Understanding your lease and bpha
This area is for bpha homeowners, as many of the services we offer to homeownership customers differs from those offered to the rest of our customers.
We are happy to help and support any of our customers regardless of their tenure. You can find general information about living in your home through the rest of the website, however, where that information is different, or specifically for our Shared Owners and Leaseholders, you should be able to find it here.
Understanding bpha
Once your sale is complete most of your interaction with bpha will be through our Customer Communications Centre who are trained in all aspects of the business and can resolve most queries.
Our Shared Owner homes are managed by a team of Housing Officers working alongside teams responsible for communal repairs, health and safety and service charges.
Housing Officers help resolve estate problems and work with other partners and agencies to deal with any issues that impact on local neighbourhoods. They also monitor the communal areas such as the inside of blocks of apartments too; carry out fire safety assessments and estate inspections and report issues of concern to other departments or agencies.
Where bpha are responsible for the management of a local area, you will also see members of our repairs team who are responsible for repairs in the communal areas, cleaners, ground maintenance teams, Fire Officers and surveyors. Where we are not responsible for the management of the block, the management company will be responsible. All the services we offer are covered by your service charges which are set annually.
If you are a leaseholder, and not a shared owner, your account will be managed by our Leasehold Team. They will monitor your account and work with the Housing Officers for anything that is related to the block (if you live in a flat) or area.
If you wish to sell or staircase your Shared Ownership home, the Homeownership team will continue to support you with that process.
Shared ownership properties are usually leasehold. You have a legal contract with bpha which is the lease. The lease makes you the homeowner and so you are responsible for all the repairs and maintenance in your home.
Lease holder
You have bought the right to occupy your property (usually a flat) for a set period of time. The length is detailed in the lease, at the end of the lease the right to occupy the property reverts back to the freeholder (bpha). As a leaseholder you will have a right to extend your lease after 2 years of ownership.
A lease can be held in joint names. Each person has equal rights and responsibilities. If there is a dispute between joint leaseholders please seek legal advice from a solicitor, Citizens Advice or a Housing Advice Centre
A lease
The lease to property is important as it confirms your right to occupy the property; it also sets out the structures that manage the building, or the block your home is part of. It will set out your responsibilities as the leaseholder, including what you will be paying for; and it also sets out the responsibilities of the freeholder and the responsibilities of the management company, if your block has one.
If you are having difficulties meeting the terms of the lease please contact bpha as early as possible. We may have a service that can support you, or we can direct you to other agencies. There is more information on our website about our Money Advice service, Domestic Abuse and anti-social behaviour. If you break a clause of the lease, and we have not been able to support you to resolve it, we may take action against you.
You should have a copy of your lease. If you do not, you can obtain a copy via HM Land Registry. If you have problems obtaining a copy please contact bpha, however there may be a charge for this. Some mortgage lenders or potential purchasers require leases to have more than 80-year terms left on them. This is because the lease is an asset and the value reduces as each year passes. If a lease reaches under 80 years it can be more expensive to extend than if had longer until it expires – Information about extending your lease can be found here.
Please remember a lease is a legal document and each lease is different. You should not make any legal decisions based on the information contained within this website alone, if you are unsure you should also ask for professional legal advice.
bpha portal
At bpha we want to work with and hear from customers about what we are doing well, or ways we can improve our services. We have a number of involved residents who work closely with us in a variety of ways, from reviewing letters, to being our mystery shoppers. More information here.
