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Leaseholders

Becoming a leaseholder

When you buy leasehold flat you sign a contract called a lease. This lease explains the rights and the responsibilities of you and your landlord. Not all leases are the same. Your own lease will give you details that apply to you and your home.

Rights and Responsibilities

Your rights and responsibilities include:

Seven Locks Housing responsibilities’ include:

Pets & Animals

All animals must be kept in accordance with the law and the terms of your lease. You must keep any animal under control at all times and not allow any animal to foul or damage your home or any other property or cause nuisance or annoyance to anyone else.

Alterations

An alteration is something that affects the structure of your home but may not change the value of your home. Examples of alterations may include changing the layout inside your home, such as removing walls.

You must have written permission from Seven Locks Housing before you make any alterations. You may also need the permission of the following:

Insuring the building

All leasehold properties must be covered by comprehensive buildings insurance through Seven Locks Housing's insurers.

The rate offered by Seven Locks Housing is very competitive and will be automatically included within the annual service charge so you do not have to take out separate buildings insurance.

Comprehensive cover does not however cover your contents. Leaseholders are advised to take out separate contents insurance to protect their personal possessions.

Reporting a repair

If you would like to report a repair to communal areas please click here

Service Charges

Seven Locks Housing is responsible for providing the services described in your lease. The service charges you pay are made up of the cost of:

Every year you will be sent a service charge bill. This will tell you how much money was spent on the building in the previous year and how much you need to pay towards it.

Seven Locks Housing must consult with you first if we want to do major work to the exterior and the structure of your block. The repair and redecoration of communal areas can fall into this category, replacement of door entry systems, reroofing etc

You have the right to see invoices and other documents that support the summary amount of service charge spent. You must ask to do this within six months of getting the summary

Payment options

Seven Locks Housing offers a range of payment options

If you fail to pay your service charge Seven Locks Housing will:

Legal action would mean you might have legal costs adding to your financial problems. It is very important that you work with us to sort out any problems and keep us informed of your current position.

Reporting a dispute or complaint

Seven Locks Housing is committed to resolving any disputes or complaints at the earliest opportunity. Initial enquiries should be made to the Housing Manager who covers your area on 01858 414500.

We hope that on most occasions problems will be dealt with quickly and to your satisfaction. However there may be occasions where this is not possible or you are still not happy with our service. If this is the case you can make a formal complaint by contacting our Customer Relations Manager 01858 414540.

Getting involved

All leaseholders are encouraged to get involved in commenting on and developing the services provided. If you are interested in becoming involved please contact our Customer Involvement Officer on 01858 414519.