Home owners

Leasehold alterations

Under the terms of your lease, you need written permission from the landlord (Sutton Council) to carry out alterations and improvements affecting the internal or external structure of your property. 

If you carry out any alterations without obtaining the relevant permission you will be in breach of your lease and we may require you to reinstate the property to its original condition, at your cost.  A retrospective application does not guarantee approval.
 

Getting consent

You must complete an application form to get written consent for leasehold alterations. 

There is a non-refundable application fee of £140 which covers the administration of the application, including our surveyor’s inspections. Once we receive the fee, we will process your application on behalf of Sutton Council.

This permission is separate from, and in addition to, any other necessary permissions such as  Planning Permission and Building Control (opens in new window).

Some types of minor alteration do not require formal consent (such as replacing kitchen cabinets) and some types of alterations will not be consented to. 

We also strongly recommend that you refer to both your own lease and our  Leasehold Property Alterations Consents Policy (PDF 76KB) which we will used to determine whether we will grant consent.

Please note, if your proposed alteration results in an additional room or an increase in living space, this will affect how your services charges, and the charges of other leaseholders in your block, are calculated. This will require variations to your lease and the other leases in the block to show this change and you will be required to cover the legal costs for this. It is recommended that you appoint a solicitor to act on your behalf.

Description of alterations

To help you decide on whether you need to apply for consent, please select the description below that best describes your proposed alterations.

Selling your leasehold home to us

Sutton Housing Partnership is working with Sutton Council to increase the number of council owned homes in the borough.

Our 'buy backs' scheme was launched in October 2017 and to date we've brought back more than 220 properties - meaning 220 more families have a home in the borough.

If you own a flat managed by SHP, we may be interested in buying the property back from you at full market value. We are particularly interested in one and two bedroom flats, but will consider some three bedroom flats.

The process is straightforward and you won't have to pay estate agent or valuation fees, just your own legal fees.

If you are interested in the scheme or would like more information, please email the Home Ownership Team at homeownership@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk or call 0208 915 2020.

 

Leasehold service charges

Log in to Your account to see your service charge actual charges

As a leaseholder you have bought the right to live in a property for a fixed amount of time. The London Borough of Sutton is the freeholder (landlord) of your building, any internal common areas and any gardens and grounds within your estate. You do not own the land surrounding your home or the building it is in.

Leaseholders pay a service charge to SHP for:

  • block and estate services

  • maintaining grounds

  • buildings insurance

  • communal, block and estate repairs

  • bulk gas supply

  • management fee.

The types of service you receive and the level of service depends where you live and what is in your lease.

 

Service charge and mortgage arrears

It is a condition of your lease that you pay for the services that you receive. This money, along with the rent paid by council tenants, pays for the services we deliver to council properties and estates. It is important that you pay your share of the costs. Sutton Housing Partnership, acting as the council’s managing agent, has a duty to make sure that we collect the money you owe.

 

Problems paying your service charge

Your service charge is considered a priority debt, so it's also important that if you are a leaseholder you seek help if you are having difficulty paying it. 

If you do not pay your service charge we may refer your debt to solicitors which will result in legal costs added to your debt. A court judgement will make it more difficult for you to access credit in the future. 

Please talk to us if you are struggling with paying your service charge.

Contact our Home Ownership Team or call 020 8915 2020 who can help with flexible payment plans.  

Problems paying your mortgage 

If you are struggling with your mortgage payments, you should speak to your mortgage provider immediately. Your lender can discuss your options with you and can offer suggestions, including:

  • temporary payment arrangements

  • lengthening the term of your mortgage, or

  • switching temporarily to interest-only repayments.

You can also get independent advice on the Money Helper website or read Shelter's advice on how to deal with mortgage arrears.

Other forms of help

 

Leasehold major works and consultation

Leaseholders are responsible for contributing to the costs of works to their block and estate, e.g. decorating, repairing the structure including the roof, or maintaining installations in the block such as lifts. Your lease agreement will explain what you are responsible for.

