Leaseholder FAQs

If you have purchased your property from us in the last 10 years; under the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire then you must in the first instance offer us the chance to purchase this property back. This buy back option must be submitted into us before putting your property on the open market. If you are thinking about selling then please contact us to discuss this process further.

Some of our other leases also contain a clause that will allow us to consider purchasing the property back from yourself.  You would need to check your individual lease to establish if this is applicable to yourself.

Please tell us when your property is on the market so that we can plan for any enquiries relating to your leasehold ownership.  We will ask you for the details of your agent and ask you to provide permission for us to speak with them regarding any issues which may affect your sale.  We will provide your agent with details of the length of the lease and the service charges payable to enable them to market your property and deal with enquiries from purchasers.

LHP will charge an administration fee. The amount payable will be confirmed to your solicitor once we understand what is required

The exact term will be detailed within your lease.  If you need help please contact our Leaseholder Officer either by phone, email or our online form.

When you have agreed a sale you solicitor must notify us of the change of ownership so that we can update our records and make sure the annual service charge invoice is sent to the correct person.   If your property is located in one of our sheltered schemes there may be other requirements such as notifying us of who has a fob for the block and who will be visiting so that we can maintain the security of our residents.

If you have bought your home through the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire scheme you may have to first offer LHP or another social landlord the chance to purchase your home.  This will apply for 10 years after the purchase of your home.  You should contact the Sales Team sharedownership@lincolnshirehp.com  before you put your property on the market to avoid any delays later.

In addition, there may be monies which you are required to repay. If you bought your home from us under the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes and you wish to sell within five years then you will have to repay some of the discount you received. The amount will be determined by what the rules of the scheme were at the time you bought. You should contact us if you are thinking of selling as this may apply to you.

If you are a leaseholder, it is likely that you either purchased a home from LHP outright or you are a shared owner. The majority of our leases were originally granted in the early eighties and it is likely that the term was 125 years. This means that the remaining term of your lease may have shortened significantly.

We have found that if the lease term falls below 80 years, this could make it difficult for the leaseholder if they want to sell their home or remortgage. From our experience, mortgage lenders will not consider a mortgage or remortgage application if the lease term is below 80 years as it increases their risk of lending against the home.

A lease extension is a statutory right for 100% leaseholders provided you meet the eligibility criteria detailed below.

Shared owners cannot formally apply to extend their lease through this statutory right, but LHP will still offer an informal lease extension service.

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 LHP 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

If your lease allows subletting you must tell us if you sub-let your property because we will need to keep up-to-date information on how to contact you if any problems arise and to make sure your annual service charge invoice is sent to the correct address.

All the rights and responsibilities you have as leaseholder will apply to any person you sub-let to. If the person you sub-let to breaks any terms of your lease, then we can take action against you.

If you have a mortgage, you should consult your mortgage lender before sub-letting your property as you may require their permission.  You must provide us with details for any letting’s agents and the names of the people living in your property.

The exact details will be detailed within your lease.  If you need help or to let us know you are sub-letting please contact our Leaseholder Officer either by phone, email or our online form.