Leaseholders Information

LEASEHOLDER BUILDINGS INSURANCE

As a leaseholder, your buildings insurance is provided by the Council. To keep your insurance valid, you need to let us know of any changes to your property that might affect your policy.

We need to know if you have extended your home or had a conservatory built, if you run a business from home or you let your property to tenants. You may not be able to claim on your insurance if we are not informed of these changes as they happen, so don’t leave yourself without cover.

As your buildings insurance does not cover storm damage to fences, gates and hedges, you may wish to consider taking out extra insurance for your future peace of mind.

You should also remember that it is your responsibility to take out your own home contents insurance.

If you have any doubt about what you should be telling us about, please contact us on 01322 343066.

LEASEHOLDER SERVICE CHARGES EXPLAINED

As a long leaseholder, you have purchased the right to live in your property for a fixed number of years (usually 125). The Council is the landlord of the block and estate, and you are the leaseholder of the property.

Your lease is the legal contract between you and the Council. It gives you and your successors the right of possession of your property, as long as you accept and adhere to the conditions in the lease. Payment of service charges is one of the conditions of your lease.

Tenants and leaseholders would usually have similar rights over the shared parts of blocks and estates. They also have similar responsibilities for these shared areas – to keep them clean and tidy, not to cause damage and to report repairs promptly to the Council. Leaseholders are responsible for contributing directly to the costs incurred by the Council in carrying out repairs to the block. Tenants also contribute directly to these costs, by paying service charges with their rent.

If you do not pay your service charges, you are breaking the terms of your lease agreement and the Council could (in extreme cases) apply to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal, and then to the Court, for forfeiture of the lease. This is very serious, as you would not only lose your home but also any equity you had built up in it. This is because in forfeiture cases, the property is returned to the Council’s ownership without either you or your mortgage lender receiving any share of the proceeds.

Service charges that are payable by leaseholders include:

Management (administration) costs
Repairs and maintenance for communal areas
Grounds maintenance
Improvements
Rights of entry in an emergency situation
Ground rent
Buildings Insurance
Costs of communal services
Future Liabilities

The Council has a standard procedure for dealing with service charge arrears, which includes action at the Small Claims Court and referral to a Debt Collection Agency.

In certain cases, the Council is also able to charge interest on any unpaid balances, from the due date until the debt is paid in full. This means if you don’t pay your service charges on time, you could end up with a much higher bill than before.

If you are experiencing difficulties in paying your service charges bill, please contact the Leasehold Services team on 01322 343066 to discuss the problems and agree a payment plan to keep your account up to date.

Leaseholders' Forum

The new leaseholders’ forum began in April, with its second meeting this week. In April leaseholders welcomed the opportunity to be consulted on leaseholder issues including service charges and insurance. Support was given for the proposal of leaseholders being able to access the full repairs service and a question asked on competitive rates and the quality of service. An update on the meeting this week and the date of the next forum will be available soon.

Meeting minutes from April 2008

For more information you should call 01322 343066 or email leaseholders@dartford.gov.uk.