Leaseholders & Shared Owners Handbook. Guidance for Cottsway tenants who own the lease on their home

Transcription

1 Leaseholders & Shared Owners Handbook Guidance for Cottsway tenants who own the lease on their home

2 About Cottsway Cottsway Housing Association (previously known as West Oxfordshire Housing) took over the homes owned by West Oxfordshire District Council in March We now own and manage over 3,600 good quality homes in the West Oxfordshire area. These are a mixture of houses, bungalows and flats for families, single people and older people. We are a not-for-profit company. This means we operate like a commercial company but all earnings are put back into improving our service, maintaining our properties and providing new homes. Cottsway Housing Association is registered with the Housing Corporation which is a government body set up to regulate the activities of Housing Associations. The Housing Corporation sets standards to ensure that tenants rights are protected, services are of a high quality, and financial management is sound. If standards are not met, the Corporation has wide powers to intervene. 2

3 Contents About Cottsway Welcome to Cottsway (and how to contact us) Your Lease (your rights) Service Charge What it covers How it is calculated Management and administration charge Invoicing and how and when to pay What to do if you have difficulty paying Service charge statement Your rights and obligations Repairs & Maintenance Responsibility for repairs Gas safety Alterations and improvements Reporting a repair Cyclical redecoration Major repairs and consultation How to pay for cyclical and major works Plan identifying Cottsway s and leaseholders repair responsibilities Emergency Out-of-Hours Repairs Approved Contractors Extending Your Lease Letting Out Your Home Selling Your Home Re-mortgaging Right to Manage Right to Enfranchise Staircasing Shared Ownership Getting Involved Getting More Advice The Leasehold Advisory Service Leasehold Valuation Tribunals Complaints Complaints procedure Independent Housing Ombudsman Service Fire Safety Tips Household Tips Useful Telephone Numbers

4 Welcome to Cottsway Welcome you now own the lease on your home! This handbook aims to answer the most common questions and queries that you may have. It is applicable to shared ownership properties and leaseholders who pay a service charge, including those leaseholders who have purchased their home using the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire and also those who have purchased from an existing leaseholder. This handbook provides general guidance and advice for leaseholders; however, please refer to your individual lease to clarify specific terms and conditions applicable to your home. Your lease is a legally binding document and along with any other relevant legislation takes precedence over the information contained in this book. Phone us During office hours: Contact Centre Repairs Helpdesk Outside office hours: For emergency repair problems to communal areas only NB See section on emergency out-of-hours repairs Fax us us contact@cottsway.co.uk Write to or visit us at Cottsway House, Heynes Place, Avenue Two, Witney OX28 4YG Our service hours are: Monday Thursday 9.00 am pm Friday 9.00 am pm Interpreters If English is not your first language and you find it easier to communicate in your own language, let us know. We have access, by phone, to interpreters through the Language Line Service. Hard of hearing We have access to Talk Type, a communication system which helps us to speak on the telephone with customers who are hard of hearing. Let us know if you would like to be connected to the system. Please be aware: if someone who you don t know calls at your home, ask to see some form of identification. If they are genuine they won t mind you asking. Anyone calling on behalf of Cottsway Housing Association should be wearing an identification card. Call us if you are in any doubt. 4

5 Your lease Once you have purchased your home you are the leaseholder. Your lease is a legal document and sets out the rights and obligations of both you, the leaseholder and Cottsway, the freeholder. The details in this handbook are intended for guidance only. The following sets out your rights and responsibilities under the conditions of your lease. Definition of Leaseholder A leaseholder is someone who owns a lease. As a leaseholder you do not own the land surrounding your home or the building that your home is in. Your lease gives you the right to live in part of the building for a period of time. You can sell the number of years remaining on your lease. The initial term of a lease sold under the Right to Buy scheme is normally 125 years. Definition of Freeholder The freeholder, Cottsway Housing Association, owns the building in which you live, and is responsible for looking after the structure and communal areas of the block or property. As the freeholder who has granted the lease, Cottsway Housing Association is required to maintain the outside and shared parts of your building and the estate it is on. We also provide certain services to your building and estate. Your lease requires you to contribute to our expenses: to carry out repairs and maintenance to your building to provide services to your building and estate What is the lease? The lease is the contract between you and Cottsway Housing Association. It defines your building and estate (if applicable), and gives details about your flat. The lease also explains your rights and responsibilities, and Cottsway s rights and responsibilities. The lease is an important document; you should request a copy from your solicitor at the time you purchase your home. If this is not possible, we may be able to supply you with a copy but there will be a charge for this. Also your mortgage provider may provide a copy for a fee. Your rights under the lease Your main rights are: To live in your home for the length of the lease The quiet enjoyment of your home For flat owners, the repair of the structure and communal areas by Cottsway If you are a shared owner, you have additional rights to: Purchase further additional shares of the equity by staircasing (purchasing extra shares in your home) Obtain the freehold if you have acquired 100% of the equity of a house 5

