Leaseholder rights & responsibilities

Your rights under the lease

Right to occupy: You have the right to occupy your property, as long as you comply with the terms and conditions of your lease.

Right to assign: You have the right to assign your lease to someone else. However, you must tell Hastoe or we will continue to charge you for the service charges and ground rent.

Right to sublet: You have the right to sublet your property. However, you will still be responsible for paying all ground rent, service charges, major works costs and buildings insurance. You must also make sure that your sub-tenants comply with all the terms and conditions of your lease. If you do sublet, please let Hastoe know and give us your new contact details and/or the details of any managing agents, lettings agents or estate agents who are dealing with your property. You will also need to make sure that you let your mortgage lender know (if you have one), and get the appropriate permission from them.

Please note that if you do sublet your property you become a landlord and will be responsible for any statutory health and safety checks, such as the annual gas safety check.

Right to make improvements: We understand that you may wish to make improvements and alterations to your home. You will not usually need our approval before starting non-structural improvements, but you should always check your lease. As the freeholder of the property, we need to give permission for any structural alterations, or work which may affect the integrity of the property, before you start any work. We will never refuse permission unreasonably.

You are responsible for obtaining any necessary planning permissions or Building Regulations consent for structural works, and all improvement works must be carried out at no cost to Hastoe. We may charge an administration fee for inspecting your plans and the finished works. If you do have work done please ensure that:

• It doesn’t cause a nuisance or annoyance to other residents
• You use an approved and registered qualified contractor
• It causes no damage to other properties or Hastoe’s land, and doesn’t interfere or cause damage to any communal areas
• You have sufficient insurance cover to indemnify Hastoe against any clauses arising from the execution and completion of any works, alterations or improvements.

Structural improvements/ alterations
If you are considering doing any improvements or works that will alter the structure of your flat (such as repositioning a boiler flue or installing an extractor fan through the external wall), you will need to get Hastoe’s approval in writing before the works begin.

The procedure for approving structural improvements or alterations is as follows:

• Get full estimates
• Write to the Home Ownership team at Hastoe outlining your plans in detail. You may need to pay a fee to Hastoe if an inspection is required by a building surveyor. Please also include a phone number in case we need to contact you or arrange to inspect the work.
• Hastoe will respond within two weeks and may ask for more information. If we refuse permission, we will provide you with an explanation as to why.

Right to buy the freehold: You and other leaseholders in the building may decide you would like to buy the freehold of the building. The legal term for this process is ‘enfranchisement’. For more information, please visit www.lease-advice.org or speak to the Home Ownership team.

Right to information: All residents have the legal right to be told of any changes to policy, practice or procedure that affects them. You may ask for copies of your lease and other further information, some of which might be subject to an administration charge. Please contact the Home ownership team for details of these charges.

Right to be consulted: You have the right to be consulted before we take any decision or decide costs in respect of proposed changes to any policy or practice that may affect you as a leaseholder. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) section 20, advises that you have the right to be consulted about major works and any long term contracts that we may enter into on your behalf.

Your responsibilities 

Repairs and maintenance 

As a general rule your responsibilities will include the maintenance and renewal of:

• The internal walls and partitions dividing rooms in the flat except where they are load bearing (if you want to alter any walls and you are in doubt, please contact us for advice)
• The doors and frames, whether internal or giving entry or exit to the flat.

You will be responsible for the future maintenance of:

• The door section - we may ask you to replace your front entrance doors
• The internal ‘skin’ protecting the structure, including plasterwork on the walls and ceilings, floorboards and the joists between the floors ion flats/maisonettes
• The internal section of the window frames
• The glass in the windows
• All services, connections and installations which are laid in any part of the block but only serve your flat
• All fixtures and fittings in the flat.

Special arrangements for combined window and door units 

You own all the doors and door frames in your flat. Some moving doors form part of a combined window and door unit. Sometimes the construction of these units is such that the door frame cannot be distinguished from the rest of the unit. If we cannot effectively repair or replace the window section of a combined window and door unit independently of the door, we will renew the whole unit including the door. If this happens you will be billed separately for the door and the door frame, and the cost of the window section will be recharged to the block through the block charge.

Garages 

If you have bought a garage you are responsible for the repair and maintenance (including renewal) of the internal wall surfaces and the whole of the garage door frame, but not the main structure, foundations or roof.

Other responsibilities 

Your lease requires that you:

• Pay the ground rent and service charges as demanded
• Do not to make any alterations or additions to the structure, including the drains, external pipes and window frames, without Hastoe’s written permission
• Tell us if you sell or mortgage the property
• Do not sell a part of the property
• Keep the inside of your home and all of its fixtures and fittings in a good condition and repair
• Observe the conditions and regulations contained in your lease
• Send us a copy of any notices affecting the property.

Hastoe's rights and responsibilities 

Repairs and maintenance 

Hastoe is responsible for carrying out maintenance and repairs to the structure and exterior of the block in which your flat or maisonette is situated. This includes:

• The roof, foundations and structural walls
• The entrances and staircases, including cleaning and lighting
• Pipes, wires, cables, sewers, gutters, drains, ventilation, refuse equipment which are used jointly by all residents in the block (i.e. not for the exclusive use of any one property)
• Any lifts
• The exterior of the window frames. Where we cannot repair the outside of window frames without work to the inside also, the lease allows us to carry out additional works. If the whole frame and glass need repair or renewal we will recharge the total cost to the block, and not to the individual leaseholder.

Hastoe retains ownership of everything above the ceilings and below the floor surfaces, including the main timbers and joists, and any loft in the main roof of a block. Also, for the safety of the block, we retain responsibility for the load bearing walls and partitions and any main services and installations which serve more than one flat.

Other responsibilities 

Hastoe is also responsible for:

• Removing rubbish from the block
• Repainting and decorating the exterior on a periodic basis
• Painting and decorating interior common parts
• Keeping access ways and forecourts tidy and clear
• Maintaining any communal aerials where provided
• Maintaining any block entry phones where provided
• Maintaining, repairing and keeping tidy communal areas and facilities
• Lighting of roads and footpaths which are not the responsibility of the local authority
• Paying rates or taxes due for common areas.

Garages 

Where we sell a garage with a flat, Hastoe will remain responsible for:

• Repairing, maintaining, renewing and cleaning the structure and exterior (excluding the doors and frames)
• Insuring the structure (but not the contents)
• Carrying out necessary works and services.

Communal repairs 

From time to time repairs may become necessary in the communal areas and shared facilities that are Hastoe’s responsibility to put right. Please report these types of repairs.

Report a repair

You will be required to pay for any damage that you, members of your household, tenants (if you sublet), or visitors cause.