Council leaseholders

When you bought your home, you bought the lease from the council which gives you the right to occupation and use of the property for an agreed period of time.  At the end of the lease period the dwelling will revert back to the council unless the lease is renewed or extended.

The lease is a legal contract between you 'the leaseholder' and the council 'the landlord'. It contains details of the property, including a map showing your home, the block it is in, the estate where the block is located (if relevant), and any garden or other amenities included in the sale. The lease explains your rights and obligations, as well as those of the Council.

The Housing Act 1980 introduced the 'Right to Buy' scheme whereby local authorities were obliged to sell council properties to qualifying tenants who wanted to buy their homes. The council sold these properties with 125 year leases. The date you purchased your property will determine the length of your lease.

125 Year Lease

If you bought your property with a 125 year lease, the council, as landlord, is obliged to provide you with certain services and to charge you for those services. These are called routine service charges. In addition, from time to time you will be charged for your share of the cost of any major works to your block or estate (if relevant). These are called major works service charges.

99 Year Lease

Before the 'Right to Buy' scheme came into force, the council had already sold flats and houses in certain non-estate properties on 99 year leases.

Unlike 125 year leases, 99 year leases do not have a standard format. Instead, each was drawn up by negotiation with the purchaser's solicitor. Hence the term negotiated leases. However, most negotiated leases have certain common features. These are:

• the leaseholder shares the responsibility for maintaining the structure of the building with the council and all other 99 year leaseholders residing there;
• the only service provided to 99 year leaseholders by the council, as landlord, is building insurance;
• there is no service charge as such and the council, as landlord, negotiates any repairs to the structure with individual leaseholders as and when they arise.
• residing there

For more information, please see What different leases are there? in the FAQ section or the Leaseholders' Guide.