6 What parts of the flat are you responsible for? You will be responsible for keeping the inside of your flat in a good state of repair. What repairs will be carried out by Cottsway? We will repair and maintain the structure and outside of the building your flat is in, and shared areas. Under the lease, you must pay a share of our expenses in repairing, maintaining and renewing these parts. Do you have to give us access to your property for carrying out work? Yes, you do have to give us access so that we can carry out works to the structure and shared areas which cannot be done without entering your flat. We will give you a reasonable notice period (unless it is an emergency) before we start the work. We also have the right to enter your home to check it is maintained to a reasonable standard. As a leaseholder, are you allowed to alter your flat? If you want to make changes to your flat, for example changes to the internal layout of your home, or replacement windows, you must get written permission from Cottsway before you start any work. You will also be responsible for obtaining planning permission if this is required for the works (see section Repairs and Maintenance). Can you erect your own TV aerial or satellite dish? If you live in a block of flats, you will not be allowed to put up your own TV aerial. These buildings usually have a shared aerial which we maintain on your behalf. Before putting up a satellite dish you must write to us for permission. You may need written permission from West Oxfordshire District Council s Planning Department and you should contact them in addition to writing to us. In certain circumstances we may refuse to give you permission. What does your lease say about nuisance? You, your family and your visitors must not cause or be a nuisance to: Your neighbours Other people living on your estate Or cause damage or inconvenience to Cottsway Your property can only be used as a private home, and must not be used for any trade or business purposes. Who insures your home? Your flat is insured under a block policy that covers all of Cottsway s properties. The period of insurance runs from 26 March to 25 March. Each property is insured for the full re-building costs. The amount of cover for your flat is specified on your service charge statement and the annual premium is included in your service charges. A copy of the summary of cover is sent to all leaseholders in April each year. In the event that you may need to make a claim please contact Cottsway in the first instance. We may then direct you to contact our insurance broker, Farr PLC, direct. There is a 50 excess on all leasehold claims, with the exception of subsidence, landslip and heave, where the excess is 1,000. You will need to make your own arrangements for insuring the contents of your home. 6

7 Service charge This is the money you pay towards the dayto-day running costs of your block of flats or maisonettes. Leaseholders are not required to contribute towards the cost of services and repairs which are provided solely for the benefit of Cottsway s tenants in the building. What does a service charge cover? There is no prescribed or formal list of qualifying services. The starting point in deciding if a particular charge is payable by the leaseholder should always be the terms of the written lease. The 1985 Landlord and Tenant Act provided a definition of what could be included in a service charge. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 extends this definition to include the cost of improvement works. Depending on the building, service charges might include the following items: Caretaking services. Grounds maintenance, e.g. grass cutting. Heating, lighting and cleaning of communal areas, e.g. stairways. Centrally supplied heating and hot water systems. Communal TV aerial maintenance. Fire safety equipment. Laundry facilities. Door entry systems. Day-to-day repairs. Lift maintenance. Maintenance of shared gardens. Maintenance of boundary walls and fences. Management fee/administration costs. Building insurance. Leaseholders may refer to their estimated and actual service charge statements for an indication of the services their block of flats or property receives. How the service charge is worked out The service charge is calculated so that every leaseholder bears a fair share of the costs of providing each service in their block or property. For service charges for the block in which your flat is situated the cost is shared between the total dwellings in the block. For services provided for the estate the cost is shared between the total number of dwellings on the estate. The service charge includes a variety of items to ensure the upkeep of the communal areas on your block/estate. Your service charge is calculated in accordance with your lease and will include the items that relate directly to your block/ estate. The service charge will be set using the knowledge we hold of your block/estate, and what we have spent. How is the service charge reviewed? Your service charge will be reviewed on an annual basis, to take into account changes in services and rising costs on the estate. 7

