Call for funds to undertake an Inspection of Service Charges
As explained in previous updates, RoMRA, under Section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, is planning to undertake an inspection of the Royal Mills Service Charge accounts held by the Managing Agent, Zenith, in the next month or so. Thereafter we will hold the Annual General Meeting on 4th June 2024 to receive the findings of the inspection and to consider our next steps in regard to the resolution (below) passed at the June 2023 AGM.
In order to undertake this inspection we have set a target to raise £6000 by April 23rd 2024. This is required to secure the services of a qualified and experienced accountant, James McMillan, for the inspection task. James is a previous Chair of RoMRA and successfully led the Royal Mills’ Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (now called First Tier Property Tribunal) in 2013 against the previous Managing Agent, Living City.
We are therefore asking every Leaseholder to contribute £50 per apartment to our crowd fund - ASAP.
To contribute, please visit our gofundme at
If we do not reach our target by 23 April we will consider the abandonment of the inspection on the assumption that there is not enough support amongst Leaseholders. All donations will be returned.
We have provided a FAQ below detailing the inspection objectives, process and possible outcomes of the inspection. If you have any further questions please email info@romra.co.uk and we’ll post them to this blog page where they will be answered and shared with other Leaseholders.
Thank you in anticipation of your support.
Kind regards
Patrick Langan. Chair, RoMRA
FAQs
What is the background to the proposed inspection? The AGM resolution (above) explains our concerns and the context for this action. We have met with the Landlord, Renaker, and the Managing Agent, Zenith, on multiple occasions since the AGM and have seen a reduction in the 2024 Service charges. More information about our actions has been detailed in regular Leaseholder updates via email and Facebook. These Leaseholder updates can be found on our online FAQ https://www.romra.co.uk/post/leaseholder-inspection-of-service-charges
What are the objectives of the inspection? The inspection of the Zenith Service Charge accounts will look to ascertain that the monies collected and spent on Leaseholders behalf by the Managing Agent over the last 7 years has been used assiduously and prudently to achieve best value in maintaining and servicing the Royal Mills Estate and Buildings. Following the inspection a report of findings will be written together with recommendations regarding possible next steps.
What is the right to inspect accounts under Section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985? Leaseholders have the right under Section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to inspect documents relating to their service charges, the service charge payer may write to the landlord requiring him / her to allow access to and inspection of the accounts, receipts and any other documents relevant to the service charge information in the summary and to provide facilities for them to be copied.
Who will undertake the inspection and write the report?
Our chosen provider is James McMillan a qualified Fellow Chartered Accountant. James has submitted a comprehensive and detailed scoping and budget proposal for undertaking the inspection. Specifically;
Compiling and analysing the budget and accounts data for all the various service chargeschedules up to a period of 6 years historic published information
Identifying and suggesting cost headings which warrant further investigation by samplinge.g. significantly deviating from budget
Physical inspection of the books and records for those areas under further investigation
Summarising the findings of that further investigation e.g. any discrepancies notedbetween reported information and the actual records
Making recommendations on options to resolve any findings e.g. re-approaching theLandlord and/or Agent The budget for the project is £6000 and is dependent upon ease of access to inspection data. We think his proposal represents good value for money given James’ expertise, and given our timeframe.
How will contributions be collected? We are seeking a contribution of £50 from every apartment in Royal Mills. Leaseholders who own multiple apartments should therefore contribute £50 per apartment owned. In contributing to the fund via GoFundMe we are assuming that Leaseholders accept the ‘Declaration of Contribution’ statement (below) on the GoFundMe page. Any unused monies will be returned pro rata to contributors. Note that, based upon previous experience, some Leaseholders will choose not to be part of the project, hence we have set the contribution figure of £50 per apartment in anticipation of this.
What is the ‘Declaration of Contribution’ I / We as leaseholders of one or more apartments in Royal Mills; Wish to support the inspection of Accounts and offer a contribution of £50 payable to Royal Mills Residents Association towards the application.I/we understand that this money, once held in the Association bank account, will be spent only on the application to the inspection including associated costs such as fees, printing and photocopying. I /we understand that I/we will receive any money back which has not been spent after the inspection has been fully decided and can enquire at any time about how the money has been used.I/we understand that it is our own responsibility to research into the inspection application and I/we are joining the application fully in this knowledge. I/we do not hold the lead applicant responsible for any outcomes and understand that if I/we wished to undertake my/our own inspection / I am/we are able.
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