Letters

Dear Editor,

Your articles about the Genesis Housing Group subsidiary, West Hampstead housing association, (RSLs face financial health checks, Property People, issue 345, and HA confidential, issue 344) report that the London Borough of Camden sustained no losses. This is far from true. Camden councillors play a poor game of Poker. They were told by the Housing Corporation and Genesis that if Camden did not put in an interest free loan of £300,000, then 3,000 tenants would be evicted and would cause social and financial havoc. They paid up. The truth of the matter must be that these 3,000 landlords will have 3,000 flats to let whether WHHA were to go bust or not. They would simply transfer their business to either of the other players in private sector leasing.

The other area of loss is the clawback which they voted to forego on the immediate sale of half a dozen of their buildings just sold to WHHA and the Genesis estimate of the need ultimately to sell 20 - 35 properties. The loss to Camden ratepayers will hit seven figures before the final count is in. Every Camden resident will pay a fiver for this debacle.

Back in the early 90s, we were told that rent increases over a few years of around 50% were to pay for permanent housing that would eventually be needed for us. This seemed like paying into a pension fund. We accepted almost without a murmur. Where is that money now?

Tenants are told that WHHA debts were £3m when Genesis took over. In February, the A.G.M. was told that the figure had risen to £8m, but by now must be around half as much again. With interest charges of £1,000 per day, little property actually sold, tenants wonder if those in charge are actually trained and experienced in this type of industrial trouble-shooting. The corporation's expert, Greg Lomax, has had all his February 15th 2001 edicts ignored, the Ombudsman has raised his telescope to his blind eye, and we see our pension fund trashed.

The corporation is the regulator which didn't regulate. They must pay for the damage. Failing that, if Genesis' top man can earn a reported £3000 per week, and if the company can make around £15m per year clear profit, and accumulate assets of £1B, made principally from the resources of the taxpayer and tenants, then they should pay.

With interest costs of £1,000 per day, those in charge must get a result now.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Rutherford

Chair, WHHA Tenants Association in exile)