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What is London Yard? The London Yard housing development, completed during 1988, is comprised of 312 properties, mainly of leasehold apartments but with some freehold houses on Manchester Road, Rotterdam Drive and Leerdam Drive. The freehold of the communal areas and apartment blocks is owned by the London Yard Management Company Ltd whose shareholders are the 312 property owners. The shareholders elect a Board of Directors who, in turn, are responsible for the collection of ground rents; appointment of the managing agents; setting and collection of the service charge; administering the code of conduct, including the parking scheme; maintaining and renewal of the infrastructure and ensuring compliance with the leases and freehold covenants.
Can I be a director of the London Yard Management Company Ltd? If you own a London Yard property either as a freeholder or leaseholder the answer is 'yes'. The London Yard Management Company is a property company responsible for land and property worth millions of pounds. Ideally, therefore, the Board of Directors should comprise a combination of people with a professional knowledge or experience in property management and ordinary residents of London Yard. Directors are elected to the Board of Directors by the shareholders at an annual general meeting of shareholders. However, a director can also be co-opted to the Board between annual general meetings. At present, the Articles of Association of the company restrict candidates for the Board to those that the Board consider to be fit and proper and can be a useful member of the team. See also the question on updating the Articles, below.
What are the responsibilities of the directors? The Companies Act requires that the directors act in the interest of the company and its shareholders. In doing so it has to act in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company; the Companies Act; the covenants of freehold properties; the leases of the leasehold properties; local authority regulations and the Leasehold and Tenants Act. A director must have, or be willing to acquire, a knowledge of these regulations. Normally, directors obtain legal advice on almost everything that they do. There is an inbuilt conflict of interest with companies such as London Yard. As most directors are also leaseholders, the temptation is that directors seek to keep the service charge (paid primarily by leaseholders) as low as possible at the expense of the infrastructure of the estate. This would invariably be a contravention of their responsibilities under the Companies Act and has to be resisted.
What are the directors paid and how much work is involved? The directors of the London Yard Management Company are not paid. The articles of association of the company forbid payment to directors for being directors. The directors meet approximately monthly but most of their work is done by daily emails and telephone calls between themselves, contractors and the managing agent as well as shareholders.
Who are the present directors? The present directors of the company are listed on the website in the Documents Section.
The Board has said that it intends to bring the Articles and Memorandum of the company up to date. Will this happen? The articles and memorandum of the company are, in effect, the constitution on which the company operates. The Board does intend to bring them up to date but has had to wait until the new Companies Act was published. The Act was passed by parliament in 2006 and becomes operational, in stages, between now and 2008. The Board intends to take legal advice on the new act and present changes to shareholders.
What is a Managing Agent? The managing agent, at present Wood Management Ltd, is appointed by the Board of the London Yard Management Company to manage the estate on behalf of the Board and to implement its policies. The managing agent is the first port of call for residents with problems or queries. The managing agent's details are on the Contacts page of this website.
Is the website the best way to communicate information to residents? Like all organisations and businesses, the company now uses the website to give news and information to London Yard residents. All but a handful of residents have internet access either at home or at the office. Those that don't, are able to get internet access at the local library which is less than 5 minutes walk away. It would not be fair on the majority of residents to force them to pay the considerable production and postal costs, in their service charge, to produce the information on paper because of a very small number of people do not use the internet. It also allows more, and more timely information, to be issued and it is also better for the environment.
I am a leaseholder, what does that mean? If you don't know you should talk to your solicitor. There is a mass of case law and legislation covering the relationship between landlord and tenant (leaseholder). Very simply, however, it means that you do not own your property. The physical property is owned by the landlord (London Yard Management Company Ltd) and you own a right to use that property for the duration of the lease. Being a 1/312th owner of the landlord company does not, in any way, change your obligations, and restrictions, as a leaseholder. It is in no sense a democratic arrangement - the landlord's role is set out by legislation just as much as the role of leaseholder is.
Can I make physical changes to my property? If your property is freehold then any internal changes must comply with the local authority planning regulations. The covenants of your freehold require that the external aspect of the property is retained. If your property is leasehold, as well as complying with local authority planning regulations, a license from the management company is required. Failure to obtain a license may mean that the management company would require that the property be put back to its original form before it allows the lease to be sold. Those leaseholders on the top floor of a block should not make use of the loft or roof space without first obtaining a license to do so.
