New leaseholders and freeholders information

The first few pages of each lease contain clauses which describe the sale of property under the Right to Buy between the original purchaser and the council.

There are also clauses which describe conditions about the sale of the property, such as the requirement to pay service charges, major works, communal repairs, management and administration costs and ground rent.

The estate

This schedule shows the area covered by your estate, if you have one, and includes a plan showing the boundary of the estate, which includes your home.

The block

This schedule identifies the block or building in which your flat, maisonette or house is located. This may describe the extent of a block or part of a larger building.

The reserved property

These remain in Hackney ownership and can be summarised as the structure, fabric, exterior and common parts of your block and estate. Hackney repairs and maintains these parts and you have a duty to pay your share of the cost. 

These parts include:

• walls (not the surface of the walls within your home)
• balconies and walkways (communal and individual)
• windows and window frames in communal areas
• window and door frames to individual properties
• doors and door frames in communal areas
• roofs and gutters
• shared staircases or corridor
• lifts
• communal cold water storage tanks

Please note that this is not an exclusive list and other areas may be chargeable.

The demised premises

Sets out the property leased to you and parts that are your duty to maintain include:

• floor surfaces
• wall surfaces
• ceiling plaster or plaster board
• doors
• window glass
• the inside surface of exterior window frames
• independent central heating
• immersion heaters
• wiring and plumbing within the property

The leaseholder’s rights

This sets out your rights, for example, to use rights of way to and from your home, to use refuse chutes, to use shared gardens and open space.

Hackneys’ rights

This sets out our right to enter your home in certain circumstances. We may, for example, enter your home to carry out emergency repairs where other flats are affected, such as by flooding.

The leaseholder’s obligations

This sets out your duties and includes:

• keeping your home in good repair and condition
• allowing us to inspect the inside of your home
• not using your home for business purposes
• getting the Council’s permission in writing before altering your home
• not causing a nuisance or an inconvenience to any of your neighbours
• to pay estimated service charges or major works monthly in advance
• to pay any difference at the time actual service charges are compiled

Hackneys’ responsibility  

This schedule sets out our responsibilities and includes:

• keeping the structure of the building in good repair
• insuring the structure of the building which includes your home
• decorating and repairing the outside of the building and the shared parts
• lighting the shared parts of the building (such as hallways and staircases)
• keeping the grounds in good condition
• employing any agent or contractor to carry out works or services

These are the things that we are responsible for doing at the Leaseholder’s expense, such costs will form part of annual service charges or major works charges.

When you buy a leasehold property, either through Right to Buy or from a private seller, you will receive a copy of the lease.

You can obtain a replacement copy of your lease by contacting us. There is an administration fee for supplying this.

You can also obtain a copy of the lease and title plan from the Land Registry.

Your rights under the lease include:

• living in the property without any disturbance from us, so long as you meet your responsibilities as given in the lease
• using any lift in the building
• using any gardens and recreation areas on the estate
• getting structural support for your property from the building.

In addition to the rights listed above, you also have rights granted to you by law.

These include the right to:

• view a summary of the service charge costs
• inspect the service charge accounts and receipts
• challenge your service charge at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
• receive the summary of your building’s insurance policy
• be consulted about certain matters, such as major repair works

Our rights as lessor under the lease include:

• collecting your service charges
• running services through your property
• getting structural support for the building from your property
• accessing your property, giving reasonable notice, to carry out our responsibilities under the lease.

Your responsibilities under the lease include:

• paying annual ground rent 
• paying your service charges within 21 days
• allowing us access to inspect or repair the building
• keeping your property in good condition
• not making structural changes to the property without our written consent

Our responsibilities under the lease include:

• insuring the reserved property (the structure and communal parts of the building and grounds that your property is situated within) to the full value
• repairing the structure of your building
• repairing and maintaining all equipment providing services to your building
• to manage the estate and building in a proper manner
• ensuring conditions in the contract (mutual covenants) are being observed
• decorating the exterior of the property every 5 to 10 years.

As part of the conveyancing process you would have been provided with a copy of the current leaseholders rules and regulations.

The document was approved by the London Borough of Hackney’s Cabinet in September 2014 and came into force on 1 April 2015.

The rules and regulations replace the eighth schedule of your lease. All leaseholders, as well as your tenants if you are subletting, are required to adhere to them.

We will be reviewing the rules and regulations periodically and we will notify you in writing of any changes we propose to make following any such review.

