Last month we announced that Hyperoptic is ready to run in the building, and we have negotiated several deals on behalf of residents, available during January as they set up in the building. These are still currently available but we're not sure for how much longer.

They are offering the following deals, on either 12 or 24 month contracts, with free installation and routers. Once in contract you run to the end of normal contract term. 30 days notice would be last month of service once contract ends. Payment to be taken 14 days after installation.All are broadband only, but you can add a phone line for £2/month to all.

• 150mb - £12/m (usually £32 - though they have deals for £20)

• 500mb - £15/m (usually £38 - though they have deals for £29)

• 1gb - £18/m (usually £45 - though they have deals for £33)

To get the deal, contact kevin.kirkpatrick@hyperoptic.com M. 07745 121768/ 0203 832 2789 ASAP. The call is very quick and doesn't require many details to fix the deal and you have 30 days to change your mind.

https://www.hyperoptic.com/why-hyperoptic/ gives more explanation of the offer. It is worth saying they will need to run some cables and install a new socket, which you can find out more about here: https://www.hyperoptic.com/help/installation-process/ but that is not a difficult process.

For those that have already received calls and signed up to the original deals, we have agreed in principle that you should be able to move to this better deal (some people have already done this successfully).

For full transparency we are still agreeing whether or not the residents association will get any referral fees (which we would then pass back to residents in some way, and will be transparent about how we do this). Generally though we feel this is a fairly good deal, for a broadband provider that was Uswitch provider of the year 2023 and has very good reviews.

The cladding project continues to move forward, with a spider crane based in the courtyard. Cladding panels are starting to be removed, but until a start date for the replacement has been agreed no stripping of insulation will take place so that there will be a known window where flats will be without insulation. We are working with Newlon to agree a window for this and particularly how this will be handled in winter (this has involved threatening the involvement of the MP if consideration of heating costs/health and wellbeing are not taken on board).

The latest Q&A document can be found here

We met with Newlon's estates department to talk about the post situation, recycling and several other issues, and are awaiting their feedback on what can be done.

Newlon has asked us to reiterate to residents (including shared owners and 100% leaseholders) that listing flats on AirBnB is a breach of the rental and leasehold agreements. AirBnB usage in the building has been the cause of some antisocial behaviour, and theoretically noone should be accessing the building without a security card/fob provided by Newlon to registered residents. Newlon is continuing to monitor AirBnB and other short term letting sites and taking action against residents who break these rules.

It is worth noting that leaseholders can let their flat for a longer term due to the ongoing sales issues, but this must be done with Newlon's agreement and the tenants need to be registered with Newlon.

Over the last couple of months Newlon has dramatically increased both rents and service charges. Rents have been raised in line with the maximum percentage increase allowed (in line with many councils and housing associations), but has not risen as much as the costs of operating and maintaining the building therefore it is unlikely this could be challenged. After making enquiries about the ability to challenge this we have been reminded by other organisations that those on universal credit or housing benefit can apply for an increase to cover much of the increase, and those that are struggling but not in receipt of those benefits should check the cost of living support page.

For service charge increases we are only able to legally challenge sums where we disagree that the service being paid for has been received (it is not enough that we may think it is of poor quality). That being said we have requested numerous invoices and details from the service charge team and have queried a number of items. We have been promised several meetings to review this with the expectation of reducing the service charge direct debit, but these meetings have been missed by Newlon due to resourcing issues. We expect a meeting to happen in the next couple of weeks after which there will be a new update and any changes should be reflected in an updated letter with direct debit changes following.

In the background the following are things that we are currently working on:

• Remedial works (including fighting for further improvements to brick-clad areas that experience cold and draughts)

• Improvements to communal corridors to prevent wind driven smells which affect some specific areas of the building.

• Antisocial behaviour including nuisance smoking close to other people's balconies

• Monthly inspection reports for communal repairs 

• Reviewing service charge in detail and fighting for removal of unfair charges (which last year saved leaseholders hundreds of pounds)

• Pushing for energy efficiency improvements to reduce the amount of wasted electricity in the building (which we all pay for)

• Fighting for better quality of repairs (both inside and outside of flats)

• Introducing pigeon netting at no cost to residents

Wondering why it can take a while to get a lift fixed? Well, to keep our Service Fee charges lower, Newlon uses the cheaper option of a contractor to maintain our lifts rather than the higher cost of using the lift manufacturers service team to maintain our them. But the lift manufacturers service team get priority and seemingly sometimes exclusive access to the spares to fix our lifts meaning Newlon's contractor can be delayed in getting/finding spares.

Remember too, our lifts are aging and the manufacturers hang on to their diminishing stock of spares for their own servicing. This is under review via the focus group looking at the procurement of the next  contract for our lift maintenance.