My home ownership

The equity loan agreement does not allow subletting, as the property should be occupied as your main or sole residence. However, if there are exceptional circumstances we may take them into consideration.

For further information please contact us and ask to speak to the Home Ownership Approvals Team.

Yes, we can.

For further information please contact us and ask to speak to the Home Ownership Approvals Team.

If you have a Help to Buy Loan you need to contact an external agency called Target, as they manage all such loans.  Their telephone number is 0345 848 0235, or visit their website.

1. If you wish to repay the loan at any time, you must contact Peabody on 0300 456 2077 or email equityloans@peabody.org.uk
   2. You will be required to repay your loan when:
   a. your mortgage has been redeemed (to
   a maximum of 25 years), OR
   b. the property is sold, OR
   c. on the 25th anniversary of the equity loan.
   3. You will then arrange for an independent valuation to be carried out by a RICS approved surveyor, so that the value can be agreed and the loans repaid in full. You will be responsible for the cost of the valuation.
   4. You will repay the relevant percentage (your initial loan percentage) of the agreed market value of your home at the time of repayment.

The repayment figure is based on your equity loan percentage and the full valuation of the property as determined by an independent qualified valuer, or the sale price if this is higher.

All Help to Buy Schemes are managed by an external agency called Target.

If you intend to repay this Equity Loan you will need to contact them direct. Please phone them on 0345 848 0235. You can find more information on their website.

We're not able to help you transfer your equity loan to another home. You can visit the Help to Buy Agent’s website to see what your options might be.

The valuation is valid for three months and must be in-date on the day the loan is repaid. If the valuation expires before the loan is repaid you’ll need to contact your valuer and ask them to provide you with an updated valuation.

100% Leaseholders are usually able to sublet but depending on the terms of the lease we may have to give consent.

For further information please contact us and ask to speak to the Home Ownership Approvals Team.

Yes, if you are a 100% leaseholder or shared owner, where Peabody is the Freeholder, we can extend your lease. This can be done either through the statutory or informal routes, as appropriate.

For further information please contact us and ask to speak to the Home Ownership Approvals team.

If you're a Peabody leaseholder, the program of works is designed around the terms of your lease. However, if the property is found to be in a reasonable condition at the time, we might defer the works. This would help build up the reserve funds for a later date, when the works are carried out.

When your home is identified for improvements we will write to you to arrange a survey and then confirm any works that will be undertaken.

For further information, please contact us.

‘Major works’ include major repairs or improvements to a building or estate that your landlord is responsible for. They're normally carried out cyclically.

If you are a leaseholder you must contribute towards these costs under the terms of the lease.

Under Section 20 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985, landlords are required to consult with leaseholders if the works will cost any one leaseholder more than £250.

Major works are generally part of an ongoing maintenance programme (cyclical programme). In the case of leaseholds, these works will not include maintenance and repair of your own ‘demised premises’.

Note: Major works may sometimes include works which cannot be planned for e.g. in emergencies, such as a major roof leak, M&E system replacements, etc.

Major works may include but are not limited to:

• Maintaining the structure of the building, e.g. brickwork pointing, the roof, rainwater goods.
• Upgrading items within the building, e.g. window and door replacement, lifts, mechanical and electrical upgrades.
• Decorating the building internally and externally e.g. walls and painting other previously painted surfaces.

If you're a leaseholder, and if your lease allows for improvements, major works may include improvements to your building and estate e.g. aerial upgrades, installation of a door entry system, introduction of a new  heating system e.g. ‘district heating’.

Major works refers to a single project of works funded by a service charge payment.

We understand that major works can be costly and we may be able to support you if you are in financial difficulties. Once the final accounts have been issued you may wish to contact your income specialist to discuss whether you qualify for a 12 month payment agreement. Ahead of the final accounts being available we would encourage you to begin making financial plans in anticipation of any charge you have been notified of.

A ‘reserve fund’, sometimes called ‘sinking fund’, applies only to leaseholders.

The purpose of the reserve fund is to build up a sum of money in order to cover the cost or expensive costs such as redecorations, structural repairs, lift replacement, etc.

The reason they are built over time is to ensure all occupants contribute to these costs, rather than the ones that happen to be in occupation when the works are carried out, and also to even out the costs over a period of time, avoiding very large one-off bills.

The fund is held in an interest bearing account and is not refundable.

Section 20 is the part of the Landlord & Tenant Act 2002 (as amended by Section 151 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) that sets a consultation procedure landlords must follow with leaseholders when:

• Planning works to a building, where the contribution from any one lessee exceeds £250.
• Entering a long-term agreement where the contribution from any one lessee exceeds £100 in 12 month.

We're not able to help you transfer your equity loan to another home. You can visit the Help to Buy Agent’s website to see what your options might be.

Where there is a reserve fund, we will use this money to pay for the works carried out.

If there is no reserve fund, or where the reserve fund does not cover the cost of the work, we will demand payment of the outstanding amount as per the lease requirement.

If you were living in a Housing Association property that was built (or transferred) with a Social Housing Grant after 1st April 1997 than yes, you may have the right to acquire.

You can find more information at ownyourhome.gov.uk. 

If you were previously a secure tenant of a local authority, and became an assured tenant because your home was transferred to Peabody, you should have the ‘preserved’ Right to Buy your home.

You should also have been a social housing tenant for a minimum of three years and be using the property as your only, or main home.

You can find more information at ownyourhome.gov.uk. 

If you were previously a secure tenant of a local authority, and became an assured tenant because your home was transferred to Peabody, you should have the ‘preserved’ Right to Buy your home.

