The Picture House, SW16

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

I notice the last and only review was in 2021 and unfortunately nothing has improved since then! If anything, the condition of the building has deteriorated further without any repairs or maintenance, even though we continue to pay our service charge (upwards of £4,000/year!) The management company, Vestra, are still absolutely useless. We are still stuck in a Section 20 consultation that has been going on for almost six years! All because one of the directors could not be bothered to pursue an independent insurance claim for his own flat which had been badly damaged by water leaks, he dragged all the leaseholders into a protracted and stressful legal nightmare that is still ongoing. That director installed a tenant/janitor in one of his two flats that he owns in the building, who has been verbally abusive and physically threatening to many residents, as well as having access to secure areas, electrics and cctv. A former flatmate of his alleged that he'd been told to let the flat fall into disrepair to validate the insurance claim. When he asked to paint over mould damaged walls he was told to stop. We are fed scraps of information that is vague and non-committal. We are told that surveyors and contractors and coming to assess the insurance claim (at great cost each time) and then nothing happens. We have been bullied into silence if we mention our dissatisfaction with the management company. It's hard not to be suspicious of where the money has gone and who is benefitting. Years pass and nothing happens. The carpet in our corridor was unnecessarily ripped up five years ago without notice and still hasn't been replaced. There has been a hole in the ceiling of our corridor that gushes water every time it rains. When we asked if it could be patched up due to safety concerns, we are told by Vestra that we are "daft" for asking. We ended up repairing it ourselves, which is not ideal, but at least it stopped the leak a little. Our lovely postbox in the foyer was boarded up with a piece of plywood because some people had their mail stolen. All they needed to do was repair their broken post box lock! Instead we had to pay for the dodgy janitor to install post boxes in each individual flat door, meaning the poor postman has to deliver mail to each individual flat. It hasn't prevented mail theft at all! It was some genius's idea to put frosted plastic on the front door of the building to prevent people seeing in and stealing packages. But the janitor did such a poor job that there are bubbles and creases all over it, it looks like someone has covered their exercise book really badly! It has actually created another safety issue in that you can't see who is coming into the building. We had our nice lights in the corridors replaced with cheap LED fittings that flash on and off as you walk past them. I'm all for saving energy - but factoring in the saving of LED lights anyway, there is no need to have the lights flash on and off! And at least choose fittings that are the right size and in keeping with the deco style of the building? When it was requested to have the lights on a static setting, the idea was shot down by Vestra who said it was "saving us money". In 2019 we attempted to organise a collective of leaseholders to overthrow the directors and Vestra, as we were threatened with a possible extra repair bill of £15,000 per flat, but they were manipulated by Martin Cotton and Vestra to back off and withdraw their opposition. Perhaps they were offered discounts in their service charge to stay quiet? Or persuaded that only Vestra had the historical knowledge required to effectively pursue the insurance claim? Either way, it was no coincidence that these same people who were so vocal about getting rid of these crooks all moved out and rented out their flats!

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish we had known about the difficulties of buying a leasehold property and been warned about the dishonesty of property management companies and that there is non-existent sound-proofing between the flats.

What is the best feature of your home:

The square footage and large outdoor terrace. The location is convenient for transport into the city and for outstanding local schools.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The Picturehouse, Streatham Hill is placed in a prime location - minutes from the train station. Bin collections can be early and noisy, situated next to a bar and restaurant - so if you face the North side you’re exposed to music from the bar on a weekend, emptying of bottle bins late in the evening.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Thin walls, no working communal fire system or alarms. Public know the codes to the car park which makes the development insecure.

Please share one thing (or more) which you would change about your development:

A different property management company. More soundproofing needed.