Can I change my windows from wood to PVC? Yes. The leases specify that windows, window frames and balcony doors are the responsibility of the leaseholder. PVC windows can be installed providing they comply with the guidelines (the colour and layout must be retained) issued by the management company. A summary of the requirement is contained in the Document Section of this website. Details of the windows to be replaced should be sent to the managing agent for comment.
On my lease, part of Amsterdam Road is marked in red. Why? Amsterdam Road, from Manchester Road to the slipway and part of the car park in front of the restaurant is marked in red because it was originally excluded from the terms of the leases and freehold covenants. Note that the car parking areas on both sides of this part of Amsterdam Road were not excluded. This means that service charge money cannot be used for the maintenance and cleaning of the excluded areas. In 1997 the excluded areas were given to the management company by the London Docklands Development Corporation together with an endowment to be invested to pay for the upkeep of those areas.
Does the estate own the walkway and beach on the river front? No. The estate area is from Manchester Road up to the garden borders next to the river walkway. The car park in front of the restaurant is also part of the estate. The river walkway and the beach down to high tide level is owned by the local authority. The beach itself is owned by the Port of London Authority.
How are my service charges calculated? If you are a leaseholder your service charge will comprise three elements: one-312th of the total general estate costs (estate management, gardening, road cleaning, street lighting etc.); your portion of the costs related to your block (cleaning of communal areas, lighting in communal areas, lift maintenance etc.) which is a percentage, detailed in your lease, of the total block cost and your contribution to the reserve funds for your block (external and internal redecoration, carpet renewal and roof works etc.). Detailed block and estate costs are sent with the first service charge invoice of each financial year. Freehold properties pay only one-312th of the estate costs. Audited block and estate accounts for the previous financial year are also sent out at that time.
When is my service charge due? Legally, the annual service charge should be paid, in full, on receipt of the budget for the financial year (April to March). However, the management company allow it to be paid in equal quarterly installments in April, June, September and December. Ground rent (leaseholders) is collected in June.
How do I pay my service charge? Your service charge can be paid by cheque, made out to the managing agent, or by telephoning the Accounts Department and paying by debit card. You can also divide your annual service charge by twelve and pay monthly by bankers order. You can also pay by credit card by telephone but, because of the charges made by credit card companies, a charge of 1.55 percent will be made or 1.99% for business credit cards. Wood Management are not able, at present, to provide a payment by Direct Debit facility. When making a payment always quote your account reference number. The telephone number of the Accounts Department is listed on the Contacts page of this website.
Is there a restriction of how much a leaseholder can be charged? Leaseholders are charged for the running costs and maintenance of their blocks and, together with freehold property owners, the running costs and maintenance of the communal estate areas. The management company do try to anticipate the need for major works by setting up reserve funds so that money is collected for major works, in advance, over a number of years. The leases do not contain any provision for the charging for improvements or new services. Although this limits the extent that the estate can be improved, it does give leaseholders some security regarding the level of service charges. Leaseholders are also protected under the Landlord and Tenants Act.
What is a Section 20 Notice? A Section 20 notice is issued under that Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended) and is part of the required consultation procedure under the Act. If any leaseholder's apportioned contribution towards major works exceeds £250 then formal consultation must take place. In the case of contracts (excluding contracts of employment) in excess of 12 months, the threshold for consultation is £100 per leaseholder. The full consultation period depends on the results of the tender process. The first notice to be served is the 'Notice of Intention'. This advises leaseholders that the Landlord intends to carry out major works in which he is required to consult. Leaseholders are given one month to submit observations. Once this period expires and the landlord has obtained tender returns the 'Notice of Estimates' can be served in which the tender returns are stated and leaseholders have one month to make further observations. As long as the landlord takes the lowest tender submitted the works can proceed once the one month notice period has expired.
Why do properties in Rembrandt Close and those on the ground floors pay towards the maintenance of lifts that they do not normally use? The inclusion of lift maintenance costs, and internal decoration costs of Vermeer Court, for Rembrandt Close properties were set out in the individual leases for those properties when the leases were first issued. Property developers will tell you that this is 'standard practice' in the industry. For a lease to be amended to exclude these costs would require the agreement of all leaseholders in the block and that all the leases be amended. This would not be practicable or cost effective.
ESTATE AND BLOCK MAINTENANCE AND INSURANCE
Who do I tell if I notice that something in the communal areas has been damaged or, for instance, a light isn't working? Report any work needing to be done to the managing agent. They will make the appropriate arrangements. Note that some internal lights are on timers to preserve energy.
