When you buy a home through shared ownership, you sign a lease agreement. This is a legally binding contract that sets out the rights and responsibilities of the lessee (you) and the lessor (us). You should keep your copy of the agreement in a safe place.
This section does not cover all of the details about your particular property that your solicitor should have explained when you bought your home. Instead it offers general information to help you in most circumstances. Contact the Home Ownership Team if you need more help
If more than one person signs the lease, this is called a 'joint lease'. Joint leaseholders have equal rights and are equally responsible for meeting the terms of the lease. These responsibilities continue until they are legally ended, even if one of the leaseholders moves out. See the section on 'Relationship breakdown' to find out what to do in this situation.
General terms in your lease
The lease for your property sets out the following:
. The boundaries of your property and any associated parts of the development which have been transferred with your property (for example, parking spaces). It also described the shared areas and grounds.
. The amount of rent and service charge you have to pay. It also explains how we review your rent and how often.
. How you must pay your rent.
. The type of expenses your service charge covers
. What your responsibilities are
. What our responsibilities are
. How you can buy more of your property. This is known as staircasing.
. How you can sell your equity in the property. This is known as resale.
Can the terms of your lease be changed?
The terms of your lease will change if you buy the remaining equity in your home and own your home outright. More information appears in the section 'Buying more shares of your home'.
In exceptional circumstances we can change the terms of your lease with your written approval. This is done via our solicitors and a cost may be incurred.
We can only change the terms of your lease without your written approval if we have a court order. The Residential Property Tribunal Service will only grant an order if we can show that the change is needed.
How long does your lease last?
Each lease lasts for a fixed term. We usually grant leases for a term of 125 years from the date we first sell the home. Very rarely we are forced to grant leases for shorter terms; this may occur if we are not the freeholders.
The time remaining on your lease depends on the original term and the length of time since we first granted the lease.
We can only end your lease by getting a possession order through the County Court. We will only do this as a last resort if you break the agreement in a serious way, for example by not paying your rent and service charge or causing nuisance or harassment.
