The information contained within
this section provides a range of useful information for
leaseholders. If the information here doesnt answer your specific
question, please contact the Home Ownership Officer (see contact
details below).
- Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act
2002
- About your Lease
- Landlord responsibilities
- Your responsibilities
- Sub-letting
- Ground rent
- Service charges
- Selling your property
- Home insurance
- Consulting you about major works
- Reporting a repair that is our
responsibility
- Doing your own alterations
- Leasehold service standards
- Contact details
- Not sure of your rights as a
leaseholder
Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 have introduced
important changes to the law on service charges and leaseholder
consultation, as well as clarifying and extending leaseholder
rights in other aspects. Details can be found in the leaflet:
'
Leaseholder’s guide on changes brought about by
the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002'.
About your lease
When you buy a flat from the council you buy a leasehold interest
in your home. We continue to own the freehold.
As a leaseholder you have bought the right to live in your property
for a fixed number of years. Typically, this will be 125 years from
the date of sale of the first property in the block. The length of
the lease reduces over time from the date it was originally
granted.
The lease is a complicated document – we cannot give a precise
interpretation of the lease because it is specific to your
property. You should therefore read your own lease for information
about your particular situation and consider seeking legal
advice.
The lease describes the property you own, and the plan attached to
your lease shows the areas that are included in your home. The plan
may also show any communal areas that you may be entitled to
use.
Landlord responsibilities
We are responsible for the main structure of the building, the
shared parts and any shared services to your building or
estate.
We have a duty to:
- Repair, maintain and redecorate the structure and exterior of
the property. Depending on your property this may include: external
decoration, roofs, estate lighting, grounds maintenance, door entry
systems and window replacement
- Keeping the building insured
- Manage your block or estate in a proper and reasonable
manner
- Advise leaseholders of the Council’s yearly estimate of service
charge for their flat
- Provide a statement at the end of the financial year showing
the actual costs for service charges to your block of flats and
your contributions towards them
- Consult with leaseholders before undertaking any major works to
the building
Your responsibilities
You have a duty to:
- Observe all the terms and conditions in your lease Pay the
ground rent and service charge costs as demanded
- Pay a reasonable proportion of any major works carried out to
your block
- Not to make any alteration to the structure of the building
without the Council’s prior written approval
- Advice the Council’s Legal Services of any transfer of the
lease, mortgage, assignment etc
- Keep your home in good repair
- Not to do any illegal act or thing which may be or become a
nuisance or annoyance or cause damage to residents or any part of
the building
- Not to play loud music causing a nuisance or annoyance to
neighbours
- Informing us if you sub-let your property
Sub-letting
You can let out your flat and become a landlord, as
long as you let us know about it. If you have a mortgage you are
advised to contact your mortgage lender before sub-letting.
You must keep us up to date on all the details and any changes to
those details. You must make sure your tenants keep to the
conditions of the lease, as you are responsible for their
actions.
You will remain responsible for the payment of service charges and
ground rent. You are also responsible for the way your tenants and
their family and visitors behave.
Gas Safety Certificates
As a landlord, you will have responsibilities under the Gas Safety
(Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. You will be legally
responsible for making sure that the gas appliances, pipe-work and
flues in the flat are safe and well maintained. You must arrange
for a gas safety check to be carried out by a Gas Safe registered
gas engineer each year and give your tenants a copy of the gas
safety check record (CP12). You must also give your tenants a copy
before they move in. Failure to meet these gas safety requirements
can lead to criminal prosecution resulting in a large fine or
possibly even imprisonment.
For more information on gas safety and your responsibilities as a
landlord, you can visit the Health and Safety Executive’s website
at:
www.hse.gov.uk or call
their information hotline on 08701 545500.
Energy Performance Certificates
The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) gives a rating for a
building’s energy efficiency, which provides prospective tenants or
buyers with information about how energy efficient a property is
that they are considering renting or buying.
If you are planning to let your flat or there is a change of tenant
you must provide your tenants with an Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC). EPC’s are valid for 10 years and can be used as
many times as required within that period. An EPC is not required
for any property that was occupied before 1 October 2008 and
continues to be occupied after that date by the same tenant. The
Department of Communities and Local Government has produced a
guidance leaflet entitled
'Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and
renting homes: A landlord’s guide', available from
Communities and Local Government Publications, PO Box 236,
Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7NB. Telephone: 08701 226 236
Email:
Communities@capita.co.uk.
