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Carlton Mansions co-op, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton - history and news

Lambeth have a seemingly bottomless pit of money when it comes to taking residents on in court. So that makes it a David and Goliath struggle.
If you need me to organise a fundraiser, just say the word. There's several local venues who I know would be happy to let us use their facilities for this.
 
What is most pressing is legal advice for the court action on May 22nd.

Do you have someone lined up and how much is it likely to cost?

You should take up Ed's offer of a fundraiser. There are people on here willing to help.
 
Do you have someone lined up and how much is it likely to cost?

You should take up Ed's offer of a fundraiser. There are people on here willing to help.

Thanks. Seeing a lawyer on Wednesday. Will find out more then.

I am going to try Shelter.
 
before you go handing over all your cash to lawyers, please consider my advice about getting an electrical inspection carried out - it will carry far more weight in court than any fancy lawyer in terms of showing that you're taking your responsibilities seriously as a co-operative.

This is a legal requirement for the managers of HMO, and as you're asserting that the building should be treated as being managed by a co-operative management body, then this body is legally responsible for ensuring that proper electrical and gas safety tests are carried out regularly on the building.

If you let property you must ensure that the electrical system and all appliances supplied are safe - failure to comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the The Consumer Protection Act 1987 is a criminal offence and may result in:
  • A fine of £5,000 per item not complying
  • Six month's imprisonment
  • Possible manslaughter charges in the even of deaths
  • The Tenant may also sue you for civil damages
  • Your property insurance may be invalidated
These regulations are enforced by the Health & Safety Executive.
one last time - please get an electrician in as soon as possible or you will definitely be in breach of your legal responsibilities on that score*, which carries a maximum £5000 fine and 6 months in jail - maybe that will serve to focus your minds on the priorities here - no lawyer I know of can carry out a periodic inspection, so you will be walking into court guilty of not meeting this obligation if you don't get a spark in asap to sort this out for you regardless of how much you've given a lawyer to tell you what I've just told you for free.

Can't help feeling that I'm wasting my time on this thread though - fwiw, my NAPIT registration number is 13801, and I also run an energy & fire safety consultancy with 2 university professors that as part of it's remit covers 'Fire and Explosion Investigation, Fire and Safety Law, Fire and Explosion Mitigation' - these guys trained most of the HSE fire safety specialists for several decades. This is professional advise you are being given, please take it as such despite me not charging you for it.
*assuming the council are right about there being no up to date periodic inspection report in place.
 
Thanks. Seeing a lawyer on Wednesday. Will find out more then.

Is this a lawyer who specialises in housing - esp. is it one recommended by Squatters' Advisory Service?

I am going to try Shelter.

When I tried to interest Shelter in some policy pressure, they ran away as soon as they heard I was interested in single people having a right to housing. Just an alert about their priorities in these difficult times...
 
before you go handing over all your cash to lawyers, please consider my advice about getting an electrical inspection carried out - it will carry far more weight in court than any fancy lawyer in terms of showing that you're taking your responsibilities seriously as a co-operative.

This is a legal requirement for the managers of HMO, and as you're asserting that the building should be treated as being managed by a co-operative management body, then this body is legally responsible for ensuring that proper electrical and gas safety tests are carried out regularly on the building.


one last time - please get an electrician in as soon as possible or you will definitely be in breach of your legal responsibilities on that score*, which carries a maximum £5000 fine and 6 months in jail - maybe that will serve to focus your minds on the priorities here - no lawyer I know of can carry out a periodic inspection, so you will be walking into court guilty of not meeting this obligation if you don't get a spark in asap to sort this out for you regardless of how much you've given a lawyer to tell you what I've just told you for free.

Can't help feeling that I'm wasting my time on this thread though - fwiw, my NAPIT registration number is 13801, and I also run an energy & fire safety consultancy with 2 university professors that as part of it's remit covers 'Fire and Explosion Investigation, Fire and Safety Law, Fire and Explosion Mitigation' - these guys trained most of the HSE fire safety specialists for several decades. This is professional advise you are being given, please take it as such despite me not charging you for it.
*assuming the council are right about there being no up to date periodic inspection report in place.

As another electrician I would strongly suggest you act on free spirit's advice asap- if you don't have and EICR (inspection) then you'll not be taken seriously. It might also flag up potentially dangerous issues which you will need to put right. A few hundred quid very well spent
 
app
I saw this. Emailed them to thank them.

CH1
I hope something positive comes out of this for you and the Co-op. The council need a good shaking up in terms of common sense and decency.
 
Private fire assessment finds Carlton Mansions risk ‘tolerable’
http://www.brixtonblog.com/carlton-mansions-own-fire-assessment-finds-risk-tolerable/12221
A fire assessment paid for by the residents at Carlton Mansions has found the risk in the building ‘tolerable’, putting them in a stronger position as they argue their case against eviction by the council.
The report, done by a private company and paid for by the Carlton Mansions Housing Co-operative, states under ‘risk level’ that “accordingly, it is considered that the risk to life from fire at these premises is Tolerable.”

Let us not forget Lambeth seems to have a bottomless pit of money to spend on very expensive lawyers, where does this money come from??
Who really pays for this?
Who is Lambeth?
Why are Cllrs spinning statements faster than a Dervish dancer on tea?....

Critical1
 
I'd love to be able to use those photos for the Brixton history part of the site, but their terms seem really prohibitive.

OMG I had forgotten how this looked back in the day, there was a really baaad barber at the bottom of Carlton mansions he terrified me as a child and hated dreads of any sort.. Arrgh bad memories.

Critical1
 
What the council statement fails to address is what will happen to this building after the co-op has been evicted?

It appears to me that the council want the building and see the tenants as an inconvenience to be got rid of.
 
Hi Gramsci
I've been away and only just heard of your situation.
I feel your pain and rage.

FWIW, I'd advise you to get the best legal help possible.
Devonshire's are really, really unpleasant and aggressive (which seems to be what makes them attractive to Lambeth), and they hire similar barristers to represent them in court.
But, they make mistakes and push their luck, and can be beaten.

Let me know if there's anything I can do,

Casaubon
 
£15 for use on the Web for 4 years? Seems moderately balanced - most of that'll be the cost of manually processing the request and issuing the licence.
Well out of my price range if i wanted to do in-depth local history features - and I'd only want relatively low res copies.
 
Eight and a half thousand page views for this thread alone would suggest that there is plenty of local interest in this issue.

I think what's happening at Carlton Mansions is bigger than just the block itself. It seems to be the point where lines have to be drawn about what is happening to Brixton and a long hard look cast at Lambeth's involvement in the whole murky business.

And while we're looking hard in this general direction, it wouldn't hurt to take a closer look at Brixton Green and what they're up to.
 
Well from what I have seen Lambeth the Co-Op council does support resilient communities, so they really should be right behind you, who is leading this assault on another co-op who's the top person dealing with this?? where does the buck stop??

Critical1
 
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