LEASEHOLDERS will not have to pay thousands of pounds for home improvements after the council’s property manager failed to consult them, a tribunal has ruled.

The financial implications of the Lands Tribunal (LT) ruling leaves the future of the Decent Homes Programme, which aims to bring all council housing up to a basic standard by the end of 2011, in serious doubt.

This could leave thousands of council tenants living in properties which do not meet a basic standard of decency, as defined by the government.

Leaseholders who had purchased properties under the Right to Buy scheme were billed thousands of pounds with little notice after the organisation carried out work on blocks they shared with council tenants.

Ascham Homes appealed to the LT in an attempt to overturn a ruling by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT), which refused to grant the organisation retrospective exemption from the need to consult leaseholders on the work.

However, this week the LT threw out an appeal by Ascham Homes against the decision, meaning leaseholders will now not have to pay the massive bills.

The ruling will have a serious effect on Ascham Homes’ budget for the Decent Homes Programme and may well cause further delays to a scheme which is already working on a revised timetable.

Chartered accountant Michael McGough was landed with an unexpected £30,000 bill for work on the roof and staircase of his property in West Avenue Road, Walthamstow – work he considered to be unnecessary.

He said: “The idea of paying £30,000 is alarming especially when you consider some of the leaseholders are older people who bought their properties under the Right to Buy.

“From a selfish point of view I am pleased but this is coming back on to the taxpayer, it is all because of a tick box, target-led culture.”

Cllr Matt Davis, Conservative council group leader, called for Ascham Homes to refund those leaseholders who have been left out of pocket.

He said: “The council seems to be anti-leaseholders.

"It is a shame that the leaseholders have been dealt with so terribly badly because they are generally ordinary working people.”

The council is not commenting on the ruling, or the implications for the Decent Home programme at this stage.

A spokesman for Ascham Homes said the organisation is considering whether to appeal again.