Freehold home ownership
If you have purchased the freehold of your home from us, this means you own the whole property – giving you greater flexibility, alongside the additional responsibility for repairs to the inside and outside of your home.
Below you’ll find information relating to specific conditions – sometimes called ‘covenants’ – that you might find in your freehold Title Deed. If you’re unsure on checking your Title Deed, you should speak to your solicitor for guidance.
Service charges
You may live in a freehold home but still pay us a service charge. This covers us looking after communal areas, such as grounds, as well as payment towards future maintenance, for example, the resurfacing of a shared driveway.
You can find more information on service charges here.
Repairs to communal areas
You are responsible for repairs to the inside and outside of your home. To ensure your safety, we also strongly suggest you arrange an annual gas safety check if you have a gas supply to the property as we are not responsible for arranging or carrying these out on freehold homes.
If you pay a service charge, we are more than happy to help should you feel a repair is needed to communal facilities or services included within your charge. You can let us know directly if you think a repair is required.
Making changes to my home
If you live in a freehold home and want to make changes, you won’t usually need our permission – but you may need to seek permission if those changes are to the outside of your home.
This is to ensure the look of a certain area is protected or could be due to planning rules. We charge an administration fee for agreeing to any changes, and you can find details in our Administration Charges Leaflet.
Any restrictions on your freehold transfer or property title will be detailed by the Land Registry, but we’re happy to help if you have any questions.
Do you buy back properties?
If you live in a freehold home that was once owned under a shared ownership lease, you may have to ask us whether we want to buy the property back before selling.
If this condition applies to you, it will remain in place for up to 21 years from the date the last shares were bought. Whether or not we buy back your home will depend on our plans within your area when you decide to sell.
To sell your home, you’ll need us to provide a certificate confirming you’ve asked our permission – for which we charge a fee. If you need more information, simply contact us – we’ll be happy to help.
My home as title restrictions. What does this mean if I want to sell?
You will be unable to transfer your home to another person without our permission if the title for your home contains conditions referring to:
- a clause allowing us to buy back the property;
- a service charge; or
- another charge you have to pay.
These are called ‘title restrictions’.
When you want to sell your home, you will have to let us know, and will have to check that all legal requirements are met. Your solicitor should liaise with us to do this.
To transfer your home, you’ll need us to provide a certificate to prove you’ve asked our permission – for which we charge a fee.
If you need more information regarding restrictions on your title, simply contact us – we’ll be happy to help.
Administration charges
If we are asked to allow changes, issue a Land Registry Certificate or provide information to your solicitor about the sale of your home, we will charge a fee for these services.
You can find full details within our Administration Charges Leaflet.