8 8 Management and administration charge This charge is paid to cover the cost of administrating the leasehold service to leaseholders and shared owners. It covers costs for: Managing the lease and responding to enquiries. Employing staff including housing management and financial staff. Collection of ground rent, service charges, buildings insurance and any action for recovery. Resident involvement, consultation information and satisfaction surveys. Compliance with legal and regulatory guidance. The management charge will be reviewed annually, to ensure that it covers the costs of running your estate. Service charge invoicing and when to pay Our financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March. By the end of February we will issue an estimate of the cost of what we think the service charge will be for the forthcoming financial year. By 14 September we will send you a breakdown of the cost of the service charge for the previous financial year, together with an invoice requesting payment. So, for example, for 2008/09 you will receive the estimate by the end of February 2008 and you will not receive a request for payment until you receive the breakdown of the actual cost and the invoice by 14 September Your lease requires that you pay in two instalments, on 29 September and 25 March. You can settle the invoice in full if you wish. You may spread the cost by paying by monthly direct debit. The first instalment will be taken on 30 October and the last payment on 30 March. We do not apportion the service charge on the re-sale of a flat or maisonette. Service charge will be payable by the leaseholder at the time the service charge demand is issued in September. It is the responsibility of your solicitor to allow for the service charge that is due from the start of the financial year up to the date of completion and to ensure that the amount due from the seller is reflected in the amount that you pay for the property. Ways to pay service charges: Direct Debit - call us on to ask for a Direct Debit mandate. Payments can only be spread over 6 months from October to March. Swipe Card at any Paypoint or Post Office at up to 100 locations in West Oxfordshire. Call us on for further information and to order a Swipe Card. Debit/Credit Card by telephone on or in person at Cottsway House. Post payment should be sent with your service charge account reference, to Cottsway House, Avenue Two, Witney, Oxon OX28 4YG. Please note: postdated cheques and cash will not be accepted. Standing Order call us on to ask for a Standing Order mandate Internet payments can be made over the internet via our website www. cottsway.co.uk This service will be available from September 2007.

9 The only repairs charged to you as a service charge will be minor repairs to common areas. Repairs exceeding 250 per flat will be subject to separate consultation with you and invoiced separately. We will apply a 10% surveying and administration fee to the cost of these repairs. What if you have difficulties paying? It is important that you contact us straight away, to avoid large arrears building up. We may be able to advise you about benefits or make a realistic agreement with you to clear the debt over a period of time. If you do not contact us and begin clearing the debt, we will have no alternative but to contact your mortgage lender requesting that they pay the outstanding amount to us and add it to your mortgage debt, or apply to court for a County Court Judgement against you. You can also obtain advice from the following: Witney Citizens Advice Bureau The Old Print House, Marlborough Lane, Witney, Oxon OX28 6DY Chipping Norton Citizens Advice Bureau 31 High Street, Chipping Norton, Oxon OX7 5AD National Debtline You may be at risk of losing your home if you do not pay your service charges or maintain mortgage payments. 9

10 Example of a service charge statement The owner and correspondence address of the property The date, block and number of block units Name 2 The Leasehold Block Town Date 1 September Location The Leasehold block 1-10 Type of service charge including relevant narrative Postcode Block Units 10 Schedule of actual service charges for 01 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 Services Ground Maintenance Estimated Total Actual Total Estimated per flat Actual per flat Difference per flat Estate Contribution towards maintenance of estate areas 110 properties Block Area around block 10 properties Lighting to common areas Annual charge costs of communal area lighting Repairs and Servicing Repairs to common areas ( 87.30) Insurance rebuild value Other repairs One-off cost re new path Servicing Alarm servicing Communal TV aerial 110 properties Insurance per Flat Period of cover 26 March 2006 to 25 March Sum assured 55, Sub total ( 86.03) Management 15% ( 12.91) Ground rent TOTAL ( 98.94) 10 Estimated cost for year block and per flat original sent to leaseholders in February each year Actual cost per flat for the year calculated after year end and details sent to leaseholder in September

11 Service Charges Your rights and obligations 1 This summary accompanies a demand from your landlord for the payment of service charges. 2 Your liability to pay service charges is set out in your lease. The lease should specify the items of expenditure which are recoverable and how the costs are to be apportioned between leaseholders. Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 ( the 1985 Act ) provides that only costs which are reasonably incurred can be recovered through service charges. 3 If you think that you are not liable to pay the amount demanded, perhaps because you consider that costs to which the demand relates have not been reasonably incurred, or that items of expenditure are not recoverable under the terms of your lease, or that your landlord has not worked out properly your share of the total costs, you can make an application to a leasehold valuation tribunal. You can make an application whether or not you make any payment in response to your landlord s demand. 4 The tribunal can determine whether a service charge is payable and, if it is, the person who should pay it, the person to whom it should be paid, the amount payable, the date at or by which it is payable and the manner in which it is payable. (a) section 167 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, which, together with regulations under that section, prevents forfeiture for unpaid service charges of ( 350 or less) unless the unpaid amount has been outstanding for more than (three years). However, if unpaid service charges form part of an unpaid amount which includes rent or administration charges (or both) and any part of the total unpaid amount has been outstanding for more than (three years), the landlord may exercise his right of re-entry or forfeiture: (b) section 81 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by Section 170 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002), which prevents forfeiture for non-payment of service charges unless you have admitted that you are liable to pay the amount of the service charge, or it is finally determined by (or on appeal from) a leasehold valuation tribunal or by a court, or by an arbitral tribunal that you are liable to pay that amount: (c) The Protection from Eviction Act 1977, which prevents a landlord from taking possession of a property occupied as a dwelling without a court order. 5 Most leases provide the landlord with a right of re-entry or forfeiture if service charges which are properly due are not paid, but the law provides a number of restrictions including: 11