To assist us in managing your property and service charge account, please provide us with your up to date contact details.

This information will allow us to act more quickly in response to any emergencies, such as flooding or fire, and to ensure that all correspondence, legal notices and bills are sent to you at the correct address.

We would also like you to provide us with your date of birth and gender.

This information will assist us to review and shape some of our services. It can also be used for identification purposes should you contact us over the phone or in person without your account details at hand.

We would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that we are careful to safeguard the privacy of your personal information. We will fully comply with all applicable UK data protection legislation.

Update your contact details

Freeholder’s rights and responsibilities are different as you retain the responsibility for your own home; however, conditions apply to the common areas or estates, as described later in this section.

The deed of Transfer of Part is a legally binding document and is the contract between you and Hackney Homes/Hackney Council.

Your legal advisor will explain what this contains before you purchase your property and what your rights and duties are.

Hackney Council also has rights and duties under your Transfer of Part.

Depending on where your property is situated, your Transfer of Part may contain up to 3 Schedules.

These Schedules explain your rights and Hackney Council’s liabilities to maintenance and management for the benefit of your property.

The words used in any legal documents such as your Transfer of Part are often words we do not use on a daily basis; therefore you may wish to seek legal advice on items you might need further guidance.

To assist us in managing your property, please provide us with your up to date contact details.

This information will allow us to act more quickly in response to any emergencies, such as flooding or fire, and to ensure that all correspondence, legal notices and bills are sent to you at the correct address.

We would also like you to provide us with your date of birth and gender.

This information will assist us to review and shape some of our services. It can also be used for identification purposes should you contact us over the phone or in person without your account details at hand.

We would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that we are careful to safeguard the privacy of your personal information. We will fully comply with all applicable UK data protection legislation.

Update your contact details

As the landlord it is our responsibility to maintain the structure of your block and estate as well as any communal or shared areas.

Examples of these repairs are listed on page 4 of the Estimated Service Charge booklet.

We are not responsible for repairs within your property.

If you need to report a repair for the structure or the communal and shared areas, please call 020 8356 3691.

All of our blocks and estates are managed by neighbourhood housing management offices or tenant management organisations.

They will deal with any day to day issues regarding the management of your building and/or estate.

This includes:

• upkeep of the estate
• anti-social behaviour
• parking on estates
• communal entry fob keys
• general enquiries regarding your building or estate

See estate services for more information

Your service charge includes a premium for buildings insurance.

If you need to make a claim against your building’s insurance, call 0844 856 2032. This line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You are strongly advised to arrange your own home contents insurance.

See buildings insurance for more information.

From time to time we will have to carry out major repairs such as roof replacement, window replacement and other major repairs to the structure of the block or common parts of the estate.

Under current legislation, where this will result in an individual cost of £250, we will consult you in advance of carrying out the works.

If you do receive any notices and wish to discuss the contents, please contact our major works team on 020 8356 2299.

As a homeowner, you may want to carry out alterations or improvements to your property. Your lease requires you to obtain permission before the commencement of any alterations.

If you carry out any alterations without our permission, we may insist that you reinstate the property as it was. If you wish to carry out alterations, please write to the address at the bottom of this page and include details of the proposed alterations.

See altering or selling your home for more information.

As a leaseholder or freeholder you are responsible for the maintenance and safety of the gas supply, appliances and any other pipe installations, apparatus and equipment connected with such gas supply solely and exclusively serving your property.

You must arrange for an annual gas safety check to be carried out every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and then send to us a copy of the certificate (known as a CP12) that has been issued to you by the engineer within 28 days of the check being carried out.

You can send a scan or photograph of the certificate by email to gas.safetychecks@hackney.gov.uk. You must also keep a copy of the gas safety certificate for at least 2 years.

See our homeowners gas safety web page for more information.

In addition to the above requirements, if you are subletting the property, you also have responsibilities to your tenant regarding gas safety. If your property is equipped with gas appliances you need to understand and comply with the law relating to gas safety.

When you let your property you must ensure that all of the pipe work, appliances and flues provided for your tenants are maintained in a safe condition.

You must keep a copy of the gas safety certificates for a period of 2 years. A copy of the latest safety check record must be issued to existing tenants within 28 days of the check being completed or to any new tenant before they move in.

You are welcome to contact us and discuss your responsibilities as owner of a leasehold property as well as our obligations to you as landlord.

Please contact us on 020 8356 2299 should you wish to discuss anything.