Leaseholders handbook

You must pay charges for major work in line with the conditions of your lease, which for most leaseholders is by four equal payments on the set payment days. We understand that bills for major repairs can be difficult to budget for so we also offer payment plans. If you cannot afford to pay the invoice as outlined in your lease you will need to contact us to look at the options that could be available to you.

Please note that there may be charges or fees for some of these options. Will you speak to me before you carry out repair work? We will always try to keep you informed of works that affect your property. We must also formally consult before we do any works of Page If we fail to do this we may not be able to recover the full costs from you. Consultation for our long term repair contract The majority of repair, maintenance, improvement and renewal works undertaken by Swan are carried out by our contractor Axis Europe PLC.

Sometimes the works required will be deemed to be an emergency because not doing them would make the building unsafe.

In this situation we would not have enough time to consult with you before getting the work done. We would notify you as soon as we are able to and may need to apply to the First Tier Tribunal to seek dispensation for not following the full statutory consultation process.

If you have recently purchased your home you may have not have received a Section 20 Notice but you will still be liable for any relevant major work costs. What do I do if I disagree with a service charge? You may sometimes disagree with the amount that you have been asked to pay or disagree about the repairs or services you are paying for. We have a service charge dispute resolution procedure which you can use to bring your concerns to our attention to allow us to look into these.

You will need to pay to make an application and present your reasons why you do not think your service charges are payable but the procedures are less formal than those of the court and the rules on proof are less strict. Either party involved in the tribunal case may be able to appeal a decision made if it is not believed to be correct. It is important to remember that no decision the First Tier Tribunal makes can set a precedent.

This means that although two cases may be identical, the tribunal may make different decisions, although there is a general rule for the tribunal to be consistent. None of the above law applies to freeholders. If you own a freehold property and are legally responsible for paying a contribution to costs, we will work these out in the same way as for leaseholders.

If you disagree with a charge, you cannot apply to the First Tier Tribunal but must take your case to the courts. If you are a leaseholder you may sell your property at any time, but there are a number of things you must keep in mind. If you have only recently bought your property under the Right to Buy, Preserved Right to Buy, or Right to Acquire scheme you will probably have to repay some of the discount you received.

The amount you will need to pay will be based on the time since you bought the property and the current value, meaning in some cases you could pay more than the discount you received if the value of your property has increased. Repayment of the discount will also apply if you transfer or assign the lease, which includes adding another person. If you want to sell your home within 10 years of purchase under the above schemes, you must first offer it back to us.

This means that we have the first chance to buy the property back at the full open market value. Normally we will not want to buy your property back but if we do, we will advise you in writing.

There are different rules for Shared Ownership properties and these customers should refer to Information for Shared Owners which starts on page 16 of this document. Will you buy my property back from me? In certain circumstances, for example if you are in extreme financial difficulties or the property is not fit for you on medical grounds, we may buy your property from you. Any mortgage or other debts secured on the property and any service charges you owe us will be taken from the amount we pay you.

Even if you think that you may qualify for the scheme, we cannot guarantee that we will buy back your property. What do I need to tell someone that is buying my property? The person you are selling your property to will want details of the service charges, any money you owe and whether it is likely that the building will need any major works carried out in the.

They might also want details of the building insurance, the construction of the block and other information about the block and the estate. Your solicitor should write to us to request this information. There is an administration fee for providing this information. Please note when selling your home we will only deal with enquiries from yourself or your solicitor as we will not enter into any correspondence with the buyer or their solicitor.

What happens about service charges when I sell my property? We will expect you to pay all of your service charges when you sell your property. You will need to keep in mind that at the start of the financial year your charges are estimated, and at the end of the year we provide you with actual charges that may be lower or higher than your estimated charge.

You will need to agree the money you owe on service charges with the person buying your home, who will become responsible for any credit or deficit once the actual expenditure has Page If you sell your property part way through the year it will be up to you and the person who buys your property to agree how you will pay any amounts of estimated service charges left to pay.

We do not get involved in the arrangements you make but we always recommend that you make sure money is held aside to cover any shortfall. This is known as a retention and is an amount taken from the sale of the property to pay for service charges you have not paid or may not yet have been charged. What happens if I am disputing a service charge when I want to sell my property? We will expect you to pay all of your service charges when you sell your property but understand that there may be times when you disagree with a service charge and do not want to pay it.

To prevent holding up the sale of your property we may agree to a retention being held by a solicitor to pay the service charge after this has been dealt with. We will normally want the retention to cover the full amount of the service charge disputed. The person buying your property will probably also want this. Can I sublet rent out my property? Your lease will state whether you can sublet your property and if you want to do this you will need to contact us.

You must tell us the address you want your post sent to and who the managing agent for the property is, if you appoint one. This is so that we can make sure you receive invoices, Section 20 Notices or other important information.

Remember, whatever the conditions you have with your tenant, you are still the leaseholder and still legally responsible for all charges and making sure the tenant follows the conditions of the lease. We recommend that you ask your tenant to sign a deed of covenant which means that they must keep to the conditions of the lease in the same ways as you have to. Your solicitor can give you more information about this. Details of your rent and any changes to this will be specified in your lease.

Shared ownership leases often include a section on staircasing which sets out how additional shares can be bought. Your lease will say how many shares you can buy in any application. The amount you pay for additional shares will be based on a valuation carried out by an independent valuer.

The valuation is final and binding. Leases often say the valuer needs to be a Page You can nominate your own valuer if they meet the criteria in the lease to carry out the valuation, but we will need to confirm that they do. We will then instruct them to arrange an appointment with you for the valuation. Once we have received a copy of the valuation report we will write to you with our offer for how much you will need to pay for the share you wish to buy.

At this point you may either decline or accept the offer. If you accept you must give us the details of your solicitors and mortgage lender.

We then pass the application to our solicitors to complete the process. One of the benefits of staircasing is that because the rent you pay is based on the share owned by Swan, on completion your rent will reduce. If you are interested in staircasing, please contact the Leasehold Management Team. You can also find advice on the Share to Buy website, which has further information on staircasing.

Selling your home If you are interested in selling your shared ownership property you will need to contact us but the following answer our most frequently asked questions. Can I go to an estate agent before I get your consent? Only once you have our formal consent can you approach an estate agent and we may need to market the property before you can do this.

You will need to give your estate agent a copy of your consent letter, as it contains details of the eligibility criteria that prospective purchasers will need to comply with in order to purchase your property.

Can anyone buy a Shared Ownership Property? Information on the eligibility criteria can be found on the Share to Buy website. What happens when I have found a buyer and accepted an offer?

This will give us details of your agreed sale price and details of the prospective purchaser. We will then send the prospective purchaser an eligibility form, which they will need to return along with supporting documents such as passports, bank statements and a copy of their mortgage offer terms and conditions for approval. We will then write to the prospective purchaser to advise whether they meet our eligibility criteria.

Once Swan has approved your prospective buyer, both you and they will appoint your own respective solicitors. Just prior to completion, the solicitors will usually contact Swan for an up to date statement of account as a sale cannot complete if there are any arrears.

What happens after my sale has completed? There is a separate fee for each of these, which helps us to keep your costs down if not all of the notices are required. Your Neighbourhood Team are responsible for day to day management issues such as caretaking, cleaning, clearing rubbish, maintaining the grounds and problems to do with antisocial behaviour.

What should I contact the Leasehold Management Team for? Service charges If you have a question about any part of your service charge, such as the amount, how it is worked out and what work or services are included. Selling your home If you want to sell your property you or your solicitor will need to ask us questions about service charges, any major work planned, the conditions of the lease and other related topics.

Additional loans If you want to take out an additional loan secured on your property and you are still in the discount repayment period. Alterations If you want to make any changes or alterations to your property.

Buying the freehold If you own a flat, you have the right, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act , to buy the freehold of the block the flat is part of. This is known as collective enfranchisement. Extending your lease You may want to pay to extend your lease and the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act sets out your rights on how to do this.

We will calculate the amount you need to pay, your revised lease term and let you know what is needed for you to extend your lease. Living in a building not owned by Swan Many of our leaseholders live in buildings where Swan is not the freeholder. This means that your building will be owned by a private company, private landlord or another housing association or local authority.

In these cases, like you, Swan is a leaseholder. The freeholder or their managing agent invoices Swan each year similar to the way we bill you. This indicates services provided by a managing agent and will mean either your building or estate is not owned by Swan. Where the freeholder has employed a managing agent to undertake day to day management of a block or estate the Leasehold Management Team would work with the agent to resolve any problems of issues. All leases say that you, your family and your visitors must not cause a nuisance to other residents or to the area you live in.

Children's Books. Rare Books. Video Games. My Account. Item 1 of 0. Add to cart. Reviews: Trustpilot. Understanding a Residential Lease 2. The Case of the Missing Landlord 3. Dealing with the Landlord Default 4. Sale,Sublettings, Alterations and Use 5. Service Charges 6. The Right to Manage 7. The Meaning of Collective Enfranchisement 8. The Right of First Refusal 9. Compulsory Acquisition of a Landlord's Interest Freehold Enfranchisement of Houses When a Lease comes to an End Variation of Leases Disputes Resolution Running a Leasehold Management Company.