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Understanding your Lease
When you bought your home, you either signed a new lease or took over the lease from the previous owner.
Your lease is a legal agreement that sets out your rights and responsibilities as a leaseholder, and it also explains the role of the freeholder (the landlord).
It’s worth noting that Bromford isn’t always the freeholder. For example, sometimes we buy homes from a developer who keeps the freehold for the whole development. That’s why it’s important to check your lease carefully, so you know who the freeholder of your home is.
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.
Please review your own lease agreement, as the commitments we make to you and the commitments we require from you may vary.
Your responsibilities:
- Pay your service charge and buildings insurance in full and on the first day of each month.
- Pay your Ground Rent either once or twice a year when we ask for this.
- Take out contents insurance.
- Maintain your home and carry out your own repairs.
- Ask our permission if you want to carry out alterations.
- Ask our permission if you want to sublet.
- 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.
- Deal with pests and vermin in your home. Your local authority will give you advice about this. We only treat infestations if they are within the communal areas we are responsible for.
- Obtain our permission before re-mortgaging.
- Don't leave caravans, trailers, boats, or other large items or untaxed vehicles on your drive or any shared area.
Our responsibilities:
- Ensure buildings insurance is in place.
- Allow you to carry out your own improvements and alterations to the inside of your property - but you need our permission first.
- Maintain and repair any unadopted communal or shared areas, roads or grounds, and the structure of apartments.
- Collect service charge payments from you and notify you of any changes.
The leasehold advisory service can provide you with free advice on the law affecting residential leasehold property.
Buildings Insurance
We arrange the buildings insurance on your home, except in cases where another managing agent provides services. If this applies to you, we will have told you when you moved in.
Our policy covers the structure of your home against loss, destruction and damage, but not your personal contents – you’ll need separate insurance for this. In an emergency, take immediate steps to prevent further damage, such as boarding up or switching off gas, water or electricity.
Claims are subject to policy excess, but leaseholders and shared owners do not pay an excess for claims between 1 December 2023 and 30 November 2024. To make or discuss a claim, 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 2024 to 2025.
For Claims Between 28 September 2021 and 30 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
Contents Insurance
Please remember that buildings insurance does not cover damage or loss to the contents of your flat, you’ll need to take out a valid contents insurance policy to protect your belongings.
Adding and removing a name on your lease
If you wish to add or remove a name from your lease, you will need to instruct a solicitor to register any changes. Your solicitor will then liaise with Bromford to arrange this.
Administration fees will apply (see below).
Changing conditions of your lease
You may be able to change the conditions of your lease through a Deed of Variation. Again, this is a legal process, and you would need to instruct solicitors, who would then liaise with Bromford.
Administration fees will apply (see below).
You may need our permission to carry out any alterations to your home. Please refer to your lease for guidance.
For more information please refer to our customer alterations page.
Section 20 is a consultation process we must undertake with you as a leaseholder if we wish to carry out works that will cost more than £250 or implement services that are likely to cost you more than £100 per year for more than 12 months.
Please refer to our Section 20 page for more information.
Repairing responsibilities can differ, depending on your lease. Your lease will identify what Bromford are responsible for repairing and what you are responsible for repairing.
Bromford typically is responsible for repairs to common parts and structural repairs to the building.
Your lease may require you to obtain permission to sublet the property.
Administration fees apply (see below).
If you decide to sell your home, the buyer’s solicitor will ask for a leasehold information pack. This brings together important details such as recent service charge accounts, safety reports (where these apply), details of any fees, and other information needed for the sale.
Administration fees apply.
A few things to be aware of:
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We don’t supply an LPE1 form.
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The information pack is generally only valid for around six months from when it’s issued.
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To avoid delays, we recommend ordering it as early as possible in the sales process.
Fees for the management pack are non-refundable. The management pack will be sent to you within 7-10 working days following payment of the administration fee.
A 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.
The length of a lease goes down over time. If the property is sold the original lease is simply assigned to the new 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 a statutory right to a lease extension on a leasehold property.
These are the two options available if you would like to extend the lease on your leasehold property:
- Voluntary lease extension scheme
- Lease extension under the statutory scheme
More information including a lease extension calculator is available at the Leasehold Advisory Service - Home - The Leasehold Advisory Service
Lease extension guidance for Shared Owners
If you are a leaseholder you may have the right, under the Common and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, to take over management of your building - even without our agreement.
If you are successful you’ll be responsible for things like:
- collecting and managing the service charge
- upkeep of communal areas (such as communal hallways and stairs)
- upkeep of the structure of the building (such as the roof)
- dealing with complaints about the building from other leaseholders
Qualifying leaseholders can use the Right to Manage for any reason - you don’t have to prove the building has been badly managed.
To use the right, leaseholders must set up a Right To Manage (RTM) company and follow certain procedures. The RTM company can manage the building directly, or pay a managing agent to do it.
More information as to the qualifying criteria, and process to exercise the Right to Manage, can be found on the Leasehold Advisory Service website.
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.