12 Repairs & maintenance In your lease there are a number of conditions that you have to follow about repairs, decorations and alterations. In general, Cottsway, as the freeholder, undertakes the repair of everything connected with the structure, fabric, exterior and interior communal areas, communal fixtures and fittings and service installations, such as gas, electricity and water, but not within your own home. We aim to carry out repairs promptly and effectively. Responsibility for repairs A summary of Cottsway s and your repair responsibilities is shown below: Cottsway is responsible for All communal areas, both internal and external All communal fixtures and fittings - including communal TV aerials, communal fire protection systems, communal door entry systems, communal water tanks and communal soil pipes All services and ancillary equipment on the scheme, but not within individual homes All pathways, driveways, fences and boundary walls where these serve the scheme All external decorations and the decoration of internal communal areas All structure and fabric of the building - including communal windows Communal electricity and lighting, guttering and down pipes (on flats) and communal refuse facilities. You are responsible for Keys Freezing or bursting of internal pipes Radiators Sanitary fittings including internal pipes and traps Annual safety check of all gas appliances (see Gas Safety) The fitting and maintaining of a suitable smoke alarm Fuses, light fittings, other electrical or gas fittings and appliances Internal decoration Internal floor coverings, including screeding, floor tiles, carpets and vinyls Internal non load-bearing walls and wall coverings e.g. plaster, wall tiles Internal fittings, such as glazing, curtain rails, fitted storage units, kitchen units, door furniture and internal doors. Fuses, light fittings, other electrical or gas fittings and appliances Any damage caused by your household and visitors to communal areas will be repaired by Cottsway and the cost of the repair will be re-charged to you. Gas safety You are required to have the condition of each gas appliance and flue within your home checked for safety at intervals not 12

13 exceeding 12 months since it was last checked. This safety check may only be completed by a suitably approved contractor (Corgi Registered) and a copy of the gas safety record (certificate) for each gas appliance should be copied to the Gas Service Administrator within Cottsway Repairs Service within 10 days of the safety check. If you would like further advice regarding annual safety checks for gas appliances please contact our Repairs Team on during office hours. Alterations and improvements If you want to carry out any improvements or alterations to your home, you must write to Cottsway for landlord s premission before you start any work. In some instances, a member of our Asset Management Team may need to visit your home to assess the work to be undertaken. We may charge a fee for this service depending on the complexity of the project. Following this, you will then need to have our premission in writing, but this may be subject to you obtaining planning permission and building consent from your Local Authority. Examples of such works include alterations to walls, windows, front entrance doors or the layout of your home. All works must satisfy current building regulations including fire safety regulations. How do you report a repair which is Cottsway s responsibility? You should telephone our Repairs Team on and give the following information: Your name and address Your telephone number Arrangements for access (if needed) The repair problem You must report promptly all repairs which are needed to the communal areas or the parts of the building Cottsway is responsible for. In no circumstances are you to instruct a contractor yourself, as you may find that you will have to pay for the cost of the repair, and your action may invalidate any warranty or guarantee. Reporting repairs out of office hours If you have an emergency repair out of office hours, for which Cottsway is responsible, you can report it to us by telephoning Your call will be diverted to our out-of-hours call centre, who will contact the appropriate on-call repairs engineer, who will speak with you before coming out to effect the repair. Repair timescales We will carry out day-to-day repairs in accordance with the following timescales: Emergency repairs within 24 working hours Urgent repairs within 5 working days Routine repairs within 20 working days Examples of repair timescales include: Door entry system not working 24 hours Make safe a leaking roof 5 working days Repairs to gates and fencing 20 working days What is cyclical redecoration? Under the terms of your lease, Cottsway must maintain the exterior of your home and communal areas around your home. Any painting work (and any associated pre-paint repairs) we carry out to the exterior and communal areas of your block, is known as cyclical redecoration. A partnering agreement with two contractors for a 6-year agreement to carry out all cyclical external painting works commenced in April

