Category Archive: Service charges

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The CBWRA Annual General Meeting April 2023.

*CBWRA plans to spend huge sums on new fountains *no meaningful response on massive service charge increases * CCTV installed in block foyers with no consultation *no action on management audit

In summary, dear CBWRA, thank you for the work that (some) of the committee are doing, but could I respectfully suggest that you please stop trying to blow smoke up the residents’ rear ends and start behaving like a normal democratic residents’ association, then we might actually get somewhere as a community of engaged residents. Even the CBWRA home page is not being straight with us – ‘a board of elected residents’?. No one on the committee is elected apart from the co-Chairs and there are many aspects of that which are questionable to say the least.

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Rendall and Rittner – the failure of ‘bulk tendering’ of Electricity supply and 40%+ service charge increases

It appears that Rendall and Rittner’s electrical supply tendering strategy has failed.  Rendall and Rittner have tried to tender for electricity supply on a huge bulk scale at a time when energy companies were risk averse /energy prices were very volatile and thus there was almost no response to the tender. This has left us at the mercy of EDF (existing supplier) and a new contract was signed with them at a 333% increase. Had Rendall and Rittner negotiated for Chelsea Bridge Wharf on single development basis (and given that our freeholder has no credit rating issues)  it is likely we could have got a much better deal.

I am not convinced that Rendall and Rittner have behaved reasonably in this matter and I will be paying service charge under protest until further notice while I investigate further and obtain advice.

In the meanwhile I suggest a plan for the urgent reduction of electricity consumption in communal and external areas should be drawn up, in consultation with residents, and the fountains should be a central part of that.

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Leasehold/Commonhold reforms unlikely to happen before next general election – LKP exclusive interview with former leasehold and building safety minister Stephen Greenhalgh

The reforms which CBWRA maintained for 2 years were just around the corner are unlikely to materialise Throughout 2021 while on the CBWRA committee, attempts to discuss Right to Manage in committee meetings… Continue reading →

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Warwick Building Service Charges increase by 40% (yes, fourty)! CBWRA announces no action to be taken on audit or in challenging electricity costs

The latest service charge demands from Rendall and Rittner show that service charges will increase by 40% for the year commencing 1 April 2023. My service charge has increased from £ 247.71 to £347.05… Continue reading →

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Right to Manage stalled again – just days before Chair election results. CBWRA claim Berkeley Homes to retender the management contract at Chelsea Bridge Wharf – Berkeley Homes say they have not made the decision yet.

Residents will not choose new agent – Berkeley Homes will be in charge of the process

Rendall and Rittner will be allowed to bid and may be reappointed

Right to Manage at the very least delayed by many months and may not happen at all (unless you vote for me!)

No resident consultation on this decision

It is clear that once again CBWRA/BH have at the very least kicked Right to Manage a long way down the road, and without any resident consultation, and the timing of this announcement suggests at the very least a disregard for the Chair election process.

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2023 CBWRA Chair elections – democracy dying in darkness?

I have nominated myself for Chair of CBWRA in the 2023 elections because I wanted to improve the governance of the CBWRA and to ensure that all that was possible was being done to achieve Right to Manage, following what have been (in my view) two wasted years as far as RTM goes

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Government set to ban hidden insurance commissions (such as Rendall and Rittner’s captive company schemes)

Close on the heels of Liam Spender’s win against First Port property management, whereby £100,000 in building insurance commissions is to be returned to residents, Michael Gove has announced plans to ban such… Continue reading →

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Petition passes the 3,500 mark! Thankyou for your support. Rendall and Rittner and Ovedo must listen!

More than 3,500 residents at developments ‘managed’ by Rendall and Rittner have now signed this petition to tell Rendall and Rittner that enough is enough – they need to stop the unjustified service charge hikes, lack of transparency, poor service and much more.

No meaningful response has been received from Rendall and Rittner or their parent company Ovedo. That is quite amazing when you think about it – just ignoring 3,500 of the people who have to pay their hiked service charges and endure their service which is often poor. However given Rendall and Rittner’s atrocious record on communications it is not surprising.

Rather than addressing the issues raised and responding to them, Rendall and Rittner and some of their allies have tried and failed to have this petition stopped. That is shameful. Rendall and Rittner have also made it clear that they may choose not to work with residents’ associations who support this petitions – even if they are elected representatives of residents – that is sinister and anti-democratic.

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Notes from the Right to Manage meetings at CBW (30 Nov and 1 Dec)

Thanks to all who attended these meetings and to Canonbury Estate Management for providing expert advice. The standout points are

i) The advice given by Stephen Thompson/Roger Southam/Charlie Garton-Jones/CBWRA that Right to Manage for the whole development is not possible because of the supreme court judgement of First Port v Settlers Court is categorically WRONG. David Breare of Canonbury added that in his view, any competent advisor/consultant would come to the same conclusion (i.e. it’s not a grey area),

This confirms Canonbury’s written advice of June 2022 https://chelseabridgewharf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/canonbury-summary-advice-1.6.22-correspondence-1522672.pdf

Residents should recall that this judgement of First Port v Settler’s Court was (according to Mr Thompson) the reasons why Right to Manage was not pursued at the start of 2022 and why the management contract retendering was chosen (this failed in Sep. 2022, in my view wasting up to £15,000 of residents’ money).

ii) The current position of CBWRA (after 2 years of saying that Right to Manage is not possible) is that they will investigate RTM on a block by block basis. Canonbury were equally clear that this will not work because all blocks are linked by an underground car park, and therefore cannot be considered as separate for the purposes of RTM (they are not vertically separated).

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CBWRA ask Rendall and Rittner to provide two security guards for ten weeks at a cost of £29,544 – no resident consultation as ever

Many residents were astonished to learn that the Chelsea Bridge Wharf Residents’ Association (CBWRA) had asked Rendall and Rittner to commission 2 security guards for a 10 week period at an estimated cost… Continue reading →