If you have bought a flat in a block owned by us, you are a leaseholder. As the owners of the land, we are the freeholders. Your agreement with us is called a lease; this gives you ownership of the flat subject to certain rights and responsibilities which are set out in your lease agreement.
All leases last for a fixed period of time and your agreement will say for how long the property will belong to you (or anyone who buys it after you) - normally a right to buy lease will last for 125 years from the time that the flat was first sold by us or by Kerrier Homes Trust or Kerrier District Council. Eventually the lease will come to an end and ownership of the property will pass back to the freeholder unless the lease is extended.
Your lease will tell you:
. How long your lease lasts
. What ground rent you have to pay and when it is due
. Which parts of the building you own or are responsible for maintaining
. Which parts of the building we are responsible for maintaining or any other services we are responsible for providing
. Who insures the building and what your responsibilities are
. What costs you have to contribute to through your service charge
. What other costs you are responsible for paying yourself
. What you can use your property for
. About any restrictions on who you can sell or let it to
. What you need to do if you want to alter or extend your property or do anything that might affect an adjoining property
. About your responsibility to keep the flat in good repair and to keep the garden tidy if you have one
. About your responsibility to ensure that you or your household, visitors or pets do not cause a nuisance or inconvenience to us or your neighbours.
. About your responsibility to tell us within one month if you sell, let, sublet or transfer ownership of the flat and give us a copy of the agreement
. About the access arrangements for repairs to your home or any other rights of access over your property to adjoining properties
. About any other rights that you or other people have over your property or neighbouring land
