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Homeowners

Frequently asked questions

A quick way of getting answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

Table of Contents

General

Shared owners own a proportion of their home (usually paid for through a mortgage) and rent the rest from us. Paying your rent is an important part of your lease. Rent is calculated according to the terms in your lease and increases are usually calculated using a formula based on the Retail Price Index for the previous September.

Service charges pay for the services provided to your estate or block. These might be provided by us or by a managing agent on our behalf or the owner of the estate or block. The services may include cleaning of communal areas, ground maintenance looking after any outside space, repairs and servicing of items such as a lift, door entry system and communal lighting. They may also include the costs of any gas use to heat communal areas or electricity used in providing these services. 

Any changes in the amount you pay for service charges will take effect from July each year, unless you are on a scheme formerly owned by One Housing or The Guinness Partnership in which case your service charge (and rent) will increase from April each year.  Paradigm does not make a profit on service charges; you just pay for the services that you receive. 

Our service charges are classified as a variable service charge. This means that we provide an estimated charge at the beginning of the financial year and produce a final account based on the actual costs at the end of the year.

Most leaseholders have to pay ground rent as a condition of their lease. It is paid to the owner of the land your home is built on. The amount you have to pay and how you pay is in your lease agreement. Find more information on ground rent here.

The management fee pays for the administration costs incurred by Paradigm. It covers:

  • contract management and monitoring
  • service charge calculation and production of accounts
  • general administration

The amount you pay depends on the services provided to your block / estate.

The purpose of a replacement provision or sinking fund is to set aside money each year for major works or larger maintenance work.  If a fund is not in place, homeowners would be at risk of facing large bills when maintenance work is required. A replacement provision or sinking fund effectively spreads the cost of this work and would only be charged where your lease allows.

Sinking funds can be used towards a range of key maintenance tasks such as roof replacement, window replacement, external decoration, decoration of communal areas or replacing or upgrading items such as lifts or door entry systems.

Not all leases allow for the collection of contributions to a replacement provision or sinking fund. Where this is the case, the costs for such major works will either be added to your service charges or it may be invoiced separately.

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 gave a right to tenants of blocks of flats to take over the management of their building. You will need to make sure you meet the qualifying criteria. Find more information at https://www.lease-advice.org/fact-sheet/right-to-manage/

The rules for selling your home are set out in your lease. If you want to sell, look at your lease in the first instance. If you intend to sell or require further information, please contact us on 0300 303 1010.

You can make a formal complaint by going to the Contact Us page on this website. For more information you can contact the Leasehold Advisory Service https://www.lease-advice.org/

Fire safety

Your local fire service will be able to offer clear advice about what to do in the event of a fire and the things you can do to prevent a fire starting in your home.

For example, see the advice from the Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service: Home Fire Safety Visits | Bucks Fire and Rescue

We carry out regular Fire Risk Assessments  of  blocks of flats where there are communal areas and entrances. Fire alarms and fire safety doors are checked monthly and all of our blocks have up to date assessments. Our Estates Officers carry out regular checks to identify any potential fire hazards and any emergency lighting and smoke vents are regularly checked by specialist contractors.

We install smoke alarms in all our properties but residents are responsible for maintaining them. The batteries should be tested once a month and replaced when necessary. There is more information on smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors here.

If you live in a block of flats, the following information is important:

  • you will have been provided with information about evacuation procedures when you first moved in, and there will be signs in common areas providing escape information. Please make sure that you are familiar with it.  The signs are checked by Estate Services staff regularly – please let us know if you can’t find the information
  • don’t prop open fire doors – these are self-closing doors which prevent or slow down the spread of fire
  • don’t use riser cupboards or communal areas to store your personal belongings – this may provide additional material to fuel a fire, or block escape routes or fire brigade access
  • do not use lifts to leave the building in the event of a fire – use the stairs.

If you are worried about your interest rate rising, please speak to your mortgage provider first or take advice from an Independent Financial Advisor.

If you’re a homeowner, you might be able to get help with interest payments on your mortgage. For more information please visit the Support for Mortgage Interest page.

Paradigm is committed to providing our customers the best possible value for money for the services provided. We have seen the cost of the essential activities we provide increase, and this unfortunately means service charges are going up for most customers. Below are the reasons for the main increases.

  • Insurance – Paradigm procures group building insurance cover for the properties we are responsible for, successfully securing very competitive rates for homeowners in the past. However there has been a change in the insurance available to us with some insurers withdrawing from the social housing market, and a change in approach by insurers with respect to how they price insurance risks and rising re-build costs. Like other social landlords, the lack of capacity and competition in the insurance market means that our premiums have seen a large increase this year. 
  • Electricity and heating (energy cost) – Paradigm capped the significant increases last year to reduce the impact on our customers. Your budget this year is based on your recent consumption figures and prices we expect to pay. Our energy consultants support us in making these estimates.
  • Maintenance & Service Contracts (Communal repair cost) and Leaseholder cost (Repairs to fabric of building not covered by Sinking Fund) – We have estimated these repair costs based on actual spend for your scheme over the last two years. This means that we have set a higher budget for schemes that have seen higher repair cost in the past, to reduce the likelihood of having to pass on a large balancing charge cost at the end of the year. As this is an estimate amount, if the amount spent during the year on repairs is less, the difference will be credited to your future service charges.
  • Management Company Costs – Your estimate is based on the cost we anticipate being billed where a third-party management company provides services for your block or estate. Management companies have passed on their increased cost of providing the services, resulting in a higher budget.
  • Grounds Maintenance – Cost of service has increased for some customers under the re-tendered contract.
  • Previous over recovery – If your annual service charge statement last year includes a credit for over recovery of 2022/23 charges, the amount you paid last year was lower due to this credit and so you may see an increase as this charge now resets to reflect the full budget.