You should also have been a social housing tenant for a minimum of three years and be using the property as your only, or main home.

You can find more information at ownyourhome.gov.uk. 

The Right to Buy (RTB) is a scheme that enables customers to buy their home at a price lower than the full market value.

You can find more information at ownyourhome.gov.uk. 

Please note you will not be eligible if you have been declared bankrupt, have a possession order on your home, have a court order suspending your right to buy, or you have a demolition order pending on your home.

Your eligibility will need to be confirmed by Peabody as part of the Right to Buy application process.

Most housing association tenants do not have the Right to Buy (RTB). However, if you were a secure council tenant and were living in your home when it was transferred from your council to another landlord, like a housing association, then you may have a ‘Preserved’ Right to Buy.

If you have the Preserved Right to Buy, then you can buy your home under the scheme in the same way as if you were still a council tenant.

You can find more information at ownyourhome.gov.uk. 

If you qualify for Right to Buy, you can get a discount on the market value of your home when you buy it.
The maximum discount is £80,900 across England, except in London boroughs where it’s £108,000.

The discount is based on:
• how long you have been a tenant with a public sector landlord
• the type of property you are buying – a flat or house
• the value of your home

You can find more information at ownyourhome.gov.uk. 

If you would like to query a charge, or would like to discuss the service that is being provided (e.g. cleaning, gardening etc.) please contact us.

Some Peabody customers – usually tenants – pay a fixed service charge. Some customers – usually shared owners, leaseholders and freeholders – pay a variable service charge.

1. If you pay a fixed service charge
   In February each year, we send you a notice of what your service charge will be for the next service charge year (1 April to 31 March).
2. If you pay a variable service charge
   At the beginning of each service charge year (1 April to 31 March), we send
   you a service charge estimate. The estimate is the amount you will pay for that year. It’s based on how much we spent on service and maintenance for your property in the previous year. But it also takes into account any changes
   in contracts, inflation (if applicable) and expected extra spending.

After the end of each service charge year (and always by 30 September),we send you a summary of the service charge expenditure for the previous year. It compares the service charge estimate with what we actually spent on your property. If the estimate was too low, we add the difference to your service charge for the following year. If the estimate was too high, we take the difference off your service charge for the next year.

The charges you have to pay for the services provided to your property are set out in your lease, transfer of parts or tenancy agreement and will vary from year to year depending on what works are needed and their costs at the time.

There are often communal landscaped areas and unadopted roads which are not maintained by the council. Where Peabody owns the land we have a duty to maintain it and all the houses and flats in the estate are obligated to contribute towards the upkeep and maintenance.

A surplus means that our estimate was greater than the level of expenditure for that year. Any surplus will be used to reduce the payment required in the following year.

A deficit means that we estimated lower than the level of expenditure for that year. Any deficit will be added to the payment required for the following year.

This depends on the type of property you live in, but service charges can include the items listed below:

Cleaning and/or caretaking
Estate service costs
Lighting and electrics in communal areas
Lifts
Health and safety
Repairs and maintenance
Satellite dishes, aerials
Entry phone, security and CCTV
Block service costs
Water/heating
Other landlords and facilities management
Building insurance
Examination fee
Management charge
Reserve funds
Ground rent
Pest control/sundry costs

A service charge is a charge customers pay if we provide extra services such as cleaning and gardening, which is in addition to the basic rent for their home and may cover communal areas in their block.

Please note services provided depend on the type of property and tenure: houses, blocks of flats or converted flats will have different service requirements.

Services may include:

• Communal heating and hot water.
• Communal cleaning.
• Gardening.
• Repairs.
• Porters.
• Wardens and caretakers.
• Passenger and goods lifts.

It may also include special facilities, for example, for disabled people.

For communal gardens or larger external areas, we provide general maintenance of grass and shrubbery.

Your shared ownership lease does not allow subletting. However, if there are exceptional circumstances we may take them into consideration.

For further information please contact us and ask to speak to the Home Ownership Approvals team.

Taking in a lodger is where you rent out a room in your home to someone else but you keep living in the property.

As a shared owner you are able to take in a lodger but you must make sure that:

• You inform us that you are taking in a lodger.
• You don’t give your lodger a tenancy agreement.
• You do not move out.
• The lodger doesn’t have exclusive use of any part of your home except their bedroom.
• You do not charge a lodger more than the rental element.

For further information please contact us and ask to speak to the Home Ownership Approvals team.

• You’ll need a maximum yearly household income of £80,000 outside of London, or £90,000 inside London.
• You’ll need enough savings to cover your deposit (dependent on your mortgage and/or share of property).
• You will need additional savings of £3,500 to cover legal fees, moving costs, etc.
• You must have sold or be about to complete on the sale of any existing property you may have.
• If you own a property outright, you should have sold it before completing on a shared ownership property with us.
• You must be a British/EU Citizen, or have indefinite leave to remain.
• You may need to have a local connection to the property that you wish to buy, e.g. in some cases you may need to live or work in the Borough (we shall advise you on application).

If you own 100% of the lease on your property you can sell it on the open market.

• The process is as follows:
1. Our Home Ownership Resales team will need to send you a Resales Pack.
2. You will need to complete and return the pack, with all supporting documents listed therein, to the resales team. The team will then have an 8 week nomination period during which they will find you a buyer.
3. If they have been unable to secure a purchaser within the designated 8 week period, Catalyst will allow you to sell your property on the open market via an estate agent.

If you require a resales pack please contact us.