Is there an emergency telephone number to ring if there is a water leak? Yes, Ricky Lewis provides 24 hour cover for the estate. These telephone numbers are listed on the Contacts page of this website.
How do I find out when my block is to be painted or carpet replaced? You can find out the schedule for maintenance activities by contacting the managing agent. This website also contains a up-to-date plan of maintenance activity. Click on the icon on the front page.
Does the management company provide insurance cover? The management company provides building insurance cover for its properties. Leaseholders, therefore, do not need to purchase building insurance but should obtain their own contents insurance. Freeholders will need to obtain both building and contents insurance. If, due to a water leak in a property, damage is caused to other properties, the leaseholder of the original property will be liable for the £500 excess charge imposed by the insurance company. The managing agent should be informed of any situation that may result in an insurance claim being made. The management company also has public liability insurance.
Where are my gas and electricity meters? Gas meters are in your property, usually in the kitchen. In Vermeer Court, the electricity meters are also in the property but in other blocks the electricity meters are housed in small rooms or cupboards in the communal areas. Access to these can be obtained by contacting the caretaker (telephone number on the front page of this website) who is available during weekday mornings.
Can I install a water meter? Water meters can be installed by the water company. Water pipes are usually accessible in a cupboard in the communal area. There is a water pipe with a tap marked for each property. Access can be obtained by contacting the caretaker (telephone number on the front page of this website) who is available during weekday mornings.
Where do I turn my water off? There is usually a tap inside one of your kitchen units. Alternatively, see the question above for the location of a tap in the communal area.
What are the arrangements for Rubbish Collection and Recycling? The larger blocks have rubbish bins housed in rooms on the ground floor accessible from the roadway. Vermeer Court has a rubbish shoot on most floors. There are also various arrangements for the smaller blocks and houses. Recycling bins are situated around the estate and the council makes collections of rubbish for recycling from houses. The collection times vary so you are advised to contact the caretaker (telephone number on the front page of this website) who is available during weekday mornings.
What do I do if I see a mouse either in my property or a communal area? The management company has a contracted pest control company which will come and deal with the problem. Report it to the managing agent.
Can I receive Freeview television services? Yes. The original inbuilt television aerials connected to your property have been upgraded to receive Freeview television services.
Is London Yard able to receive cable services? No. The original plans to cable the estate were dropped by the cable franchisee.
Am I allowed to install a satellite dish? Technically, no. The leases and freehold covenants forbid the attachment of satellite dishes to properties. However, in the absence of alternative services, the management company has, without prejudice, ignored the erection of dishes until such time that an alternative service can be provided. Plans are afoot to install a communal satellite system. When this has been made available, property owners will be given one years notice to remove the dishes.
What are the security arrangements? At the moment the management company employs a security guard to patrol the estate from 2 p.m. until midnight each day. He is located at the Security Hut on Leerdam Drive and his telephone number is available on the front page of the website. During the mornings, residents with security concerns should contact the caretaker on the same telephone number.
Are the security arrangements being improved? Yes, the management company are in the process of installing CCTV cameras throughout the estate which will be monitored by a security company 24 hours per day. When the CCTV is operational, the security company will provide a 24 hour mobile patrolling service which we will share with other private estates in the area. There will also be a telephone number to call 24 hours per day. Residents will be notified when these new arrangements are in place.
Can anything be done about the occasional misbehaviour of youngsters on the river walkway and beach? Yes, but not directly by the management company. The beach and river walkway are not part of the estate and are not owned by the management company. The river walkway is owned by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets who operate an Anti-Social Behaviour Help Line the telephone number for which is in the Contacts page of this website. The London Yard security staff have no remit off the estate's area. The police or fire brigade can be called if that is appropriate.
Wouldn't the estate be more secure if it was gated? Unfortunately, it is not the way the estate was designed. There are public rights of way through parts of the estate and the commercial premises on the estate need public access. Planning permission from the local authority would be required and it would be unlikely to grant it. Gating would also cost a considerable amount of money and there is no provision in the leases or freehold covenants that allows the management company to charge property owners for improvements to the estate.
Why Do we have to have parking permits to park on the estate? In 1997, the local authority introduced a parking scheme for local roads and council estates and instituted charges for parking. In order to prevent non-residents parking in London Yard, either as a commuter or to avoid paying the council charges, the management company set up its own parking scheme. The London Yard parking scheme was originally designed to only prevent non-resident parking and to continue to allow residents to park as they were doing before the introduction of the scheme.