14 The cyclical redecoration of your home is carried out on a 6-year cycle. This entails drawing up a list of works that need to be carried out to the block. This is called a specification. We will inform you how much your share of the cost will be and consult on paint colour. We cannot charge you more than 250 without carrying out full consultation as per Section 20 regulations (see below: When do we consult for full details). During the period that the contractor is working on site, regular inspections are made by our Asset Management staff to make sure the work is being completed to a high standard. What are major repairs? Major repairs are works we need to carry out to the building you live in, or your estate, that involve extensive or complex works. Examples of major repairs include re-roofing, window replacement, structural repairs, and lift replacement. When do we consult with you about cyclical and major works? Under current legislation, Cottsway will consult with you over any cyclical or major repairs that need to be completed, of which you are expected to bear the costs. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 states that you must be consulted if any one leaseholder is required to pay more than 250 (including VAT). We must consult with all the leaseholders and any recognised Residents Associations that exist on your estate. Leaseholders or Residents Associations can nominate a contractor to be invited to tender for the works contract. We will take account of your views in selecting the contractor, but they will need to be Exor accredited demonstrating that they have the necessary insurances, competency, relevant Health and Safety and Equalities Policies, and any other vetting which would enable them to be added to our approved list of contractors. (Exor Management Services is an independent accreditation body for suppliers and contractors to Cottsway) If we do not consult with you correctly about this, we are unable to ask you to pay anything above the 250 limit. Long term agreements Cottsway is obliged to consult with you about other contracts for the maintenance of the building or estate you live on. This is usually where the term of the contract is for more than 12 months, and where the cost exceeds 100 (including VAT) for any one leaseholder. As with the consultation for major repairs and cyclical redecoration, we will try to obtain estimates from nominated contractors. We will listen to leaseholders views on the proposals. Such contracts could include: Lift maintenance contracts Door entry system maintenance contracts TV aerial maintenance contracts Grounds maintenance contracts If we do not consult with you correctly about this, we are unable to ask you to pay anything above the 100 limit. How do you pay for cyclical and major works? When the works have been completed and signed off by the surveyor overseeing the project, you will receive an invoice for your share of the cost. You are requested to pay on receipt of the invoice. However, if you are having difficulty in paying in full you can contact our finance team and arrange for the cost to be spread. We would treat 14

15 each request on an individual basis and tailor the period to suit you. For major works where the cost can be quite high you may be able to add this to your mortgage or apply for a loan, which would enable you to spread the cost over a longer period than Cottsway could offer you. Cottsway must ask you to pay for the cost of works or services within 18 months of the works being carried out. If you bought under the Right to Buy, the Section 125 Offer Notice will have included an estimate of the repairs and improvements costs for the initial period of your lease. The initial period is five complete financial years (April to March), after the start of your lease. Cottsway cannot charge you more than this estimate, for the following five years, with the exception of adding on any costs for inflation. Plan identifying Cottsway s & leaseholders repair responsibilities 15

16 Emergency out-of-hours repairs Emergency out-of-hours repairs service for repairs that are leaseholders or shared owners responsibility We all know what it feels like when something goes wrong with our heating or an electrical fault leaves us without any lights. Who do you turn to in an emergency to provide a fast, reliable and efficient repairs service especially if this happens outside normal working hours? At Cottsway we have a dedicated team of qualified electricians, plumbers and Corgi registered heating engineers, who are on call for our tenants 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including bank holidays. We are now offering all leaseholders and shared owners the facility to enter into an emergency call-out agreement with us to provide an out-of-hours emergency call-out service that covers all hours outside normal office hours, including weekends and bank holidays. In the event of us being called out to an emergency we will, where possible, make a repair. If this is not possible we will ensure that everything is made safe until a permanent repair can be made. Where further work is required we can provide you with an estimate to complete the work, or if you so wish you may get your own contractor to complete the work. The annual fee to sign up to this service will be 50 plus VAT and all call-outs will be charged at 50 plus VAT per hour plus the cost of any materials used. For further information and to sign up for this service please contact our Private Sector Housing Officer on To report an out-of-hours emergency repair please call This is the same number as for emergency communal repairs and will be answered by our out-of-hours call centre. Please state that you are a leaseholder or shared owner reporting a repair that would normally be your responsibility and that you require our assistance. You will then be connected to one of our repairs team who will speak with you before coming out to carry out the repair. 16

