Altering or selling your home

As a leaseholder you need to consult us before you make changes to your property or sell your property.

Making changes to your property

If you want to make changes to your home or garden, you must get written permission from us first. You must also ensure there are no arrears on your service charge account. Examples of improvements that require our permission include, but not limited to:

• installing a new boiler
• laying hardwood, laminate or ceramic flooring
• removing internal walls

General information about your rights and responsibilities can be found in our leaseholders rules and regulations and freeholders rules and regulations booklets:

• leaseholders rules and regulations (PDF 992kb)
• freeholders rules and regulations (PDF 851kb)

You can find more advice on alterations including what you can do without permission in our alterations to your dwelling booklet:

• alterations to your dwelling booklet (PDF 650kb)
• guidance on laminate flooring for leaseholders (google doc)

To ask us for permission to make improvements to your home, complete an alterations to dwelling form online.

Complete alterations to dwelling application form

Alternatively, you can also download and print the alterations to dwelling form (PDF 240kb) and return it to our Homeownership Team.

You may also need other permissions. For example, planning permission from us and building control approval for the changes you want to make.

You must not start making any improvements to your home until you have received our permission in writing.

To find out more about making alterations to your home, contact our Leasehold and Right to Buy Service.

Selling your home

You can sell your home at any time, however if you wish to sell within five years of buying your home under the Right to Buy Scheme, you will usually have to repay some or all of the discount you received.

The amount of discount you will have to repay will be calculated on the number of years since you purchased the property and the resale value of the property. If you sell within the:

• 1st year of purchase, you will have to repay the whole discount
• 2nd year of purchase, you will have to repay 80% of the discount
• 3rd year of purchase, you will have to repay 60% of the discount
• 4th year of purchase, you will have to repay 40% of the discount
• 5th year of the purchase, you will have to repay 20% of the discount

After 5 years, you can sell without repaying any discount

If you want to find out about the repayment of a Right to Buy discount, contact our Leasehold and Right to Buy Team.

If you purchased your home under the Right to Buy scheme on or after 18 January 2005, you must first offer it back to us to purchase at the full market value. If we do not wish to purchase the property back from you, you are then free to sell the property in the open market.

Seller’s pack

Your solicitor will request information about the property from us. We will provide them with a seller’s pack. We currently charge £250 a seller’s pack. It includes:

• information on service charges and copies of actual service charge bills for the last three years
• information on any section 20 notices for major works
• any outstanding amounts due
• details of the solicitors acting for the purchaser

Once the sale is complete, the buyer’s solicitor must tell us that the lease needs to be transferred into different names. We currently charge £30 for this notice.

If you have any questions about selling your home, contact our Leasehold and Right to Buy Service.