Your guide to Home Ownership, Leasehold and Freehold

What is home ownership?
If you have bought a property in a shared block on a JMB estate, or if you have bought a house that receives services from the JMB and the Council, then you will have bought your property under a legal arrangement and you are known as leaseholder or freeholder. This means that you have a contract between yourselves and Southwark Council which sets out the responsibilities on both sides, known as a Lease or a Deed of Covenant.

The Lease
The Lease is a legal contract that sets out the landlord and Lessee’s Rights, Obligations and Responsibilities, typically for a period of 125 years from the date of completion of the sale.  Dependant on the year of the sale under the Right to Buy initiative lease terms can vary per property, however the original lease terms remain in place regardless of subsequent assignments of the title during the 125-year term.

As well as Leasehold, the JMB also manages Freehold contracts known as Deed of Covenants. Unlike the Lease, this contract is between the original purchaser and the Landlord only; therefore, a contract known as a Transfer of Part is entered into by any subsequent assignments of the title and the Landlord.

For all of the JMBs residential portfolio, Southwark Council is the Superior Landlord and Leathermarket JMB are the managing agent.

Landlord responsibilities

• Maintain, repair, renew and improve the block and estate
• Insure the property
• Levy service charges these must be reasonable.
• Consult with leaseholders about repairs that will cost individual leaseholders more than £250 (unless repairs are an emergency)
• Consult with leaseholders before letting long term qualifying contracts
• Enforce the terms of the lease

Homeowner responsibilities
As the homeowner, you have a number of responsibilities. These are to:

• Pay service charges
• Maintain the property
• Gain written consent from the landlord before undertaking structural alterations
• Give the landlord’s operatives consent to inspect the property
• Not cause a nuisance
• Comply with houses in multiple occupation requirements if the property is wholly sub-let.

The council’s responsibilities
Southwark council have retained a number of direct responsibilities. These include:

• Procurement of Building Insurance
• Run District Heating (on relevant estates)
• Administer Estates electricity (from 01.04.09)
• Monitor service standards for responsibilities that are delegated to the JMB Management of Service Charge Loans
• Legal Enforcement of the Lease/Deed of Covenant
• Enfranchisement
• Right to Buy
• Alterations, Adaptations and Variances
• Home owner Gas Serving

The JMB’s responsibilities
Certain responsibilities are delegated from the landlord to the JMB in a Management Agreement. The JMB is called the “managing agent”.

Our constitution says that the JMB operates for the benefit of members (no distinction between homeowners and tenants).

Currently 3 of our 10 elected directors are leaseholders. This reflects the balance between leaseholders and tenants on our estates.

As well as the Estate Management, Leathermarket JMB now directly provide various homeowner services. These include:

• Service Charge Construction
• Service Charge billing
• Service Charge collection
• S20 and S20B consultation
• Pre-assignment and Re-Mortgage enquiries
• Notices of Assignment and Charge

Alterations 

Also a Making alterations to your home section:-

If you are intending on making alterations to your home, you’ll need to seek permission for certain alterations as per the terms of your lease or freehold transfer agreement. This is in addition to any planning and/or building control approval that may be required.

Please seek advice from the JMB before undertaking alterations. Completing alterations without obtaining consent may result in you having to reinstate the work and/or be subject to breach of lease proceedings. For information on the Permission to Alter process: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/home-owners-services/making-alterations-to-your-home

Subletting

If the property is going to be let, the leaseholder should make sure that the tenant’s comply with the terms of the lease.  The council’s insurers will provide full cover for the property on their usual terms.

• The property is let for at least six (6) months under an assured shorthold tenancy
• We strongly advise that a bona fide agent who holds a deposit against loss or damage should manage the let
• A formal tenancy agreement exists between the owner and the agent
• The agreement conforms to the appropriate legislation, as drawn up by the agent

The leaseholder will still remain responsible for payment of the service charges and if they want the invoices to be sent to a different address, they must notify the Resident Services team.  If the property is to be sublet, the leaseholder should provide the JMB with a contact telephone number in case emergency access is required to the property.

We advise leaseholders to contact the Private Sector Housing using the details below to find out whether they need a HMO or Selective License:

To apply online please go to https://www.southwark.gov.uk/home-owners-services/private-home-owners-and-landlords/private-rented-property-licensing

What homeowners pay for
Generally, home owners contribute to any communal block or estate works paid for by the JMB and the council by way of service charges. Examples of services charges:

• Block/Estate Cleaning
• Block/ Estate Cleaning
• Block/ Estate Grounds Maintenance
• Heating & Hot Water
• Lifts
• Door Entry System
• Building Insurance
• Ground Rent
• Major Works