Your shared ownership lease is a crucial legal agreement between you and Oxford City Council. It confirms what has been agreed about your property and gives details of your rights and responsibilities, as well as ours.
What your lease covers
The lease describes your property, including any garden, garage, shed or parking space. It also includes a plan showing the area of your property (the 'demise'), the block and the estate for the purpose of calculating service charges.
Your lease is divided into sections called 'schedules'. Each schedule sets out the conditions and responsibilities that apply to you as the shared owner and to us as the freeholder (landlord).
If you have bought a home from us, we retain ownership of the land.
If your home is a flat, we are responsible for the communal areas and the building's overall structure, including the roof, stairways, landings and windows.
Your responsibilities
As a shared owner, you need to:
- follow the terms of your lease
- maintain the interior of your home
- report any necessary repairs
- pay your rent and service charges
- ensure household members and visitors do not cause nuisance or damage
- refrain from running a business from the property
- not alter the property without our consent
- maintain the building's structural integrity
- allow us access after notice
- not sublet the property
Our responsibilities
We are responsible for:
- managing and maintaining buildings and estates
- maintaining shared owner records
- arranging buildings insurance (but not home contents insurance)
- calculating and billing service charges
- responding to your enquiries
- handling insurance claims
- handling property alteration requests
Service charge and rent
Your lease explains what you are charged for and how we bill you.
Each year, we provide:
- an estimated service charge for the upcoming account year (1 April to 31 March)
- details of your rent for the same period
After the year ends, we compare the actual costs with the estimate:
- if costs are higher, we will invoice you for the difference
- if costs are lower, your account will be credited
Find out more about Shared ownership housing charges.
Upon request, we can also provide:
- a detailed breakdown of the work included in your statement
- details of repairs to your block and estate reflected in the actual service charges
We will formally consult you if any work to your block or estate costs more than £250. Refer to Charging leaseholders for major work for details.
