You are responsible for putting your own contents insurance in place.

We are responsible for arranging buildings insurance and will charge you a fee for the cost of this through your service charge.

Your buildings insurance covers the structure of your home including:

• Walls
• Roofs
• Communal areas

This insurance protects these parts of your home against damage caused by:

• Fire
• Flooding
• Criminal damage
• Subsidence

Your buildings insurance does not cover:

• Your day to day home repairs and maintenance
• Deterioration
• Wear and tear

If you make a claim you will probably be asked to pay an excess charge. The home ownership team can tell you how to make a claim.

In most instances we insure the structure of your building withAllied World Assurance Company (Europe) DAC. Please ask your home ownership officer if you would like a copy of the things it covers. If you would like to make a claim please contact our brokers AJ Gallagher on 01245 341223 who will arrange for a claim form to be sent to you.

If there is a Managing Agent for your property they may provide this insurance so please check with them for confirmation. If you are unsure who insures your property please contact us.

Paying your rent and service charges. Your service charges pays for things like maintaining door entry systems, cleaning shared areas, grounds maintenance and buildings insurance.

Rent

If you are a shared owner you will pay rent on the part of your home that we own. This does not cover the cost of any services. Please remember that your rent will be reviewed on an annual basis.

Ground Rent

If you are a shared owner in a flat you may have to pay ground rent. Ground rent is the rent charged for the piece of land that your home is built on. It is usually a small amount and details of the cost and how often it is paid are set out in your lease.

Service Charges

Service charges are payments made to us for the services and maintenance. Service charges will differ from one area to another and will depend on the type of home and the terms of your lease.

For more information, please visit our service charges page.

All new build homes have a ‘defects period’. This varies from property to property but it’s generally around 12 months and starts from the point the home is finished not from when you move in.

If, during this period you notice a defect with your home please let us know by calling 0333 400 8222. We’ll then contact the developer on your behalf who will arrange for any work to be carried out.   

A defect might be:

• A door that doesn’t close properly
• Hot water not working
• Window latches not working
• Leaks in the bathroom

Unless the defect is an emergency or urgent issue, the developer has 28 days to visit to inspect this.  They will then let you know whether this will be fixed straightaway or picked up at the end of the defects period.   

A surveyor will inspect your home when the defect period ends and it’s important that you let them know at this point if there are any other issues which need to be looked at.    All defects can then be discussed and repairs arranged if necessary.

We can’t deal with defects if they have been caused because you have:

• Put in new fittings
• Made alterations or additions to your home

This is why we always advise against making any substantial changes to your home during the defects period.

The defects period does not cover general wear and tear, or damage caused by yourself, your family or any visitors or pets. You may be charged for work that is carried out as a result of damage (including accidental) or neglect.

If you have any difficulties resolving defects issues with the developer please contact our latent defects team by calling 0333 400 8222 who will investigate this for you.

We rely on the developer and its consultants to coordinate and action repairs in new build properties as and when they arise. 

To do this we need to share your name and contact details with them so that you can be contacted for repairs to be undertaken and by asking us to look into a defect, you are agreeing for us to do this.

What happens when the defects period ends?

After the defect period ends the developer will no longer be required to carry out any work on your home and you will take on full responsibility for the repair and maintenance of your home.

If you need to make a claim you would need to raise a claim through Aster and the latent defects team by calling 0333 400 8222 who will get in contact with your warranty provider to raise a claim on your behalf or advise you if you need to contact your warranty provider directly yourself.  

Your building insurance is provided by us and certain repairs may be covered by insurance.  If you want to make a claim on the building insurance policy contact our brokers AJ Gallagher on 01245 341200 who will arrange for a claim form to be sent to you.

For further information, the NHBC website is www.nhbc.co.uk/Homeowners

New properties have a set time within which the housing developer must fix any faults - this varies but is usually 12 months. The 12 months start from when the builder hands over the property to us, not from when you move in. After this all repairs are your responsibility as a shared owner. If you want to make improvements to your home, you will need permission from us first.

£500 repairs allowance

Some properties, depending on the terms of your lease, will come with a £500 repairs allowance per year, for the first 10 years. It’s designed to cover the cost of repairs to things that shouldn’t be faulty in a new build home, such as fixtures and fittings that:

• Supply water, gas or electricity - for example sinks, baths or pipes
• Heat your home, for example a boiler or radiator

• Support the structure of the building, e.g., windows, doors or walls.

It does not include:

• Installing other fixtures (such as kitchen cabinets) and fittings (such as a bed or sofa)
• Installing appliances that use your gas, electricity or water supplies, such as ovens or washing machines
• Repairs covered by the building warranty or any other guarantee.

