Frequently asked questions

These are the questions that our leaseholders frequently ask us.

Can I have a copy of my lease?

Contact your Property Management Officer and they will arrange for a copy to be sent to you.

Can I buy more shares in my home?

Usually yes, but it will depend on your lease. If you can buy more shares, this can be done at any time after the initial share has been purchased.

You can increase your shares (known as 'staircasing') by as little as 10 per cent. You can usually own the property outright if you want.

To buy more shares, you need to get your home valued. The price of the share you buy will be calculated as a percentage of the full, current market rate.

Example

If you own a 50% share and the full value of your home is £100,000, the price of the remaining 50% share will be: 50% x £100,000 = £50,000.

If you have made improvements that affect the value, they will be valued separately.

For more information contact the Customer Sales Team on 020 8357 4444, sales@nhhg.org.uk or view how to buy more shares.

Can I make improvements to my home?

You can make improvements as long as you get our written permission. We will only refuse your request if the improvement will cause structural damage or reduce the value of the home.

For more information contact the Customer Sales Team on 020 8357 4444 or sales@nhhg.org.uk and ask for a form to be sent to you.

Can I remortgage my home?

If you are changing lenders or borrowing extra money, your lender will need our permission. There is an administration charge of £70.50 (including VAT).

For more information contact your Revenues Management Officer or email rmt@nhhg.org.uk.

How much rent do I pay if I buy through shared ownership?

The exact figures for the rent and service charge are sent to you with the viewing details. It is usually set at around three per cent of the unsold equity.

The amount of rent will vary for each home depending on:

  • the share you buy
  • the value of your property when you buy it.

The service charge will vary for each home depending on what services are provided.

View the What does my service charge include? Question below.

Example

If you wanted to buy a 50% share in a property worth £200,000, the equity you would pay rent on is £100,000.

If you divide the unsold equity by 100 and multiply by 3 you will get the total rent payable each year.

Just divide this by 12 to get the monthly rent payable.

For more information contact the Customer Sales Team on 020 8357 4444 or sales@nhhg.org.uk.

Why do I pay a service charge?

The service charge pays for the maintenance of the property's communal areas, including lighting and gardens. There are details in your lease.

It is a monthly charge that is paid to the freeholder or managing agents. It can also be used to pay for long-term or cyclical maintenance in the future, for example a new roof or repainting.

Your service charge will cover a variety of costs and includes:

  • buildings insurance
  • cleaning and maintaining shared areas
  • reserve funds
  • lift maintenance if your block has a lift.

For more information about your service charge contact your Property Management Officer.

How do I pay my rent/service charge?

You can pay your rent/service charge by:

  • direct debit
  • standing order
  • paying online through My Notting Hill
  • debit card (telephone banking)
  • credit card (MasterCard or Visa); there is a transaction charge of 2.5%, which we make to recover the fees that the credit card companies charge us
  • cheque payable to 'Notting Hill Home Ownership' or 'NHHO' (write your address and payment reference number - if you know it - on the back of the cheque)
  • Bank Giro payments.

For more information contact the Revenues Team by email at RMT@nhhg.org.uk or view making a payment.

As a leaseholder, can I report a repair?

Yes, if it is a repair to the communal areas. Contact our Leasehold Repairs Team on 020 8357 4444 or leaseholdrepairs@nhhg.org.uk.

Can you buy back my shares?

In exceptional circumstances Notting Hill Housing can buy back part or all of a shared owner's share in their home.

We will only consider doing this if:

  • you are in severe financial difficulties that could result in you losing your home
  • you need money to pay for adaptations to your home because someone in your home has become disabled or needs treatment that is not available on the NHS
  • your current home isn't or can't be made suitable to your housing needs in the future.

For more information contact your Revenues Management Officer or email rmt@nhhg.org.uk.

Can I extend my shared ownership lease?

You may be able to extend the lease on your home. We run an informal procedure where we can extend your lease by an additional 90 years with no ground rent if we are the freeholder.

Example

If you have 81 years remaining on your lease we will give you a new lease term of 171 years.

To find out the cost of extending your lease (the 'premium amount') we will need to instruct a valuer. The valuation fees of £323.12 and our admin fees of £117.50 are payable upfront and are non-refundable.

Unfortunately, without the valuer assessing the property we cannot give an idea of how much the premium amount is going to be.

If you are happy with the premium amount and want to go ahead with extending your lease, you will need to pay our solicitor's fees of around £450 (excluding VAT) as well as the fees of your own solicitor.

For more information, contact Alison Walther, Legal Administrator, on 020 8357 5162 or legaladmin@nhhg.org.uk.

More information

If you would like more information about any of this, please speak to your Property Management Officer. If you do not know who your Property management Officer is, or do not have their contact details, you can find out by calling 020 8357 4444.