Your rights and responsibilities

When you buy a flat, you own it for a set time through a lease. This means you can live there without paying rent, except for a small ground rent.

Your lease will last either 130 years from 1 January 1981, or if you bought through the right to buy scheme after 1 November 2012, it lasts 125 years from your purchase date.

As a leaseholder, you will need to pay your share of building and estate maintenance costs.

Council tenants also contribute to these costs through their rent.

The lease is the legal contract between you and the council and is a very important document. You probably became a leaseholder by buying your home:

from Ealing Council under the Right to Buy scheme
on the open market from the previous owner

Both you and the council have to carry out the responsibilities set out in the lease. There are some differences to the lease depending on the date the property was first sold. You should always look at your own individual lease if you want to check something.

Your lease describes the property that you have bought and has a plan showing the property plus any garden, garage or shed. It also shows the building and the estate your property is in. The council is responsible for the upkeep, maintenance, repair and improvement of the building and the estate but you are responsible for paying your share of these costs through your service charges

You have the right to renew your lease at any point for a period of 90 years. The extension would be costed at the market value.

It is important that you understand your lease and the conditions in it. Breaking the conditions could have serious consequences. You should read your lease carefully and get advice from a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau if there is anything you are unclear about.

Common terms used in the lease

Your lease is a legal document and so uses legal terms. Some of the more important ones are explained in the glossary

The conditions of your lease

Sections in your lease are called schedules. Each schedule details the conditions (or responsibilities) you have as the leaseholder or the council has as the freeholder. Some of the most important conditions are set out below:

The council's responsibilities

The council is responsible for:

insuring the building, but not the contents of your flat
keeping the structure and exterior of the building in good repair
maintaining and repair all the communal parts of the building and estate
gaining access to your home to carry out inspections or repairs
collecting ground rent and service charges to cover your share of the costs of the repair, upkeep and management of your building and estate

Ealing Council is responsible for carrying out repairs and managing your building and estate, you are responsible for paying your share of the costs through your service charges. You should not carry out any repairs or maintenance to the areas for which we are responsible.

Refer to the leasehold repairs responsibilities summary for more information.

Your responsibilities

You are responsible for:

paying the ground rent and service charges (which includes the costs of major works) as required
only using your flat as a private home
keeping the interior of your flat, plus fixtures and fittings, in good condition and repair
repaying some or all of the Right to Buy discount if the flat is sold within the repayment period
not causing nuisance or annoyance to neighbours
not making any structural alterations or extensions without getting permission from Ealing Council
allowing access for any inspections, repairs or work required to the building
repaying some or or all of the Right to Buy discount if you purchased under the Right to Buy, and you sell the flat within the first 5 years of ownership
arranging pest control treatments with a private company for infestations in your flat

Your rights as a leaseholder

As well as responsibilities, you have rights that are included in the lease. Your most important rights are to:

live in your home without being disturbed by us as long as you pay all the charges you are responsible for under the lease and do not break any of the other conditions of your lease
use the shared parts of the building and communal parts of the estate such as communal gardens and, in some cases, car parking areas

What happens if you break a condition of the lease

If you break a condition of your lease, we can take action against you. This can include taking action through the courts and, in very serious situations, we can ask the courts to make an order for forfeiture which means your lease could be terminated.

More information

For more information about your rights and duties as a flat owner, read the Living in leasehold flats guide from LEASE (The Leasehold Advisory Service).