Open letter to Meric Apak, Camden’s lead councillor for housing 

• YOU are blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for the council’s mess.

Wrong – £5million in lost rental income. How many properties in Camden have been lying vacant for the last 12 months or more with people crying out to rent a property?

More than 12 properties have lain empty for the past 12 months, or more, some empty a lot longer on the Rowley Way estate. How many more on other estates are empty?

Garages on the Rowley Way estate, a lot lying empty again. Lost income means years of lost income. Occupiers not paying rent – again lost income. How much?

The above are just on the Rowley Way estate. How many more in the borough are the same?

We pay for caretaking duties to be done, that is, cleaning and sweeping the estate and cleaning the lifts.

Both of these are only done irregular and erratically. You only need to walk on to the estate to see this is not happening as it should be.

Some people are still waiting for new bathrooms and kitchens and electrical rewiring to be done; and there are no updates to these residents.

Lights on the top landing on Rowley Way are still not working – that’s since the summer – and the lights in the garage area are not all working despite being reported to the caretakers and to the council.

We already pay for services for which you are not, repeated, are not delivering.

How you can justify a rent rise while not fulfilling your obligations to residents baffles me.

Camden Council should be highly embarrassed at this and get their own house in order, and actually deliver what they are paid to do.

Empty council properties can go a long way to support homeless residents and save on giving private landlords cash incentives.

There should be no rental increase until the council puts its house in order.

But it should be clear to councillors what is happening on the council estates. The tenants shouldn’t have to remind you all.

ANDREW GRAHAM
Rowley Way, NW8