The repairs allowance applies to certain developments and in some instances, certain homes (to find out why, click here).

Please refer to your lease to see if your property has a repairs allowance. For further information: click here.

My lease includes a repairs allowance - what do I do next?

If you discover a repair that’s needed in your new home, you’ll need to arrange for it to be fixed and claim the cost, up to the value of £500 for each year of the first ten years of ownership, back from us. Before you instruct any essential repairs you must contact your housing officer for authorisation.

To book a repair you’ll need to contact a Trustmark-approved tradesperson. This government endorsed quality scheme aims to ensure the work carried out in your home is completed by a reputable tradesperson. Visit the website to find a Trustmark-approved tradesperson in your area: www.trustmark.org.uk

You are still responsible for general repairs and if you break the terms of your lease, we have the right to refuse to pay for the repair. For example, if you cause damage on purpose or do not keep up with routine servicing and maintenance, such as yearly boiler servicing.

Do I need to provide you with a receipt for the repair work?

You’ll need to claim the cost of each repair from us once it has been completed and you’re happy with the work. You’ll need to provide us with an invoice which includes a detailed breakdown of the work carried out. If your invoice is approved, we’ll arrange for the cost of the repair to be reimbursed to you.

To log your repair claim, call the Contact Centre on 0333 400 8222.

What happens if my claim is rejected?

If we reject your repair claim, we will tell you why as soon as possible after receiving the invoice from you, along with a summary of your options.

What if I don’t spend my £500 allowance?

You can carry any unspent allowance (up to £500) into the following year but cannot roll it over again. The maximum allowance in any one year will be £1,000.

What happens if I sell my home?

If you sell your home within the first ten years and your lease includes a repairs allowance, it will transfer to the new shared owner of the property. For example, if a property is sold after three years, the new shared owner will have seven years of the repairs allowance. If the new owner purchases 100% of the shares, the repairs allowance will no longer be applicable as they will own the house outright.

Shared owners are not normally able to sublet their home. Please see your agreement for more details.

What are major works?

‘Major works’ is the term we use to describe large-scale building projects that are carried out to keep your property in good condition. The works are carried out as part of an ongoing maintenance programme.

These major works projects are planned in advance and include things like:

• Maintaining the structure of the building, external walls and roofs.
• Maintaining and upgrading items within the building for example lifts, door entry system and fire alarms.
• Maintaining the decoration of the building, for example painting the communal and external areas.

Occasionally major work is necessary in an emergency such as repairing a roof leak. 

How are major works paid for?

Your lease will provide information about this. There may be a sinking fund that can be used or the cost may be invoiced to leaseholders when the works are completed. If you are concerned about meeting the cost of major works to your property you should discuss this with the home ownership team.

Major works vary in cost, but we will always make sure you know how much is being spent. If any leaseholder will need to contribute more than £250 (or £100 per year for a long term contract for a service such as grounds maintenance) we are required by law to start a consultation process with all leaseholders which is known as a ‘Section 20’ consultation. This is drawn from the landlord & Tenant Act 1985 and because the Act stipulates the procedure the language we use in the communications can often seem very formal and legal.

What is the Section 20 Consultation Process?

• We must serve you with a ‘Notice of Intention’ which describes the planned works we want to carry out or the service contract we want to set up. We will ask you for your written comments and for your preferences on contractors to carry out the works. You will have 30 days to respond with your comments, questions and nominations.
• After the first notice we make a record of your comments and ask a range of contractors to send estimates for the works.
• We must get at least two estimates. If contractors you have nominated are not on our list of preferred suppliers they can still be asked to provide an estimate but they will need to comply with our requirements in order to be successful.
• We will then send you a ‘Notice of Estimates’. This will give details of the estimates received. We will also send you a summary of the comments we’ve had from leaseholders together with our responses. We will explain where you can view all the estimates we received in more detail and invite you to make comments on them. We will consider all observations and comments received before making the decision of which contractor to appoint.
• If we choose a contractor who is not the cheapest and was not nominated by leaseholders, we will send you a ‘Notice of Reasons’ explaining why.

Further information on Section 20

It is your responsibility to ensure that your gas boiler or other gas appliances are serviced regularly to make sure they are working safely and efficiently. More information is available on our gas safety section. 

If you want to sell your home, it's important you get in touch with us. Please see details below to get in contact with your local homeownership team. 

Fires in the home kill hundreds of people in the UK every year. Small fires are more common, but they can still cause serious injuries and damage homes and possessions.

For advice on general fire safety and fire safety for blocks of flats please visit here..