Shared ownership is a way to buy a home in stages, while leasehold is a type of property ownership where you have rights to a property for a limited time. 
 All shared ownership properties are leasehold, but not all leasehold properties are shared ownership.

Lease extensions

Once a lease has less than around 80 years remaining on it, it is referred to as a ‘short’ lease. A short lease can cause several negative effects:

• the value of your property will gradually decrease compared to a similar property with a non-short lease

• it may be difficult to re-mortgage or take out a loan using your home as security

• mortgage rates tend to be higher on properties with short leases

• it may be difficult to sell a property with a short lease.

Because of this, it is financially advisable to extend your lease once you come close to having 80 years remaining. Many homeowners think about extending their lease once it has around 85 years remaining on it, as the shorter the time left on a lease, the more it will cost to extend it.

If your home is only 14 years old and you have a 99 year lease, then it’s a good idea to start looking into whether the time is right to extend your lease.

Your lease has a ‘commencement date’ which is the date from which your lease begins. Your lease also states how many years your lease is granted for. If you cannot find this information or do not have a copy of your lease, please contact our Homeownership Team and we will be happy to provide you with this information. We can be contacted via email at Homeownershipteam@paradigmhousing.co.uk or calling us on 0300 303 1010.

Following the upcoming changes in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, you will now have the option to extend your lease by:

  • 90 years, or
  • 990 years

This applies to both formal and informal lease extensions, meaning all leaseholders and shared owners can benefit.

When you apply for a lease extension, we’ll provide a valuation for both options so you can choose what works best for you.

Paradigm administration fee £300 Inc VAT 

Valuation fees start from £640 Inc VAT  

Our solicitors’ fees start from £1080 Inc VAT + disbursements  

A consent to deal fee (if appropriate) from our mortgagees £230 Inc VAT  

Legal Fee for dealing with Mortgages (if appropriate) £90 Inc VAT  

Your own legal costs 

The cost of the lease premium 

The leaseholder should initiate the lease extension with the freeholder.

You can view the lease extension guide here.

The process for an informal extension is approximately six months but a formal lease extension can take up to a year.

Ground rent for lease extensions will fall to peppercorn rent but other charges for services we provide (like communal cleaning), will still be applicable. 

This is down to individual circumstances but further information on the Reform Act 2024 can be found here.

The current maximum length of a lease extension that can be granted is 990 years. 

Staircasing (buying more shares)

You can buy further shares in your home until you own the whole 100% if the lease allows. This is known as ‘staircasing’. The more you own the less rent you pay. If you decide you want to buy more shares please contact the Sales Team on 0300 303 8046.

This depends on the mortgage product, there may be penalties, you should contact your lender to check.

No, the remaining term will remain the same if the property is leasehold upon final staircasing, unless there is an automatic lease extension, or the freehold interest is transferred.

It is a legal process and you need to have legal representation, we will pay for our own legal fees.

You need to have the funds to purchase additional shares and if you purchase final shares, you will own 100% of the property and some of the shared ownership clauses will fall away. For further shares, your rent will be reduced.

Click here to see our current fee breakdown.

For more information, please see our step-by-step staircasing guide.

Selling and ownership transfer

Please contact the Sales Team on 0300 303 8046  and they will send our initial enquiry pack detailing the process and associated fees.

We do not currently buy back individual properties or shares. 

For both staircasing and selling the current full market value will dictate the value of your current share or staircasing share value. 

 

Click here to see our current fee breakdown. Please note that this breakdown does not reflect to Leadenhall Main Block. 

Yes, you can add your partner. If you are purchasing final shares, we just need to be made aware that you are looking to add another party.  If you are purchasing further shares, we need to ensure that the incoming shared owner meets the shared ownership criteria. 

When checking your eligibility for shared ownership all rent and service charges will be considered when checking affordability. 

Support

If you are struggling to afford your rent or mortgage, please speak to your rent officer and mortgage provider who will be able to discuss your options.

Universal Credit also supports homeowners as the part-rent portion of your expenses can be claimed through Universal Credit here.

If you cannot meet your mortgage payments, please speak to your mortgage provider first or take advice from an Independent Financial Advisor.

For more information please visit the Support for Mortgage Interest page.

Housing Benefit can help you pay your rent if you are state pension age or you’re in supported, sheltered or temporary accommodation. Click here to see if you are eligible for Housing Benefit.

A great start would be taking a look at our Support Hub for information to help you: Support hub – Paradigm Housing 

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