Information for Leaseholders

In some blocks of flats, we have homes that have been purchased. Owners of these homes are leaseholders.

If you are a leaseholder, we are here to help you understand your rights and responsibilities and your relationship with Teign Housing. When you bought your home, you signed a lease agreement. This legal document between us explains our responsibilities and what we can expect from one another.

This page includes information about managing your lease during your time with us.

Service charges are paid for by most tenants, leaseholders, shared owners, and some freeholders. They pay for additional services and day-to-day running costs that are provided in communal areas and shared with your neighbours.

Information on service charges can be found on the Service Charge page.

Your lease contains the specific details of who is responsible for repairs to your home.

You are generally responsible for the interior of your home, including fixtures and fittings, internal plumbing and wiring.

As a leaseholder, you are not permitted to make any structural changes or additions to your home without first obtaining our written consent. This could include knocking down walls, installing a wet room, building a porch, installing decking, or changing your front door. You can submit a request for consent by emailing the details to the Customer First Team at  Customerhub@teignhousing.co.uk.

Please check your lease and/or email the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk for more specific information on the terms of your lease.

Your lease contains the specific details of who is responsible for repairs to your building / block.

Generally, Teign Housing is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the exterior of the building, the structure of the building and any communal areas.

Leaseholders are responsible for contributing towards repairs to their building / block. We will carry out a Section 20 Consultation with you before carrying out any major works to your Building/Block, where your contribution will be more than £250.

We offer various payment methods for leaseholders to help them meet the cost of major work.  Further details can be found in our Leaseholder Management Policy.

Please check your lease and/or email the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk for more specific information on the terms of your lease.

Gas safety information for leaseholders can be found on the Heating and Gas page.

Check your lease to find out who is responsible for the front door to your home. In most cases, the front door belongs to you and is your responsibility to maintain, repair and replace.  If you need help checking your lease, please contact the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk.

Permission to change the doors must be sought as an alteration. We will then advise you on the type of door you would be allowed to install to meet current fire regulations. Where a door is required, you must have a minimum of a FD30S fire door and a functioning door closer fitted.  We will arrange for periodic safety checks to be made. Please ensure you allow access to your home when required to enable your fire doors to be checked for compliance. Failure to allow access is a breach of your lease terms.

We are responsible for arranging building insurance for all our homes, including leasehold flats, covering the property’s structure. You will need to arrange insurance for the contents within your home, as building insurance does not cover this.

You can view the Buildings Insurance and details on how to make a claim on the Insurance page

If you are selling your home, your buyer’s Solicitor will usually require a Leasehold Information Pack from Teign Housing, containing information about your building / block. We charge an administration fee of £180.00 (£150 plus VAT) for providing our Leasehold Information Pack. Please contact the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk for information or call either 01626 322849 or 01626 322781 to request the pack and pay the administration fee.

If there is a Land Registry restriction on the title requiring a Certificate from Teign Housing, we charge a fee of £150.00 (£125 plus VAT) to issue the Land Registry Certificate. Your buyer usually pays this fee.

When your sale has completed, the buyer’s Solicitor will send us a Notice of Transfer and/or Mortgage. Our administration fee for dealing with Notice of Transfer and/or Mortgage is £90.00 (£75 plus VAT). Please ask the buyer’s Solicitor to contact the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk  to arrange payment of the Notice fee.

This process allows leaseholders to apply to extend the number of years left on their lease. This may be required for sale or mortgage purposes if the lease has a term remaining of less than 80 years. A consideration is payable to purchase the additional years, and a valuation from a RICS qualified valuer will determine this. Please be aware that you will need to pay the valuer’s fee.

Please contact the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk for more information on lease extension and how to apply to extend your lease.

Useful information can also be found here on the Leasehold Advisory Service website: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/lease-extension-getting-started/

This is a process where, in certain circumstances, leaseholders in a block can require their landlord to sell them the freehold of the building / block.

Please contact the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk for further information.

Useful information can also be found here on the Leasehold Advisory Service website.

This is a process which, in certain circumstances, allows leaseholders of a block of flats to take over the management of their building from the landlord without having to buy the freehold.

Please contact the Legal Team at legal@teignhousing.co.uk for further information.

Useful information can also be found here on the Leasehold Advisory Service website.

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