Shared owners

Take a look at our guide to buying more shares.

As a leaseholder you have special rights and responsibilities for your home. The lease is a legal contract between you and Bromford which sets out our responsibilities.

The lease is a legal contract between you and Bromford which sets out our joint responsibilities. As a shared owner you have a leasehold interest in the property and Bromford is the landlord.

When you purchased the property your solicitor would have given you a copy of your lease. If you have a mortgage on the property your mortgage lender may also hold a copy. You may also be able to obtain a copy from the Land Registry.

A shared ownership lease typically lasts for 125 or 99 years from the date the first person bought a share in the property. The length of the lease decreases over time.

If the property is sold to a new shared owner, the lease is simply assigned to the new owner – a new lease is not created. It is possible to extend the term of a shared ownership lease. Please see the dedicated section below.

Your responsibilities:

• Pay your rent and buildings insurance

• Take out contents insurance

• Maintain your home and carry out your own repairs

• Pay a service charge if there are communal areas to be maintained

• Contact us if you want to move out of the property or buy more shares

• Ask our permission if you want to carry out alterations

• Let us into the property after giving you notice to view the condition of the property or to repair an adjoining property or communal areas.

• Make an effort to sort out differences with neighbours

• Keep safe – arrange regular gas servicing

Bromford’s responsibilities

• Ensure buildings insurance is in place

• Maintain and repair any unadopted communal or shared areas, roads or grounds and the structure of apartments

• Collect the rent and any service charge payments from you and notify you of any changes

• Provide easy access to services

The leasehold advisory service can provide you with free advice on the law affecting residential leasehold property.

Find out how to sell your shared ownership home.

A shared ownership lease typically lasts for 125 years or 99 years from the commencement date in the lease. Your solicitor should have given you a copy of your lease when you bought the property. You can obtain a copy of your lease from Land Registry by paying a small fee. Once there is less than 70 - 80 years left on your lease, this can affect the value of the property and it might be more difficult to sell the property.

If the shared ownership property is sold the original lease is simply assigned to the new shared owner rather than a new lease being created.

Mortgage lenders are often unwilling to provide a mortgage on a property where there are less than 85 years left on the lease.

There is no statutory right to a lease extension. We will consider granting lease extensions on shared ownership leases on a voluntary basis where there is less than 85 years remaining on the existing lease. 

To apply to extend your lease, please complete the form below:

We arrange the buildings insurance on your home. There are some exceptions when someone else owns the freehold and another managing agent provides services. If this applies to you, we will have told you when you moved in.

Our buildings insurance policy insures the structure against loss, destruction and damage. It does not cover damage or loss to the contents of your home - you will need to insure for this.

In an emergency you should take any immediate action required to protect your property from further damage, such as boarding up, switching off gas, water or electricity.

Any settlement will be subject to the deduction of any applicable policy excess. Our current policy runs from 1st December 2023 to 30th November 2024. No excess is payable by leaseholders and shared owners for claims in this period.

To make a new claim or to discuss an existing claim under this policy, please use the contact details below quoting Bromford Housing and policy number 3395510.

• Telephone: 0161 274 9077 (out of office hours calls will be redirected).
• Email: claims@protectorinsurance.co.uk

Download a copy of the buildings insurance summary of cover for 2023 to 2024.

For Claims Between 28th September 2021 and 30th November 2023

To make a new claim or to discuss an existing claim under this policy, please use the contact details below quoting Bromford Housing and policy number 2023CP000211 

For Property Claims: Tel: 01204 860427 or Fax: 0845 070 9501
For Liability Claims: Tel 0121 411 0533 or Fax: 0845 070 9501
Email: tpasolutions@questgates.co.uk

Please be aware that you need to take out your own contents insurance. Find out more about contents insurance.

You may need our permission to carry out any improvements or alterations to your shared ownership property. Please refer to your lease for guidance. If permission is required please complete an alteration request form.