17 Approved contractors The following contractors are Exor approved and regularly carry out work for Cottsway. (Exor Management Services is an independent accreditation body for suppliers and contractors to Cottsway). They have expressed an interest in carrying out works for you, for which you would be responsible for paying. Please contact them direct on the telephone numbers listed. A C S Bower Ltd 24 The Maples, Carterton, Oxon OX18 3HB Tel: Groundwork construction of driveways and footpaths, mainly concrete. Provision of soakaways. Town & Country Trees Ltd 32 Hill Crescent, Finstock, Chipping Norton, Oxon OX7 3BS Tel: Mobile: Arboricultural contractors, tree surgery, felling, planting, hedges, orchard & shrub grinding/removal logwood and woodchip mulch. Property Care (Complete Maintenance) Ltd 101 Brize Norton Road, Minster Lovell Oxon OX29 0SQ Tel: / Mobile: Complete maintenance company, which undertakes all aspects of property maintenance. M C M Contractors Ltd 87 Wilkins Road, Cowley, Oxford OX24 2JB Tel: Mobile: General builders, extensions, alterations, modernisations, disabled works, window fixers etc. All arrangements will be subject to a separate agreement between you and the contractor. Cottsway cannot be held liable for any arrangements undertaken between you and the contractor. 17

18 Extending your lease The right to extend your lease provided by the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act (as amended) is for the grant of a new lease for a term of 90 years, plus the unexpired term, all at a peppercorn rent (that is rent free, no ground rent will be payable). To be eligible you must be a qualifying leaseholder, who owns a long lease and have owned it for the past two years. The formal procedure is started by the service of the Tenant s Notice on the landlord and then it follows a prescribed route. Full details can be found on the Leasehold Advisory Service, LEASE website at The premium payable for the new lease shall be the total of: The diminution in the value of the landlord s interest in the flat. The landlord s share of the marriage value. Compensation for loss arising from the grant of the new lease. Diminution in the value of the landlord s interest This is effectively the loss of the income from the ground rent for the remainder of the original term (as the whole term of the new lease will be at a peppercorn rent) and the loss due to the additional 90 years wait for the reversion (the surrender of the flat at the expiry of the term). The marriage value This is taken as the potential for increase in the value of the flat arising from the grant of the new lease and the Act requires that this profit shall be split 50/50 between the landlord and the leaseholder. The compensation This is to provide remedy to the landlord for any other diminution in the value of his interest in other property (other flats in the building or the building itself) and any loss or damage arising from the new lease. The landlord may accept the leaseholder s offer or respond in his Counter Notice with his own asking price. It is hoped that both parties can come to an agreement and settle on the premium. If this cannot be achieved then either party can make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT). When considering whether to extend your lease, in addition to the likely premium, you must also bear in mind the leaseholder s liability for the landlord s costs. The eventual cost of the new lease will be the premium plus both your own and the landlord s reasonable legal and valuation costs, except any costs which are incurred in connection with proceedings before a LVT. Full details of the valuation process for extending your lease are available on the Leasehold Advisory Service LEASE website at 18

19 Letting out your home You do not need Cottsway s permission to let out your flat provided that: You advise us of your contact address so that we can write to you about your service charge, repair issues and to advise you about major works programmes. You must ensure that your tenants comply with the terms of the lease, as you are responsible for their behaviour. Selling your home As a leaseholder you are free to sell your flat at any time. However, if you purchased under the Right to Buy scheme there are rules which may require that you repay all or part of the discount to Cottsway. For applications that were received before 15 January 2005 the discount period is three years and for applications from 15 January 2005 the discount period is five years. Please contact us for more detailed information on the discount rules. Resale charges Once you have found a buyer for your home, your solicitor will contact Cottsway for information relating to the lease and service charges. This may include items such as: Building insurance details. The last three year s end-of-year accounts. Details of your service charge account. Details of any major works planned in the next few years. Details of when external decorations and decorations to communal areas were last carried out. There is an administration charge for supplying this information. Please contact us to confirm the current fee. We will also require confirmation of the sale from your purchaser s solicitor, so that we can recognise them as the new leaseholder. This is called a Notice of Transfer and our fee for noting this is plus VAT. Re-mortgaging You may at some point consider remortgaging your property, because you are able to obtain a better rate of interest. In some cases the mortgage lender involved will require information relating to your property. We will supply building insurance details and your service charge account details at no cost, however if they require further details, then there is an administration charge, please contact us to confirm the current fee. Once the re-mortgage is completed we will require confirmation of this from your solicitors, this is called a Notice of Charge, and there is a registration fee of plus VAT. 19

20 Right to Manage What is the Right to Manage? This gives leaseholders the right to manage their block of flats in a development, without having to show fault or poor management on the part of the landlord. This is subject to a number of legal requirements that must be met. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 makes a number of changes to laws affecting leaseholders. In general, the Right to Manage will be available to those who own a long lease of a flat - known as qualifying leaseholders. The Right to Manage will not apply to shared ownership leases, unless 100% of the equity has been purchased. It applies to leaseholders in schemes where the total number of flats owned by qualifying leaseholders is not less than two thirds of the total contained in the premises. The majority of qualifying leaseholders must agree to this. How do leaseholders exercise the Right to Manage? Those who wish to exercise the Right to Manage must set up a Right to Manage company, then try to exercise their rights. There is a legal process that must be followed after this, involving a number of notices in prescribed form that would need to be served. Further information can be found on the Leasehold Advisory Service, LEASE website at Right to Enfranchise What is Right to Enfranchise? The Right to Enfranchise is to collectively buy the freehold through the formation of a Right to Enfranchise (RTE) company. Two thirds of the flats must be let to leaseholders and leaseholders of at least half of the flats of the building must participate. As with the Right to Manage there is a legal process that must be followed and further information can be found on the Leasehold Advisory Service, LEASE website at 20