 

Major works statements

Major works statements are issued annually. See the documents below for more information.

When we must consult leaseholders

SHP must consult leaseholders about major work and services in specific circumstances.

  • Major works - When SHP will be charging a leaseholder £250 or more toward works.

  • Services - When a leaseholder contribution will be more than £100 in a financial year and the contract is for longer than 12 months.
     

What happens after the consultation

We will write to each leaseholder and any recognised tenants associations affected by the plans. This is known as the ‘Notice of Intention’.

You can inspect a description of the work, give any comments you may have and may be able to suggest a contractor to do the work.

Once we have estimates, we will send you a notice of estimate with details of the work. You can look at the quotes and make comments. This notice will include any comments received following an initial notice. In some circumstances we may send you a further notice.

 

Insuring, selling or extending your lease

Leasehold buildings insurance

Insurer: Protector

Policy number: 3133440

Right-to-buy leaseholder - Insurance Policy and schedule

To make a claim contact Protector on 0161 823 1912. or by email using protectorclaims@uk.sedgwick.com quoting the policy number.

Selling your leasehold home

If you are selling your home you will need to request a leasehold sellers pack/pre-assignment enquiry.

Request a leasehold sellers pack

Lease extensions

SHP does not extend leases. A solicitor should be instructed to serve the necessary notice to the London Borough of Sutton on your behalf. For more information on the process, please download our Lease Extension leaflet PDF [1MB]  or visit Gov.uk.

 

Subletting your leasehold property

 

Many leaseholders let out their leasehold properties. If you are letting your SHP property, or are planning to in the future, you need to make sure you are complying with the terms of your lease, as well as with certain legal requirements.

What you need to tell us 

You must tell us that you are subletting your property, and give us details of:

  • the names of your prospective tenants

  • the term of the subletting

  • your address where we can contact you and send your service charge invoices and statutory notices

  • emergency contact telephone numbers for you, and your tenants or managing agent.

What you are responsible for 

If you are letting your property you must:

  • continue to comply with the terms of the lease

  • not allow your tenants to cause nuisance to other residents

  • continue to pay all service charge and/or major works costs

  • maintain and repair all internal parts of your property

  • advise us if your correspondence address or contact details change

  • comply with all legal requirements around letting property, including fire, gas, electrical safety and energy performance certificates

  • inform your mortgage lender, and insurers.

What your tenants need to know 

As an SHP leaseholder you should make sure your tenants know:

  • how to report repairs to you

  • how to use fixtures and fittings within your property, for example the heating system, baths and showers, window blinds or locks. Try and provide instruction manuals for all appliances where possible.

  • where to dispose of rubbish. You may be held responsible if your tenants dispose of waste inappropriately.

  • who to contact in an emergency. By law you are required to give your tenants an address in England or Wales for posting notices to you.

How to tell us you are letting your property 

If you are letting your property you should complete our permission to sublet a property form.

Alternatively, you can write to us at Sutton Gate, 1 Carshalton Road, Sutton SM1 4LE.

EWS1 advice for home owners

We are aware that many mortgage providers are requesting information about the safety of external wall systems as part of their lending requirements for properties in blocks that could be considered high risk. 

 

Leaseholders may find that they are asked to provide an EWS1 form as part of their sale by prospective buyers. The form confirms the external wall system has been assessed as safe by a qualified professional. It is based on the PAS (Publicly Available Specification) 9980 that provides the methodology for how external walls are assessed.  

 

While the EWS1 form can be important for those buying and selling a home, especially in taller buildings, the process is not how we determine the safety of a building. We carry out Fire Risk Assessments (FRA’s) on all our blocks and publish these on our website. 

 

If the FRA recommends that a Fire Risk Appraisal on External Walls (FRAEW) is needed then this will be carried out and may lead to a staged process of checks and inspections. If this leads to a recommendation for major works, then we will always consult with residents before going ahead. Once the FRAEW process is approved then an EWS1 form may be available and SHP will share this with leaseholders where needed.  

 

  1. Leasehold alterations