What other responsibilities will I
have?
You must make sure that any electrical appliances that you supply
are safe to use.
You will be responsible under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for
repairs to heating and hot water installations; baths, sinks,
basins and other sanitary installations; and other parts of the
flat or installations in it which you own or control and whose
disrepair would affect your tenants.
All furniture and furnishings that you supply must meet the fire
resistance requirements in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)
(Safety) Regulations 1998. More information can be found on the
Department of Trade and Industry’s website at
www.dti.gov.uk.
Ground rent
Because leasehold is a tenancy, it is subject to the payment of a
rent (which may be nominal) to the landlord. Ground rent is a
specific requirement of the lease and must be paid on the due date,
subject to the issue of a formal and specific demand by the
landlord.
Service charges
When you buy a flat in a building owned by the Council, you buy the
leasehold interest in the property. This means you are legally
responsible to pay a proportion of the running costs and management
costs of your block. These costs are called service charges. More
information on service charges can be found by downloading our
'Service Charge leaflet'; 'The Leasehold
Advisory Service (LEASE) leaflet entitled
'Service Charges and other issues' and
Service Charges - summary of tenants’ rights and
obligations'.
Service charge loans
If you bought your property through the right to buy, you
may have the right to a loan for service charges for repairs
that we have carried out.
To qualify for a loan, the following conditions must be met:
- Your lease must not be more than ten years old
- Your total service charge bill must be more than £1,900 in any
one year
- You may borrow the amount by which the service charges for the
accounting period exceed £1,500, but you may only borrow in respect
of charges for repairs. The amount of the loan must be between £640
and £25,250 (although these figures are subject to change)
- The loan must be for repair or maintenance charges – loans are
not available for improvement work, ground rent, management charges
or other regular annual charges.
When we send you your annual service charge bill, we will tell you
if you have the right to a loan. You then have six weeks to apply
for a loan.
If you are entitled to a loan, you will have to repay this over a
period of three to ten years (depending on the amount you borrow)
and we will charge interest at the local authority mortgage rate.
Further details are available in the Government leaflet
'Right to Buy – Service Charge Loans'.
Selling your property
If you are in the process of selling your property this transaction
is known as an assignment. The Solicitor acting for you in the sale
will require information from us about your individual property as
well as the block and estate in which it is sited in order to
answer questions raised by potential purchasers. For instance, how
your property’s annual service charge is calculated and details of
the current years estimated and previous years actual charges. We
provide as much information as we can about future planned major
works.
All outstanding service charges, loans etc must be cleared on
completion of the sale. Mid Suffolk District Council deems that any
outstanding service charge debt attaches to the property. This
means that we will always pursue the current leaseholder for any
outstanding service charges. Mid Suffolk District Council is not
party to your sales transaction and is not bound by whatever
agreement you make as the vendor with your purchaser on the
apportionment of outstanding service charge invoices. Therefore
liability for all outstanding charges up to the date of completion
must be agreed as part of the contract of sale. Your Solicitor will
be able to exercise his/her discretion, based on the information
provided, on whether or not to hold a retention sum (this charge
and any major works charges which have not been invoiced). You have
an absolute responsibility to disclose to your purchaser any
information you may have received by way of notice or otherwise
telling you of likely future costs.
Notifying Mid Suffolk District Council
It is extremely important that we are notified of the assignment as
soon as possible as until this is done we will not be able to amend
our records to show the details of the new owner. This means that
correspondence will still be addressed to the former leaseholder
who will still appear to be responsible for any liabilities
attaching to the property.
It is advisable to inform us of your sale, and if possible, to
provide the name of the Solicitors acting on behalf of the
purchaser. This will enable us to chase the appropriate
documentation if required.
Right of First Refusal
If you bought your flat prior to 10th August 2005, you do not need
our permission to sell your flat. However, if your flat was bought
on or after 10th August 2005, and you wish to resell or dispose of
it within 10 years of purchasing, you will be required to offer it
back to Mid Suffolk District Council. This is because under the
Housing Act 2004, we are required to insert a covenant into the
lease that gives us or another Registered Social Landlord (RSL)
nominated by us, the right of first refusal. For further details
please download the following information leaflet:
'The Right of First Refusal'.
