused on transparency, improved standards, and leaseholder collaboration’.
The irony of this claim being made by a managing agent which was appointed by an unelected committee who did not even get to see the contract, seems to be lost on Urang not to mention the fact that leaseholders can still not see the contract, despite demands from many residents to be consulted on it before it is signed. As a consequence, leaseholders in Urang’s great new age of transparency have no idea what fees Urang are being paid, how long they are engaged for, what the period of notice is by either party side and many other important aspects.
Urang’s new age of transparency does not include any details of dates or procedures for the election of Directors for Chelsea Bridge Wharf Right to Manage Company which were announced six weeks ago on 28th Feb 2025. Not only has 6 weeks passed since these were promised but there was more than a month until the first meeting with leaseholders so there is more than enough time to hold elections ahead of the first leaseholder meeting.
Urang are not able to explain why they have decided not to hold elections before the meeting that but it seems likely to me that the idea is to protect the existing directors and to give the electoral advantage by presenting them at the first meeting with leaseholders as ‘the management team’ (as Urang put it in their letter). Fair elections are unlikely in any case given that arbitrary bans on the CBW app remain in place, and the likelihood that electoral manipulations used by CBWRA on previous elections may be repeated although I hope I am wrong about that. Just to be clear I am not claiming that elections will be ‘rigged’ but if they are carried out in the way that CBWRA elections were carried out then they cannot be fair. It is important therefore that Urang publishes the process and timescale for elections and that they do not repeat the manipulative methods of CBWRA.
I think it is odd that Urang are (supposedly) in charge of conducting elections for Directors of the RTM company and I suspect the idea is to give the elections some semblance of independence from the RTM company and its current unelected directors but it now seems clear to me that they are acting in a way which will benefit the existing directors and I wonder if they really are organising the elections independently of the RTM company or are simply doing what the existing directors want. So much for the ‘new age of transparency ‘.
Urang claim “that the RTM now has capacity to run the estate is a clear expression that they have the support of the majority of leaseholders” .
This literally makes no sense at all. The majority of leaseholders have had no opportunity to have a say either in the appointment of Urang or the directors of the Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents’ Association. Approximately 50 % of leaseholders have signed up for RTM (despite many of the current directors having claimed for many years that RTM was not possible and trying to silence leaseholders such as me who obtained independent advice proving that RTM was indeed possible). Leaseholders supporting RTM does not mean they support the particular directors in place – I suspect most leaseholders have little idea who some of the directors even are, let alone what they may have contributed or are likely to contribute.
Just because a RTM company board is in place with the legal power to run things does not mean they have any mandate from leaseholders. The current directors are self-appointed so that is an illogical claim. Legitimacy can only come through a fair election and fair elections are not possible while certain leaseholders have their CBW app accounts closed. The directors are legally in place only because they have recruited each other and worked hard to exclude others such as myself through misinformation, closing my CBW app account and (alleged) criminal behaviour by one director which resulted in charges of common assault being authorised by the police .
Urang state that they are proud to work with the existing directors, which is odd given the above. The existing directors are also a group which has never meaningfully consulted with leaseholders and engaged in hasty, manipulated elections to stay in power in the residents’ association (which they closed without any consultation with residents). That does not seem much to be proud of in my view.
Leaseholders have not seen any meaningful plans from Urang on how they might make savings on the service charge as mentioned in the CBWRA committee meeting notes in February or what other changes they propose to make in how things are run. Communications from Urang suggests that they do not see savings in service charge as a priority or claim that it is not a leaseholder priority but as they have not done any meaningful consultation it is unclear how they could know what the priorities of leaseholders are. It seems Urang are unaware of the motion passed by leaseholders requiring quarterly meetings with Urang if appointed – which is odd because CBWRA claimed that Urang had wanted quarterly meetings even before this motion was passed.
There is also no date for an annual general meeting of the Chelsea bridge Wharf Right to Manage company and no AGM has ever been held as far as I am aware.
The meeting with leaseholders is on 9th June 7-8pm The Engine Room, 2nd and 3rd floor, Battersea Power Station, 18 Circus Road South, Nine Elms, SW11 8BZ . I encourage all leaseholders to attend (it is a hybrid event – in person and online) but do not go as a passive observer – go to tell Urang and the RTM company directors that we will not accept another round of Rendall and Rittner/CBWRA dysfunctionality. Right to Manage is completely pointless unless it offers leaseholders a meaningful change in the input which they can have into decision-making and in holding the agent (and the RTM company directors) to account. That is only possible with fair and transparent elections, without games playing and manipulation. If leaseholders remain passive and silent and simply hope for the best with the existing directors then real improvement at Chelsea Bridge Wharf is unlikely.
Even before they take over on May 25th, in my view Urang are increasingly sounding and acting like the agent they will replace – Rendall and Rittner. Urang and the current directors do not seem to represent a new age of transparency but rather very old wine in new bottles.