Complete an alteration request form

Please note: Administration fees are applicable for considering this request. Payment of the fee is required in advance of the service being provided (a sales invoice will be sent to you following receipt of the alteration request form). Fees are non-refundable in the event that consent is not given or if you decide not to go ahead with the works.

If you wish to remortgage to fund the cost of improvement works, your mortgage lender also needs to contact us for permission.

If you live in a shared ownership home you are responsible for all repairs to your house.

This includes repairs to:

• Central heating, water heaters and fitted fires
• Sockets switches and light fittings
• The roof, gutters and downpipes
• Baths, basins, sinks, toilets, cisterns and waste pipes
• Drains and waste pipes

If you live in a shared ownership apartment you are responsible for all repairs to the inside of your property. We or another managing agent are responsible for:

• Communal entrances, halls, lifts, passageways, rubbish chutes and other communal parts
• External repairs and painting of the exterior of the apartment and any communal areas on a set cycle

Report a repair - To report a repair to the structure of the building or communal areas please call us on 0330 1234 034.

You are not allowed to sublet a shared ownership property. 

We will only give permission for subletting in exceptional circumstances.

For example:

• If your employer has asked you to work abroad or away from home temporarily
• If you have to move out of the property to care for a relative
• If you are suffering from domestic violence, racial harassment or other form of harassment
• If you have been marketing your property for a long time and have been unable to secure a sale.

Permission will only be given for up to 12 months and if you have a mortgage on the property your mortgage lender will also have to agree.

Complete and return an application to sublet a shared ownership property with payment of the administration fee.

Download the subletting a shared ownership property form

If you own 100% of your apartment and with to sublet please complete and return an application to sublet a leasehold property with payment of the administration fee. We will usually agree to this as long as you have not purchased a rented home from us under the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire scheme in the last 5 years.

Download the subletting a leasehold property form

There are a number of different things that customers are responsible for paying for. To find out what you're financial responsibilities are head to our homeowner payments page.

You can remortgage your shared ownership home to:

• Buy more shares, also known as staircasing
• Switch to a better rate to save on monthly outgoings
• Make home improvements

Remortgaging is also an ideal opportunity to carry out a financial health check and ensure you get reliable advice about keeping on track with your homeownership ambitions.

Calculate your staircasing affordability with Stairpay.
Get an overview of current and future monthly payments based on your staircasing goals.

Based on the terms of your lease we are unable to consent to a re-mortgage for any of  the following reasons.

• We will not agree to ‘Interest Only’ Mortgages*
• We will not agree to mortgages with very high interest rates.
• The Mortgage value cannot be for more than the share owned
• We will not agree to debt consolidation.
• We will never agree to any other lending against the property other than the first charge lending by the mortgage owner

Please choose ONE of the following options and complete the online form:

• Application for consent to change your mortgage term or interest rate
• Application to remortgage with a new lender 
• Application for additional borrowing for home improvements

Please note administration charges apply.  Find out more.

If you own a shared ownership property we will need to agree to any changes to the person/people who are named as the legal owners.

If we agree to the change you will also need to instruct a solicitor to register the changes at the land registry.

If you have a mortgage on the property and the person/ people named on the mortgage is/are changing we will also need to agree to these changes.

To notify us of the change of legal ownership, please complete the form. 

If you own a shared ownership property we will need to agree to any changes to the person/people named on the shared ownership lease.

If we agree to the change you will also need to instruct a solicitor to register the changes at the land registry.

If you have a mortgage on the property and the person/ people named on the mortgage is/are changing we will also need to agree to these changes.

To apply to take someone’s name off the lease, please complete the form.

Administration fees are charged for a range of services provided to homeowners. These services are not included within the service charge. Payment of the fee is required in advance of the service being provided.

All fees include VAT and are reviewed on 1 April each year based on the actual cost of providing services.

Find out more about the administrative charges.

These fees are for Bromford’s administration services only. Additional fees may apply – e.g. valuation fees and/or Bromford‘s legal fees as well as your own legal fees.