Repayment of discount
If you sell your flat within three years (prior to 18th January
2005) or five years (after 18th January 2005) under the Right to
Buy scheme you will have to pay back a proportion of the discount,
unless the sale is an exempted sale.
Home insurance
As the freeholder, we insure you against loss of, or damage caused
to, the building in which your flat is situated.
You are charged a proportion of the insurance costs relating to
your flat through your annual service charges.
Please note that the insurance included with your service charges
only covers the structure of the building, including fixtures and
fittings. You must make your own arrangements to protect your
contents and personal possessions.
If you wish to make a claim under the buildings insurance, you
should in the first instance contact our insurance section on 01473
265595.
Major works
The Council is required by law to consult leaseholders on works
where their share amounts to £250 or more or for goods or services
under a long term agreement which will result in a leaseholder
paying more than £100 per year.
Further information about how we will consult you can be found in
the information leaflet entitled:
'Consulting leaseholders on major works and long-term
agreements'.
How to report a repair that is our
responsibility
You will be responsible for the maintenance of everything within
the four walls of your flat.
Mid Suffolk District Council remains responsible for the external
fabric of the building and for any shared services.
There are many ways you can report a repair, which is our
responsibility. You can:
- Phone the Council’s repairs service on 0845 600 1135
- Write to the repairs section at Mid Suffolk District Council,
Housing Repairs Section, 131 High Street, Needham Market, Suffolk,
IP6 8DL
- Call in at the above address or one of our service centres
based at Stowmarket (54 Ipswich Street – opening hours Mon to Fir
8.30 – 17.30 pm Sat 9.00am – 13.00) or Eye (6 Cross Street –
opening hours Mon to Fri 9.00 – 17.00pm). To access the Council’s
out of hours emergency service telephone 01449 675899
- Email:
msdchousingrepairs@csduk.com
Doing your own alterations
As a leaseholder you have the right to improve your home, but for
some improvements you will need written permission from us. This is
because, as a landlord, we have an investment in the block and a
responsibility to the other tenants. We will not refuse permission
unless we have a good reason. You may also need to get planning
permission and building regulation approval before starting
work.
We do not need to know about minor work such as decorating, but we
do need to know about any addition or change to the structure in
your home including alterations, which affect walls, windows,
doorframes, and anything, that alters the outside appearance of the
property.
We will also need to know if you wish to erect aerials or satellite
dishes.
How do I get permission?
Write to our Legal Services Section at Mid Suffolk District
Council, Democratic and Legal Services, 131 High Street, Needham
Market, Ipswich, IP6 8DL. You will need to say exactly what you
want to do and include a drawing or plan.
A building surveyor may need to visit your home to see what you
intend to do, before we can make a decision.
The permission we give you to go ahead is not the same as planning
permission. You are responsible for getting any necessary planning
permission or building regulation approval. We will normally make
it a condition that you do this when we give you permission for the
work.
You will have difficulties in selling your flat if you cannot show
this written consent.
Leasehold service standards
We are committed to meeting your needs and providing the best
possible service for our leaseholders by setting out our
'Leasehold Service Standards'.
Who should I contact for more information?
Enquiries about all leasehold issues can be directed to the Home
Ownership Officer in the first instance and sent to the address
below, or you may prefer to phone on the number listed below.
Alternatively, you may also email us using the address
below.
Name: Frieda Hildebrandt (Home Ownership
Officer)
Address: Mid Suffolk District Council, Housing
Services, 131 High Street, Needham Market, Suffolk, IP6 8DL
Telephone: 01449 724765
Email:
Frieda.Hildebrandt@midsuffolk.gov.uk
or
housing@midsuffolk.gov.uk
Useful information can also be found on the Communities and Local
Government website:
www.communities.gov.uk.
Not sure of your rights as a leaseholder?
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) can help you. If you cannot
find the answer to your question on their website at
www.lease-advice.org you
can call one of their trained specialist lawyers for FREE legal
advice. The service is Government funded and completely free to
you.
Address: Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), 70 –
74 City Road, London, EL1Y 2BJ
Telephone: 020 7374 5380 or 0845 345
1993