Email from Directors which outlines:
- Directors appearing to be stepping away from the troubled building.
- Maybe even setting stage for Oakley Property leaving.
- They say they are still feeling the impact of Pepper Fox but without giving any specifics.
- If this is an attempt at resetting the narrative and blaming the building issues on others, it seems like a weak attempt, with documentation of stonewalling for over 18 months,
- Also that they only want to “talk informally” – so nothing in writing then. Also they now say they can be emailed directly but before they had said everything must go through Oakley Property.
Their email below:
From: Block Management <blockmanagement@oakleyproperty.com>
Sent Thursday, 25 September 2025 at 13:15:31 BST
Subject: FW: Message to leaseholders – call to join the RTM board
Sent on behalf of The Directors of OCH RTM
Dear Leaseholders
Old College House (OCH) is a distinctive Grade II listed building with a long history. Could you be part of keeping it well-maintained, safe and attractive to future buyers or renters?
OCH is overseen by a board of directors who appoint and supervise a management company (now Oakley Property Limited) to manage and maintain the building on behalf of its leaseholders. The RTM board play a critical role, working to ensure that leaseholder interests are represented and prioritised and matters relating to the building are clearly communicated to leaseholders.
OCH RTM directors are leaseholders who have volunteered for this task. The five directors on the present OCH RTM board have been in place since 2022/23 and none of us wish to hold these roles permanently. Nor is a static and unchanging board necessarily good for OCH. The group would benefit from regular intake of fresh ideas, perspectives and expertise.
We’d therefore like to see more leaseholders stepping up and playing an active part in OCH management via the RTM board. Whether resident owners or landlords, all leaseholders have an interest in OCH being well-managed and maintained. Board membership does not need to be an indefinite commitment and applications would also be welcomed from leaseholders who may wish to join the board for a set period or to focus on a particular issue.
Regular invitations to join the board during past leaseholder meetings, within surveys etc.. have drawn some limited interest. Unfortunately, initial enquiries have almost always been overtaken by work, family or health issues, leaving the board without new members or future resilience.
Present directors also have work, family and health considerations that could curtail future involvement. As well as adding to present numbers (up to a maximum of seven directors) it would be useful to have a small pool of leaseholders ready to join the board when a director steps down. OCH is a large and complex building and does require an adequate level of board attention.
Without an effective RTM board, OCH may find leaseholder interests less considered and management information less clearly communicated. In extreme cases, leasehold buildings can become vulnerable to mismanagement or neglect. Longstanding leaseholders will remember the latter years of Pepper Fox’s management contract at OCH, marked by apparent mismanagement, zero record-keeping and unacceptably and deliberately poor communication with leaseholders. We are still feeling the impacts of this period.
With active leaseholder volunteers on the RTM board at this time, we were able to replace the management company and establish processes for consultation and oversight. Without this, it is likely that the building would have continued to deteriorate, the number of leaks would have risen rather than fallen, and persistent historic problems with unprofessional workmanship and questionable contractor invoices would not have been addressed.
Please do think about this invitation and consider applying to become an RTM director. If you have enough time to think through and form a sensible opinion on OCH management issues, you may well have enough time to actively contribute to OCH management as a director.
Existing directors would be happy to talk informally with individual leaseholders thinking of joining the board but still with further questions. Queries can also be emailed to OCHRTMDirectors@gmail.com
Background information about the RTM can be found in our recently updated OCH RTM Q&A note or summary of RTM company and director responsibilities, drawn from the RTM company model articles and other legislation or official guidance (as per the brief overview in this note) .
Regards
OCH Directors
Sam Arshi
Gerry Bloom
Chris Bradley
Lucy Clow
Andrew Pavli