[thesmac]

Thank you everyone!

[thesmac]

yes, 0 tax for 6 months, whether it be almshouses or commercial lets as we are a charity

[thesmac]

Yes it is

[thesmac]

Whereabouts are you?

[thesmac]

I guess the quotations would depend on the size of your almshouses? We have 8 single storey one bedroom flats in an old listed almshouse and were charged £600. The report is focusing on the building and work required, not electrics, or health & safety etc. these were separate items (NFU for health & safety)
Anne

[thesmac]

Hi Sam
Same here, my predecessor purchased fire blankets and extinguishers but the fire services visit I organised recommended that residents do not attempt anything, get out of the flat as quickly as they can and call fire services
Anne

[thesmac]

If it is for dwellings, both heating and electricity charges should be at 5%.

[thesmac]

What is the heating for? If it is just dwellings, it should be only 5% VAT, there is no discussion about this. Our (former) supplier switched us to 20% and CCL but he isn’t legally allowed as the boiler is for the resident flats so they had to refund us. They were reluctant but the law was on our side.

[thesmac]

We bank with Barclays, it’s free

[thesmac]

Hello Jane
Not sure whether the link below would help, we use it to keep track of housing allowance rates
https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/
Anne

[thesmac]

We used the Energy Care Group and it cost £440 per loft (20cm top up)

[thesmac]

1 million

[thesmac]

Hi Victoria,
I am not sure how having a resident Trustee attending meetings is feasible given that s/he would have to declare an interest in the great majority of matters discussed. Whilst I understand that your Trustees wish for the residents to be involved in the management of the almshouse, the practical side of things and the key element of conflict of interest plus privacy aspect make it rather impractical.
Best wishes, Anne

[thesmac]

Hi Lana
Not an easy one I think.
The local authority should have a health and safety advisor and, unless I am mistaken, they do not charge for their visit. Maybe you could get in touch with him/her to get their views and ask for an inspection of the premises?
Would the resident have a family member that could house him/her until such time that the place has dried out a bit more?
If the walls are mouldy, this is definitely a risk to health, whether one has a medical condition or not.
The thing is, do you feel the resident is being unreasonable? Do you/the Trustees want to take the risk of the resident’s health being jeopardised or ending up with a lawsuit?
Sorry, no clear answer here…
Good luck!
Anne

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