Shared Owners
What you need to know about shared ownership with LHP. You can also read our Shared Ownership Leaseholders Handbook for further information.
Shared Ownership Leases
Your lease is an important legal document. We aim to give you a basic guide to how your shared ownership lease works, what your rights and responsibilities as a leaseholder are, and what are our rights and responsibilities as your landlord.
How is my rent calculated?
Your lease sets out the formula for reviewing the rent that you pay on the proportion of your home which is owned by the housing association.
Rent is adjusted annually, in April and we will write to you before then, setting out your new rent and service charges.
Service Charges
A service charge is a payment towards the cost of communal and services outside your home.
These are examples of services which may be covered by these charges:
- Employing a caretaker
- Cleaning shared areas and removing rubbish
- Looking after communal gardens including cutting the grass
- Repairing shared facilities like door entry systems, lifts and lighting
- Fire safety including repairing and testing smoke alarms in entry areas, stairways and corridors
- Management Fees
- Buildings insurance
Where we provide a service that is shared by a number of customers, the amount that we charge is the total cost of that service is typically divided by the number of customers who benefit from it.
We write to shared owners setting out service charges payable from April each year, based on the estimated cost to provide these services and facilities.
Repairs
You’re responsible for maintaining and repairing your property (including fixtures, fittings and any goods you bring into your home) as well as looking after your garden. If your property is still in the defect period as discussed at point of sale please call LHP Customer Services on 0345 6041472 were a member of the team will discuss this with you further.
Building Insurance
In most instances, we are obliged to insure the buildings that leaseholders and shared owners live in and you pay us for providing this cover.
Under the terms of the lease, we are entitled to recover the cost of the annual premiums from you. This cost is included in your service charge invoice. Please note that it is a condition of your lease that you have this insurance.
To make a claim please see the latest insurance cover note.
Insert insurance cover note
Please note: we do not insure the contents of your home.
We, therefore, strongly advise you to take out your own contents insurance which should also cover you against loss, theft or damage caused by you or your property (e.g. leaking washing machine) to other people’s property or belongings.
Selling your property
I you are selling your shared ownership property, we will have the right to nominate a buyer. The process for selling your property is detailed in your lease however you should contact the Sales Team sharedownership@lincolnshirehp.com us to discuss the requirements before putting your property on the market.
Changing a name on a lease
Remove a Name
To remove someone’s name from your lease, you need to instruct a solicitor.
- Your solicitor will ask us to sign documents and provide our written agreement to this change before they can update the change in ownership at the Land Registry.
- If you have a mortgage, your lender will usually need to notify us of this before the mortgage can be registered at the land registry
- Your service charge account will need to be up to date.
LHP will charge an administration fee. The amount payable will be confirmed to your solicitor once we understand what is required.
Add a Name
To add someone’s name onto the lease you need to instruct a solicitor.
- Your service charge account will need to be up to date.
- Your solicitor will ask LHPÂ to sign documents and provide our written agreement to this change before they can update the change in ownership at the Land Registry.
- If you have a mortgage, your lender will usually need to notify us of this before the mortgage can be registered at the Land Registry.
LHP will charge an administration fee. The amount payable will be confirmed to your solicitor once we understand what is required
Sub-letting
Some leases, particularly those granted under the shared ownership scheme prevent subletting and you should check your lease or with us before entering into any agreement.
If you are in any doubt please contact our Leaseholder Officer either by phone, email or our online form.