Leasehold and shared owner information sheets

Information for leaseholders and shared owners Meet the team This information sheet gives you details about our Leasehold Management team.

Our team includes: Shirley Crossley - Leasehold Service Manager Lauren Thompson - Leasehold Co-ordinator Vicky Rogers - Leasehold Co-ordinator (Wed-Fri)

Sammy Parker - Leasehold Administrator Rachel Douglas - Leasehold Co-ordinator

- email: leasehold.management@thirteengroup.co.uk - web: www.thirteengroup.co.uk - tel: 0300 111 1000

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Information for leaseholders and shared owners What are my service charge payments?

You will usually pay a monthly or annual service charge to Thirteen. The charges you will pay are detailed in your lease and can include: • services (grounds maintenance, cleaning) • utilities (communal heating, electricity and water) • major works (eg communal decoration) • repairs (communal areas) • maintenance (emergency lighting, lifts, fire alarm testing) • sinking fund • audit • buildings Insurance • management costs.

What is a sinking fund?

Some leases allow for a sinking fund which builds up money to cover the cost of future major repairs such as replacing a roof. These funds are designed to avoid leaseholders having to pay large bills when work needs to be carried out. The funds are collected within the service charge and placed in separate accounts. Clear records are kept of all payments made. The contribution is based on what we know about the lifecycle on the property and the lifespan of major components.

Service charge arrears Service charges are payable as per the terms of your lease. If you are dissatisfied with the service provided, contact the Leasehold Management Team. If you have difficulty making your payments, contact Thirteen to as we can discuss various payment plans and refer you to our Money Advice Team to help with money management and debt issues.

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Withholding service charges is a breach of lease and could lead to legal action being commenced which could then result in the loss of your home, we would recommend speaking to Thirteen Group prior to taking this action.

Please be aware we are able to apply to mortgage lenders for non-payment of service charge, this could result in you incurring further costs from your lender. .

Managing and building homes

Information for leaseholders and shared owners

Making alterations

General alterations such as painting / decorating do not require our permission, however, certain types are not permitted, and this includes anything that can alter the structure or communal areas of the block.

If you live in a flat that you have the use of a communal hallway prior to accessing your home any replacement door to enter the flat will need to meet current Fire Regulations, please check with the leasehold team before replacement.

Certain alteration requests require an inspection, this could include removal of internal walls or even repositioning of certain appliances/ pipework such as gas central heating system. This is to ensure no detrimental effect will occur to the structure or neighbouring properties.

Please contact the Leasehold Team BEFORE any alterations are made to your property If you are making alterations there is a fee payable to the team and this is detailed on the ‘charges’ information sheet.

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Information for leaseholders and shared owners Insurance Under the terms of your lease it usually falls within Thirteen's responsibility to make sure the property has adequate building insurance in place. .

This covers your property against structural damage. A copy of the summary of cover which provide details of the insured perils can be accessed from your Leasehold Co-ordinator.

We do not insure the contents of your property therefore we recommend that you insure your furniture, decorations and belongings through a suitable home contents insurance policy.

Thirteen makes it easy for you to insure your belongings by working with two different insurance providers to offer you policies only available to Thirteen Group customers.

For further information, please contact our Assurance Team by calling 0300 111 1000.

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Information for leaseholders and shared owners Grounds maintenance You may live on a scheme that receives grounds maintenance services which are carried out by our in-house team, this is on communal land on a development. Each year a programme is in place scheduling the regularity of our attendance and what this entails, the following tasks will be carried out by our Grounds Maintenance Team: Grounds schedule

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Information for leaseholders and shared owners Breaches of lease Breaches of lease include, but are not limited to: • Unapproved works to your property • Improper use- for example using the property for business purposes • Failure to maintain your property, for example allowing the property going into disrepair • Causing damage to the premises • Replacing fixtures and fittings which do not meet health and safety requirements • Harassment or causing neighbour nuisance • Refusal of access to staff members We will work with you to remedy any breaches however if this fails then we can serve you with a Notice of breach under Section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925. If you have a mortgage in place, under the terms of your lease, we will advise your lender of any breach notices served, this could result in forfeiture (re-possession) of your property which could be either by Thirteen or your lender.

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Information for leaseholders and shared owners Leasehold - additional administration fees You can find details about leasehold charges for administration works: • Solicitors sale pack enquiry (LPE1) House (shared owner) - £75.00 plus vat Flats - £150.00 plus vat LSE - £150.00 plus vat Express service 2-day turnaround - £250.00 plus vat (staff dependent) • Pet Permissions £30 plus vat £60 plus vat – retrospective permission • Home alteration permissions - Minor £30.00 plus vat £60 plus vat – retrospective permission • Home alteration permissions – Major – including tradesman visit £150.00 plus vat £225.00 plus vat – retrospective permission

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• Notice to sublet charges 100% Leaseholder - £30 plus vat Shared Owner - £100 plus vat Retrospective sublet permission - charge plus £50.00 Re - mortgaging/mortgage queries - £25 to £100 plus vat - dependent on complexity Joint to sole shared ownership - £50 plus vat Copy lease - £20.00 plus vat Three years’ service charge accounts - £20.00 plus vat Please note: Any internal repairs carried out to your property by Thirteen will be recharged to you at the full cost of the repair plus call-out charge where applicable.

Information for leaseholders and shared owners Useful contacts • Leasehold team • out of hours repairs: • anti-social behaviour: • Housing Ombudsman: • building insurance- making a claim: • contents insurance- assurance team: • The Leasehold Advisory Service: • Homes and Communities Agency: • Residential Property Tribunal Service: • Citizens Advice Bureau: • Financial Services Authority: • District Valuer:

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0300 111 1000 0300 111 1000 0300 111 1000 0300 111 3000 0300 111 1000 0300 111 1000 020 7832 2500 0300 1234 500 0345 6009355 0345 404 0506 0300 500 0597 03000 501501

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Information for leaseholders and shared owners Compliments, complaints and feedback Our complaints process makes it easy for you to give us your thoughts about our services. You can send us your compliment or complaint by any method including: • • • • • •

Via the Thirteen website at www.thirteengroup.co.uk through the self-service website email: customer.relations@thirteengroup.co.uk in person at one of our customer offices completing a complaints leaflet at one of our customer offices contacting your Leasehold Coordinator on 01642 261120

Once you send us your complaint we’ll aim to respond to you within five working days. If we're unable to meet this deadline, we’ll let you know.

If you’re not satisfied with our response, we’ll let you know about the next stage of the process. When we receive a compliment we will pass on the information to the relevant member of staff.

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More information You can find more details about our complaints process and what to do if you’re not satisfied with our response on our website by looking at the complaints procedure and/or complaints policy which will explain what you can do next.

You can also get more details about the complaints process by emailing us at: customer.relations@thirteengroup.co.uk

Information for leaseholders and shared owners Getting involved Thirteen is committed to involving customers to scrutinise services and performance, consult on policy and strategy development and provide assurance of compliance with the regulatory consumer standards to the Leadership Team and Board.

Thirteen has a Customer Involvement Framework which provides a flexible, adaptable, value for money approach designed to support the delivery of our Strategic Plan objectives, and business priorities.

There are a number of ways to get involved with shaping the services Thirteen offers. If you’re interested in getting more involved please speak with your Leasehold Coordinator.

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