Leaseholder Services

Repairs, maintenance and redecoration

It is both in your interest as a leaseholder and ours to ensure your home is properly looked after and that any communal parts to flats and maisonettes are cleaned and well maintained.

The following information is for your guidance to enable you to live comfortably in your home and to guarantee you a responsive repair system from Blyth Valley Housing.

Care and repair of properties and estates

The lease places a responsibility on us to keep the structure and exterior of the property in a good condition with costs recoverable from service charges.

What part of the building will we maintain?

• The building: All structural parts of the building in which your flat or maisonette is situated. This would include the outside walls, roof, foundations, floor joists and roof timbers. 
• External parts: of the flat or maisonette including gutters, rainwater pipes and the supply of electricity, water and gas supply to your flat or maisonette.

We will arrange for the repair work to be carried out by appointment or within a specified time.

Which items are your responsibility?

All internal items ie repairs in your flat or maisonette. These would include:

• Reglazing. 
• All internal doors. 
• All plaster and other surfaces to all floors, walls and ceilings in your home. 
• The front door to your home.
• Any water tank serving your individual home (if the water tank serves other flats as well as yours then we will repair it). 
• All plumbing and electrical services in your home. For example: everything from the meter cupboard or everything from the stopcock which serves your property exclusively. 
• All fixtures and fittings in your home unless they are our fixtures and fittings. An example of our fixtures and fittings might be an entry phone cable and phone.
• All internal decorations.

What to do if you discover a repair which is the responsibility of the Council?

Please report as quickly as possible any repair for which we are responsible. The simplest way to report a repair is to telephone the Repair Call Centre on 01670 542424 or raise an online repair request.

When reporting the repair, give the following information to help the officer taking your call:-

1. Your name, full address and telephone number.
2. Give as much detail as you can about the repair.
3. When you are normally home (if appropriate).
4. Whether you have reported the repair before.

Insurance

The Council is responsible for insuring the structure and exterior of the building. The Council will levy a charge for the costs of the building insurance as part of your annual service charge.

As a leaseholder you are responsible for insuring your own home contents insurance.

We operate tenants insurance scheme which you can join if you wish. You can find details here of the home contents insurance scheme.

Common Parts

We are responsible for the upkeep of the environment around your flat or maisonettes such as grass cutting, cleaning and caretaker services. The costs of this service are included in your service charge. 

Communal Television Aerials

If you have a communal television aerial and it is not working, please let us know, but first check that your television is not at fault.

Door entry system

If your entryphone is broken please let us know.

Who do you contact in an emergency?

We provide a 24 hour a day emergency service 365 days of the year.

• During office hours telephone 01670 542424.
• Outside of office hours phone 01670 540501 

Services

We are responsible for keeping the services to the building such as gas, water and electricity in working order.

Accounts

The Council must keep proper accounts in relation to service charges and these should be made availa le for your inspection

In the event of a dispute, the matter will be referred by the Council to an independent arbitrator who is a qualified accountant not connected with the Council as laid down in the Housing Act of 1988.

Details of your landlord

You have the right to know who your landlord is so that you can make contact about the management of your home. Details of this must be given on any written rent or service charge demands.

Consultation about repairs and maintenance

You have a right to be consulted about works to be carried out which are our responsibility and where the estimated costs either exceed £50 multiplied by the number of sold flats in the building or £1,000 whichever is the greater. We have a duty to consult leaseholders before commencing such work.

In such cases you will be sent a letter explaining the proposed works which will include financial information. You will be advised when we intend to start the works and the contractor.

At least one month’s notice will be given during which time any written comments from leaseholders will be considered. We are required to have regard to your comments but do not necessarily have to act in accordance with the views expressed.

If we do not follow the consultation procedure and the matter was referred to Court, it would consider whether proper regard had been given to the views of residents, and if there were circumstances which made it impossible for us to follow the procedure. (For example if the works were urgent).

Service Charges

The Council has to provide information on how your service charge is calculated.

Purchasing the Freehold or Renewing you Lease

If you would like to know more about purchasing the freehold of your building or renewing your lease you can view the Government publication Leasehold Flats here.

Leaseholders - A guide to your rights and responsibilities

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has produced a detailed guide for leaseholders which you can access here entitled "Residential Long Leaseholders - A guide to your rights and responsibilities"

Further Information

You can obtain further information from the following:

Blyth Valley Housing, Cowley Road, Cowpen Industrial Estate, Blyth NE24 5TF.

Telephone: Repairs Reception Centre 01670 542424

Typetalk service prefix number 18001

EMail: Repairs Centre