21 Staircasing Shared Ownership How to buy further shares in your home You have the right to buy more shares (increase your equity) in your home. This is called staircasing. You can buy further shares starting from 10% to the full amount. However, you can only do this three times, with the third purchase achieving 100%. There are some leases where you are unable to purchase up to 100%. To staircase you must have lived in your home for at least one year. When you staircase you buy the additional share at the current market value. If you staircase to 100% ownership, you no longer pay us rent, although if you paid service charges, these will continue. If you staircase to less than 100% ownership, your rent is reduced in proportion to the share you purchase. To assess the current market value, a qualified surveyor must carry out an independent valuation of your property. You will be responsible for their fees. We cannot accept valuations from estate agents. We will also ask if you have made any improvements or alterations to your property. This is because when you purchase additional shares, we do not take these improvements into consideration. For example, if your home is valued at 150,000 including the value of a new kitchen you had fitted, we will ask the valuer to assess how much the kitchen has increased the overall value. If this is say, 1000, we deduct this off the full value, giving a value of 149,000, and your extra shares are based on a percentage of the unimproved price. We must formally notify you of the valuation. If you confirm that you wish to proceed, we will contact your solicitor to set the purchase in motion. You will have to pay your own legal costs and any costs associated with your mortgage. If you would like to apply to staircase, we recommend you first check with your lender that you are in a position to get a larger mortgage to cover the share you wish to buy. We must approve your new mortgage if you are not staircasing to full 100% ownership. We will approve maximum lending of the amount of your original share plus the amount for the new share. 21

22 Selling your shared ownership home (resales) If you own less than 100% of your home and wish to sell your share you must tell us in advance. Under the lease, we have a period of six weeks to find someone to buy your share from you. This is called the nomination period. We will appoint a valuer to determine the market value of the property. Please note there are no allowances for improvements. We will ask the local authority to supply details of prospective buyers, who are interested in properties in your area. We send out details of your home (similar to an estate agent) and ask those who are interested to contact you. If we are unable to find a buyer, you can use an estate agent to sell your home once the nomination period has passed. If they find a buyer you will be responsible for the full cost of the estate agent s fees. You will need a solicitor and will be responsible for their fees and other associated costs in selling your home. 22

23 Getting involved How can leaseholders help improve the service they receive? Leaseholders who want to get involved can work together with Cottsway to improve the services provided to leaseholders and tenants alike. There are many ways in which leaseholders can contribute, with varying levels of involvement and time commitment to suit everyone. Below is a list of some of the options available that may be of interest to you. Leaseholder Working Group We have a Leaseholder Working Group that meets four times a year to discuss issues and share ideas. All leaseholders are invited to these meetings. The aims of the group are to: Make sure leaseholders are consulted about issues and procedures that affect them. Advise and make decisions on proposals to change leasehold policies and practices. Maintain strong communication between Cottsway and leaseholders. The group can put forward any item for discussion and, if they so wish, invite guest speakers to attend a meeting. Time commitment: Quarterly evening meetings and occasional items to review between meetings. The Tenants Forum This is the main representative group for tenants and leaseholders. The Forum is a link between Cottsway s Board of management, staff and tenants/ leaseholders. The group is consulted and has valuable input on strategic issues (strategic refers to the bigger picture rather than the day-to-day detail, e.g. looking at how well the Company is performing rather than looking at individual issues). The Forum meets regularly to discuss the services Cottsway provides, company policies and procedures and to discuss how to improve the organisation. Any leaseholder can be a part of the Forum, just contact the Resident Involvement Team for further details on Time commitment: 1 evening meeting every 6 weeks and occasional items to review between meetings. Area Voices Area Voices are tenant or leaseholder representatives who act as a link between Cottsway and the residents in the area they choose to represent. This could be a number of houses, a street or a village. They can raise issues of concern direct with Cottsway and feed back to residents in their area. Anyone wishing to become an Area Voice will need to be nominated by at least two other Cottsway residents within the area they wish to cover. Time commitment: As much or as little as the individual wishes, but there must be feedback to the residents in the area covered. 23