How do I obtain parking permits and how many can I have? Application for parking permits can be made via this website or by obtaining an application form from the Security Hut in Leerdam Drive. There are two types of permit: blue 'Residents' permits which contain the registration number of the vehicle to which they apply, and green 'Visitor' permits. Properties are restricted to two Visitor permits but can have as many Resident permits as vehicles belonging to the property. There is no charge for these permits.
Why do we not have allocated parking spaces? Estates with allocated parking spaces were set up in that way when they were built. The allocated space is detailed in the individual lease or freehold deed. This was not done in the case of London Yard which allows residents to park anywhere in the designated parking places on the estate.
Although the parking notices threaten to clamp vehicles, is it ever done? When the London Yard scheme was originally introduced it was intended that the clamping of vehicles, not displaying permits, would take place. However, subsequent government legislation has required individual staff involved in clamping to be licensed and trained. Unclamping also has to be done at all times of the day or night. This has not been considered economic so far. The reported behaviour of companies specializing in clamping services has put off the managing company from hiring one.
Can't anything be done about abandoned vehicles on the estate? It is unlikely that an abandoned vehicle remains on the state for very long. A report to the managing agent will mean that the local authority is informed and the vehicle will be removed within a few days. There are, however, a few vehicles parked on the estate which never move. These are owned by residents and, as the London Yard Parking Scheme regulations stand, they are entitled to keep their vehicles. This is likely to be reviewed by the Board of the management company.
How do I complain about the service? If you feel that you have not received good and timely service from a member of the London Yard staff or the managing agent complain, initially, to the managing agent. If you are not then satisfied, complain to the managing agent again and ask that it is put through their formal complaints procedure. If this fails, you can email the directors (email address on the front page of the website) who will take the matter up on your behalf.
I am a tenant of a leaseholder - to whom do I complain? If you rent a property from a 'buy-to-let' leaseholder or freeholder you can still make a complaint to the managing agent as set out above. However, you do not have the legal standing of an estate leaseholder or freeholder so, if you are not satisfied with the response of the managing agent, you should contact your landlord who can take up the matter on your behalf.
Does the Londonyard.com website belong to the management company? No. The website was started, in the year 2000, by two residents who wanted to increase the amount of information given to shareholders and residents. Since that time there have been various changes to the Board of the management company and, at times, the attitude of the Board, to providing information to residents, has varied between one of "if you don't tell them anything they will have nothing to complain about" to the view, taken by the present Board, which favours telling shareholders everything. However, The turnover of directors is quite high and the attitude of the Board of management can change. For this reason it is considered that the website should remain independent of the management company in the best interests of continued freedom of information to residents. The website receives no money from the company and is financed by its supporters.
What is the editorial policy of the website? It is the policy of the website to provide residents and owners of London Yard properties with news and information about London Yard. The website is generally supportive of the Board of the management company but will raise issues that are of concern to residents. If you have an item to be put on the website, just email the details to the editor.
Wouldn't it be advantageous for the company to have an official website? The provisions of the new Companies Act (2006) allow for some of the company's formal business to be done on a website. If the management company wishes, the website is willing to enter into a form of contract, or service level agreement, to provide an official website to the company (like any other website provider) whilst retaining its editorial independence.
Shouldn't the website be passworded? No 'commercial in confidence' information is published on the website and the London Yard Management Company does not have direct commercial competitors. It is not a trading company in the normal sense. Restricting access to the site with passwords is not worth the administrative cost and would prevent potential buyers of London Yard properties, or tenants who are resident in London Yard, from obtaining the news and information that the site contains.
Don't some things published put off potential buyers? A potential buyer is much more likely to be impressed by what he or she reads on the website. They will be impressed by the estate's openness and the amount of information available to them and feel confident that nothing is being hidden. We know that reputable estate agents show the site to potential buyers. Items reporting problems on the estate are rarely published without details of what is being done to solve the problem and it is not the role of the website to aid owners defraud, or mislead, potential purchasers.
Who do I contact if I have any comments or complaints about the website? If you have any comments, suggestions or complaints concerning the website email the website editor. He is always happy to receive feedback from the website's users. |
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If you have a question that you would like included email it to the website editor |
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| Last updated: 23 April, 2007 |
