Leasehold
This page aims to provide you with information about your lease, service charge, your responsibilities as a leaseholder and our responsibilities as the freeholder.
We have created this short video to give you an overview of what it means to be a leaseholder.
Please note all information provided is generic and this does not replace your lease which is a legally binding document and should be referred to for specific advice.
You can find our Information on Administration Fees here and our Leasehold Management Policy here.
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Leasehold Insurance Summary
If you require a copy of our Summary of Insurance please find it attached here.
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Leasehold Handbook
This handbook has been created to explain your lease, your rights and responsibilities as a leaseholder, and provide useful information about the services we offer to you as a leaseholder.
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Buildings Insurance
Homeowners – Buildings Insurance
In most instances the lease agreements states that South Lakes Housing are obliged to insure the buildings that leaseholders and shared owners live in and you pay us for providing this cover. The insurance clause within leases obliges South Lakes Housing to insure and keep insured the building against usual risks with an insurance office of repute, and to have the interest of the tenant and their mortgagee noted on the policy.
The insurance is arranged via a block policy covering all leaseholders, rather than a separate policy for each individual block of flats. This is standard practice for buildings insurance in England.
Leaseholders are provided with the following documents on an annual basis;
- An annual service charge letter which sets out the cost and requirement to pay for buildings insurance
- A document entitled ‘buildings insurance information – key information for leaseholders’ which contains a summary and details of the insurance policy, premium information, services provided by the broker and remuneration information, and any conflicts of interest
- A document called ‘residential buildings insurance cover summary – which summarises the policy and the cover that is provided in respect of loss or damage caused to the building, reporting a claim, and details of the complaints procedure
It is your responsibility to contact the Insurer if you wish to make a claim.
South Lakes Housing do not insure the contents of your home. Leaseholders are advised to take out their own home contents insurance policies as contents are not covered within the buildings insurance policy which South Lakes Housing arranges, through a renowned insurance broker.
Why might the cost of my building insurance gone up in my service charge statement?
The cost of buildings insurance increased nationwide in 2020. This increase was due to a number of factors including:
- The impact of the coronavirus
- A reduction in insurer capacity, which means it’s been harder and more expensive to find insurance – the Regulator of Social Housing have acknowledged in their 2024 Sector Risk Profile report that “there is a limited range of insurers in the sector and some landlords have reported difficulties in obtaining multiple or even any quotes”
- Increased risks associated with things like building safety, flooding and climate change risks
- Rising inflation which has impacted on increased rebuild valuations, which is used to calculate the value of the buildings and its reinstatement costs
- Unsustainable loss ratios – property insurance premiums have been artificially low for many years. As a result, insurers’ combined operating ratios often exceed 100%, meaning the cost of providing property cover has been higher for insurers than the premium received.
- Rising reinsurance costs
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Service Charges
Your lease sets out your obligations to pay service charges to us.
Service charges are amounts payable towards the annuals cost of managing, maintaining the building, its services, and communal areas. The annual cost is then apportioned by your lease.
Your service charge invoice will be sent to you in April and is calculated based on the actual charges for repairs undertaken the previous financial year as well as estimated charges for the services such as communal electricity for the up and coming financial year.
For those estimated charges we will send you a service charge statement in September which will breakdown if there has been and underspend (deficit) or an overspend (surplus) on the service charges charged to you in April. Any over or underspend will be applied to the service charge for the invoice sent in the coming April.
Your service charge should be paid in full within 60 days from the date of the invoice.
A range of payment methods is available to leaseholders:
- Direct Debit
- All-Pay Payment Card
- Automated ‘Touchtone’ telephone service
- Internet payment via SLH website
You can pay here on our website by following the ‘Make Your Payment’ link here: https://pay.allpay.net/southlakes/reference/create/?merchantId=20043027
Or you can pay by Direct Debit over 12 equal instalments which needs to be arranged within 30 days from the date of the invoice. To set up a Direct Debit please call us on 0300 303 8540.
Automated 24-hour Allpay payment line
You can pay your rent at any time by calling 0330 041 6497 and following the instructions.
If you choose this method, you will need your 19-digit Payment Reference Number.
Post Office or Paypoint outlet
You can pay your rent at any Post Office or Paypoint outlet using a payment card. To find your nearest payment outlet, log on to www.allpay.net/outlets To request a card please contact us.
When you receive an invoice for your service charge it must be accompanied by a summary of the rights and obligations of the tenant. For more information on this please visit: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/summaries-rights-obligations-service-charges-england/
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Buying or Selling a Lease
Selling your lease
If you bought your property from us under the Right to Buy, you are subject to a five-year discount repayment period meaning you will need to repay a percentage of the discount you received at the time of purchasing.
In addition to this, if you sell your property within the first 10 years you must give us, the right of first refusal on the property.
If you did not buy your property through the Right to Buy Scheme you are not subject to the above restrictions
Once you accept and offer, you and the purchased instruct respective solicitors to deal with the sale. We will need to provide your solicitor with information about the property by completing a Leasehold Property Enquiry form (commonly known as LPE1). SLH will charge you an admin fee for this service. You can find our Information on Administration Fees here.
The information provided:
- Copies of service charge accounts for the property for the past three years
- The most recent estimated service charge account for the property
- Details of any outstanding major works liability
- A schedule of future planned works for the block or estate
- A copy extract of our insurance policy
Buying a lease
If we are the freeholder of the property you wish to buy, you need to instruct your solicitor to request an assignment pack from the seller’s solicitor.
Once the sale is complete you need to make sure that your solicitor sends us a copy of the transfer with a payment of £5 to ensure we can register you as the new leaseholder.
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Extending Your Lease
A residential lease is granted for a specific term. At the expiration of this term, the property reverts to the landlord. Once a lease has been granted the term immediately begins to get shorter. Qualifying leaseholders can buy, at a fair price, 90 years to add on to what is left on their existing lease. To qualify you must have owned the property for at least 2 years.
It is always advised that the lease is extended before less than 80 years remain on the lease before marriage value is payable, which drastically increases the price of the extension. Please contact us if you need further advice or please visit: https://www.lease-advice.org/fact-sheet/lease-extension-flats/
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Helpful Contacts
You should always refer to your lease and whilst our leasehold services team are happy to offer advice and guidance, you may also need to seek independent advice from either your solicitor, local Citizens Advice Bureau or please visit the Leasehold Advisory Service.
The Leasehold Advisory Service can help you. If you cannot find the answer to your question on their website www.lease-advice.org you can call one of their trained, specialist lawyers on 020 7832 2500 for FREE legal advice.
The service is government-funded and completely free to you.
