| ITEM | ACT |
| Attendees: Salina Sandhu (Chair) Izzy Olszewska (Secretary), Duncan Aitkins (HSM) Judith Mascarenhas (Maintenance Officer), Pat Mahoney, Isaac Mensah, Yemane Tesfaldet, Cherry Ann Brown, Phil Taverner (Observer) | |
| 1.0: Introduction and welcome by the Chair | 1.0: Introduction |
| 2.0: Apologies for Absence Violet Taylor, Shakira (Observer) | 2.0 Apologies |
| 3.0: Minutes of previous finance meeting circulated | 3.0 AGM minutes |
| 4.0 Financial Report Estate costs are currently £121,000 these include costs of repairs, voids, landlord inspections.Gas inspection is now £90 plus ULEZ this was previously £60.£51,000 is for voids and empty properties and the repair costs. Duncan said that the void tenants had left the properties in very bad condition. Salina raised that the void costs were high such as for Manor Park. Judith said that we were not given access to Manor Park by the tenant which meant the leak had worsened. The flat was left clean but there was severe condensation. An additional cost of voids is council tax even when the property is empty, this was previously discounted but all housing associations have to pay the full amount. Salina asked if there is any way to cut the costs of voids, Duncan said this is not possible as we have to complete the repairs to a certain standard. Phil asked about the policy on boilers, Duncan confirmed that we can keep existing boilers and fix them but if new boilers are needed they cannot be gas. Duncan raised that Thames Water recommends not taking a shower longer than four minutes. He also raised that having long showers may create a dampness issue.Duncan raised that estate costs will increase as prices increase.Salina queried the total for rent for 2023 as £365,510 when Duncan quoted £385,000 as different figure to what Duncan said. It was discovered some figures on the budget report not the same, so Duncan to send out the budget figures updated.Legal fees are higher than expected at over £23,000 due to an increase in complaints. Solicitors charge £290 per hour, Duncan confirmed this is a competitive rate and it would cost more if an individual went directly to the lawyers. The solicitors we use are for housing associations. Phil asked if tenants making complaints are behind on rent, Duncan clarified that one of the tenants is in on housing credit and the other tenant is not behind on rent. Our surplus for the year will be around £106,000. We still have the surplus from last year of £250,000, it is in a Santandar account. Arneway is getting around £12,000 in interest each month. Having this money will help us if we need money for other projects such as Suffolk Road and need to apply for a mortgage. Duncan said the main costs will be voids and legal costs . Predicting costs is difficult as for example, you do not know how many boilers will fail. Salina raised that Fairlight is still empty and will not be occupied until February. Judith said that this is due to the boiler being replaced and us needing to look at different options. One tenant has an electronic boiler at Nicholl Road but we cannot compare the costs as the tenant is barely at home. With all the voids it has been decided we will go ahead with the electric boiler; the other alternative is heat pumps. Salina said that Kevin the engineer said that electronic boilers are going to be very expensive that hydrogen may be a better option and that we should consider this. The hydrogen source is placed outside of the property and the same radiators can be kept. Duncan said this is not on the market and is not recommended by Homes England. Judith said the possible options are immersion hot water cylinder pumps, mercury pumps, combi boilers and air heat pumps. Hydrogen is currently not recommended. Combi mercury is the option we are looking at currently. If we do this at 11C the cost will be roughly around £4800 Salina queried why there were some losses for some months. Duncan said that some months there are more expenses such as legal fees and voids. Judith raised that we haven’t yet budgeted for the electronic boxes or lighting, these will be factored into next year’s budget. Judith said that sometimes the totals vary for each month due to universal credit coming in every 7 weeks which can explain the difference between certain months. Salina asked if Isaac is being notified of financial affairs, Isaac said this stopped because of COVID and this needs to be started again. Salina asked if Isaac could start signing off invoices, Isaac asked that invoices be emailed to him to be signed off. Duncan to redistribute updated financial, budget report.We can use 11C as a test case to find out the cost of running an electronic boiler, by then we should be part of the consortium and there will be different options available | 4.0 Financial report |
| 5.0 Decarbonisation We are part of the decarbonisation programme but one of the housing associations pulled out and a smaller housing association couldn’t be found. Therefore, Arneway will apply for the wave 2 funding but we still need to get another smaller housing association to join. For the grant we will not get the money all at once it will come in stages, as it is a three-year commitment. Salina raised the option of hydrogen boilers, but Duncan said that this option has not been officially recommended and there needs to be more research | 5.0 Decarbonisation |
| 6.0 Double occupancy Four tenants have responded to Duncan’s letter. One tenant will stay and their partner is leaving. The family with children are in contact with Brent council who have promised to rehome the family, they asked for an extension. One tenant is asking for an exemption due to medical causes they have a long-term illness, and they will need special treatment for 2 years. It will be difficult for them to move due to the medical treatments being set up at her home. Two people are needed to look into the case of the person who has medical issues. We haven’t heard anything back from the remaining 2 double person tenants they have until 4th December to respond. Duncan suggested that two tenants be nominated to investigate this and report back to the board. Duncan suggested allowing the partner to live with them for two years and then reviewing the case. Duncan cannot reveal the nature of the illness due to GDPR reasons. There was a case where a tenant constructed sheds and Duncan issued an NTQ. Duncan has also asked all the other people who stay to be issued new tenancy agreements and they are put on the new rent. This will give the co-op an additional £50,000.Duncan suggests increasing rent by 4.6% which is October’s interest rate. We usually base it on September but the interest rate for this month was 7.6%. Board agreed 4.6% In bedsit, properties are far below market rate, so we should think of increasing the rent. This covers Holland Road and Fairlight Avenue Duncan said the current rent is less than £90 per week. Salina said that all the double-person occupants will need to be issued new agreements and go on the new rent. Salina said that for the double tenants who said their partners are leaving is this really the case. We will be giving them a six-month probation period. Duncan suggested that the board members check on this, Salina said that she did not feel comfortable doing this. Duncan said we can get Brent to check on this | 6.0: Double occupancy |
| 7.0 185 High Road NW10 Salina suggested that due to the unsafe structure at 185 High Road which is not habitable to try and put the building up for sale. Judith to contact estate agents to get quote. | 7.0: |
| 8.0: Xmas Vouchers Agreed that Xmas Vouchers to be given to board members depending on how many meetings attended for 2023. Izzy to keep a list each year. Office bonus this year agreed and Judith requested her bonus be night at Hilton on Xmas party night, Izzy asked for Amazon vouchers and all agreed. Treasurer agreed with Duncan after meeting that office bonus be increased by 10% for both staff. | 8.0 |
| 9.0 Zoom vs Teams. Hoping most meetings in 2024 to be face to face as much better but to use Zoom instead of Teams as free. | 9.0: |
| 10.0 AOB Salina mentioned Board members attendance at meetings and if 3 meetings missed then Board to decide if member remains. | 10.0 |
