Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the appropriateness of leaseholder repair charges levied by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has recently received a number of letters from leaseholders complaining about how much they are being charged by Tower Hamlets Homes (an arms length management organisation for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets) in relation to major improvements and repair works to their homes. Examples have been given of service charges of around £35,000. Some of the complaints have also asserted that the commissioning of the works is flawed or even corrupt.

I have asked my officials for advice on whether we can make an assessment of the appropriateness of these charges.

In the meantime, we will be forwarding copies of the correspondence from leaseholders to Mazars, who have been appointed to provide an independent verification for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets of the decent homes funding grant claims.

Notwithstanding my Department’s review, I am disappointed with the aggressive and unsympathetic approach of the council, and this is yet another sign of how the actions of the Tower Hamlets administration have harmed the good reputation of local government.