24 Tenants and residents associations This is where a number of local residents join together to form a recognised group, usually to address local issues or make improvements to their community. Advice and support on setting up a group is available from the Resident Involvement team. The groups can raise local issues and concerns with Cottsway and other agencies, e.g. District Council, Highways Department, etc. Residents associations which meet the criteria set by Cottsway are entitled to receive funding and training from Cottsway and can also apply for outside funding and support. Some of the projects that residents association have been, or are involved in, are: raising over 40,000 for a new play park for children in the area, organising exercise classes for residents in sheltered schemes, arranging clean-up days to tidy the estates and raising money for skips for local residents to use. Time commitment: Meetings are usually monthly or quarterly, depending on the group. Plus preparation time for committee members. Time spent on local projects is optional. Mystery shopping Residents are invited to play detective and test our services to see if we are delivering the standards you expect from us. Full training (approximately a day and a half) and support is provided. Although this exercise has only been completed once, we are looking to compile a list of residents who would be interested in being a Mystery Shopper for future projects. Those who have taken part before have enjoyed the experience and the feedback has really contributed to improving services for everyone. Time commitment: Training, (as indicated above) plus time to complete calls/visits. Repairs Working Group We have a Repairs Working Group that meets four times a year. They discuss issues and share ideas concerning Cottsway s repairs service and improvements to homes. Items have included: Reviewing the appointments system Planned maintenance programmes Setting our budgets to meet tenants needs Although leaseholders do not currently benefit from the Cottsway Repairs service they can still be part of the group if they wish. Time commitment: Quarterly daytime meetings. Cottsway s Group The group consists of a panel of residents who respond to a set of questions on a monthly basis. The questions come from different teams within the Company, asking for input on existing services or suggestions on how services can be improved. This is an ideal opportunity to get involved from the comfort of your own home, particularly if you are unable or do not wish to attend meetings. Time commitment: Approximately 30 minutes a month. If you are interested in any of the above options or would like to know more about other opportunities to become involved, please contact the Resident Involvement team on /71 for further details. 24

25 Getting more advice If you want more advice on any of the topics in this handbook please contact us. You can find our contact details in the section Welcome to Cottsway on page 4. Sometimes you will want independent advice. You can contact the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) which is an independent agency funded by the government. LEASE (The Leasehold Advisory Service) 31 Worship Street London, EC2A 2DX Telephone: Fax: Website: Leasehold Valuation Tribunals (LVTs) These are independent and unbiased tribunals which can sort out problems or disagreements you have about whether your service charge is reasonable, including annual services, management charges or major work. Applications can be made to the tribunal by Cottsway or you. LVTs are less formal and quicker than court proceedings. The tribunal asks both sides to put forward their case and present evidence to support it. You do not have to be represented by a solicitor or barrister, but may find that you need professional advice or support. The LVT that deals with cases in West Oxfordshire is: Residential Property Tribunal Service Great Eastern House Tenison Road Cambridge CB1 2TR Telephone: or Fax: Website: 25

26 Complaints 26 Cottsway Housing will fully investigate all complaints made about its service to customers. The Company has a procedure for dealing with complaints, which is publicised and provides clear stages for progression of a complaint. If a customer is not satisfied with the investigation or outcome of his or her complaint he or she has a right to complain to the Independent Housing Ombudsman, following the completion of our process. What is a complaint? An expression of dissatisfaction about which the organisation has direct control. We believe that most people making a complaint will try to resolve their own grievance without raising the issue as a complaint. In most cases they will initially raise the matter informally with the member of staff with whom they have regular contact. We hope that most grievances will be resolved in this informal way. Cottsway has a four-stage complaints procedure to ensure an effective review process. This incorporates informal resolution, formal examination, review and appeal. Stage 1 Informal Resolution Your complaint will be responded to as quickly as possible. All complaints will receive a full response within 10 working days. If you are still not satisfied let us know. Stage 2 Line Manager/Head of Service Should your complaint not be resolved at the first stage the complaint will automatically be passed on to the line manager/head of service of the member of staff who dealt with the complaint. You will receive a full response within 10 working days. Stage 3 Director of Operations/ Finance If the complaint is still not resolved to your satisfaction you can take the matter up with our Director of Operations/Finance. The Director will normally speak with you about your complaint on the telephone or arrange an appointment to visit you. All complaints will receive a response within 10 working days. Stage 4 Board Member Panel If you are still not satisfied, an appeal can be made to a panel of three Company Board members who will independently review all the information and make a decision upon your complaint within four weeks. Independent Housing Ombudsman Service Unhappy with the outcome after our complaints procedure has been completed? Take your complaint to the Independent Ombudsman, who can be contacted at: Housing Ombudsman Service 81 Aldwych London WC2B 4HN Tel: