Page 29 - 70_PBC to Begg (Nuts)_16-11-16 (33pp)

Somewhat regrettably a small £858 overspend on the £105,019 budget was in evidence at the end of works, which was the only additional item requiring a dip into the Reserves of £11,243.
Contributions for the Water Tank and the communal TV/Sky installations were collected on a 100% agreement from all lessees to fund without the need to progress the usual legally requisite Section 20 Notices, but not only to fund but agreement they were wanted, and in the case of the Water Tank on an urgently required basis, whereas the communal TV/Sky install was not but still required, as did the Water Tank, full approval and agreement from all lessees if they were both to proceed on the quotations received and advised to all lessees for their approval.
That approval initially came quickly until Mrs Hillgarth decided that she was not only withholding her £2000 contribution, on the proviso it would only be paid if used to fund the Water Tank and Sky/Tv installations, but canvassing other like-minded lessees to follow suit.
Consequently, not only were funds not in place to totally fund a £105,019 agreed budget (as we only had £98,262 available plus the full contributions from those lessees who did honour their agreements to pay) so we could not proceed with (a) the full works schedule of £105,019, so cuts were indicated as having to be made and made clear to all lessees, and (b) the Water Tank which was an urgent install due to health and safety reasons was unfunded and would possibly now require an s.20 Notice or an application to LVT for dispensation (we did issue an s.20 for that very same eventuality) and (c) the communal TV/Sky installation was also unfunded.
Thankfully, due to some very good fortune on our (MHML) part, Mrs Hillgarth’s tenant had installed a satellite dish on the roof without gaining permission to do so (and just weeks ahead of the planned communal install). That permission was required firstly from Mrs Hillgarth whose ten- ant it was, and Mrs Hillgarth also required permission (or at the very least a request to her fellow Directors).
We have it on good authority that Mrs Hillgarth did indeed permit her tenant to install the dish but without first gaining permission from MHML - along with permission to sub-let!
Anyway, the good fortune was that Mrs Hillgarth then agreed to the communal TV/Sky install and offered her contribution (not quite voluntarily, but more of a force majeure... she’d been caught out!)
But she still declined the £2000 contribution insisting it would only be paid if the Water Tank was to be paid from the £2000 contributions. She also insisted on some additional keys for her Tenant which led to a stand off, with Police present, whilst MHML negotiated the by now horribly complex situation vis-a-vis, due entirely to Mrs Hillgarth’s canvassing of some other lessees, some lessees would only pay the Water Tank, some the TV/Sky install, some the £2000 contribution...
MHML made very clear that the £2000 from each lessee was not negotiable if they wished the full works programme for £105,019 to be fully implemented. If they did not pay their contributions, then certain works would have to be dropped so the £98,262 could cover the reduced workings, and those lessees who had paid their £2000 contribution would be reimbursed.
The exact same situation resulted with the Water Tank and Sky/TV installation, when MHML made clear that unless all lessees paid their voluntary agreed contributions, MHML could not proceed under any circumstances and would seek dispensation from LVT to proceed on the replacement Water Tank, taking funds from the available Reserves of £98,262 and further reducing the works programme. Any lessee who had paid their contributions to the Water Tank and/or the communal Sky/TV would be fully re-imbursed.
All makes sense so far?
MHML made clear that both the Water Tank and the communal TV/Sky required scaffolding to make both installs and if we did not utilise our works programme scaffolding, any delay could involve greater expense on either install, be that the Water Tank or the Sky/TV, as both would require dedicated scaffolding to be erected.
That finally did the trick and all lessees made their agreed contributions, meaning the full works budget of £105,019 was fully covered with £11,243 still in Reserves, the Water Tank and TV/Sky installs could proceed as quoted and collected, and all was well. Even Mrs Hillgarth eventually received her keys once I had attended the World’s End post-office to collect them and on final receipt of her BACs for her full contributions (as we had to return one cheque which was totally illegible).