Homeownership

If you own 100% of your home, you can sell it on the open market through an estate agent.

Once you have a buyer, your solicitor will need a Sales Pack (£252 inc. VAT) containing service charge accounts, insurance details, and leasehold information.

To order:

• Email homeowner@rhp.org.uk with your solicitor’s details.

• Transfer £252 to Lloyds Bank (Sort Code: 30-80-12 / Account: 10864568) using your RHP account number ending in 'SP' as the reference.

We'll issue the pack within five working days of receiving your payment.

If your lease has 80 years or less remaining, extending it now will help protect your home's value and make it easier to sell or remortgage. We extend leases by adding 90 years to your current remaining term.

Full leaseholders have a legal right to extend, while shared owners can extend voluntarily with our help.

To pay for your initial valuation, transfer the fee to Lloyds Bank (Sort Code: 30-80-12 / Account: 10863068) using your property address as the reference.

You'll need to let us know why you'd like to vary your lease. We'll review your request and if we agree to a variation, you'll need to instruct a solicitor and pay our legal fees. 

Contact the Homeowner Team at homeowner@rhp.org.uk if you’d like to talk about lease variations.

You can find your buildings insurance document in the link below. 

Subletting is when you don't live in your property, but you rent this out to another person. RHP only allows homeowners to sublet their properties. 

If you do want to sublet your home, you'll need to contact us at homeowner@rhp.org.uk to get permission from our Homeowner Team.  You'll also need to provide us with your correspondence address and give us details of any Managing Agent acting on your behalf.  Leaseholders must take full responsibility for their tenants. RHP will only communicate with the leaseholder or the named managing agent.

We don't allow our customers with tenancy agreements or shared ownership leases to sublet their property. The terms and conditions of these tenancy agreement and leases say your RHP property needs to be your main and principle home.

Shared Ownership is a simple and affordable way to get a home of your own. You buy a share in the home that's affordable to you and pay a rent to us (alongside a monthly service charge) on the rest.

The good news is the mortgage and rent combined is usually less than the cost of buying outright or renting a similar home – and it’s yours to decorate and live in as you wish. The other good bit about buying a share is getting a mortgage should be a bit easier - you’ll just need the deposit on the share, not the full value, and your mortgage will be smaller than trying to buy outright. 

You can buy more shares as and when you can afford it until you reach 100% ownership. 

If you’d like more information on newbuild shared ownership homes, please email sales@rhp.org.uk 

If you're an RHP shared owner, the process for selling your property is different, and there are certain things your lease says you must do, like get your property valued by a qualified surveyor.

You can buy more shares as and when you can afford it until you reach 100% ownership. Buying more shares in your shared ownership home is called 'staircasing'. 

To start this process, please email homeowner@rhp.org.uk.

The services you receive vary according to where you live and the type of property you have. For example, if you live in a flat on an estate, you’ll receive more services than if you lived in a flat in a street property.

Your service charge is your share of what it costs RHP to provide these services. The services that apply to your home are shown on your service charge statement. 

When we notify you about your service charges, we'll also let you know about ways to pay. Direct debit is our preferred option and this can be set up over the phone by calling the Homeowner Team on 0800 0322 433, selecting option 4 and then option 3.

If you're unhappy with your service charges, please email our Homeowner Team. We can provide evidence of costs for your block.

If you still think the charges are unfair, you can apply to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). They will review both sides and decide on a fair price. If you disagree with their ruling, you can appeal to the Lands Chamber: though this usually costs up to £500.

Before taking action, we recommend getting independent legal advice or contacting the Leasehold Advisory Service.

The Right to Buy and Right to Acquire schemes are government-funded schemes that allow eligible tenants the opportunity to purchase their homes at a reduced cost. For both schemes, you must have held a qualifying tenancy with us or another provider for at least three years.

As we are a housing association, we can only offer the Right to Buy to tenants who held a tenancy from Richmond Council as part of the stock transfer that created RHP in the year 2000. These applications are considered under the ‘preserved right to buy’.

From 21 November 2024, the maximum discount is £16,000 off the market value of your home.

To apply, please complete this application form. The form must be signed with a physical wet signature - not an e-signature - and returned to us by a registered tenant and not a family member.

Applying with household members

You can purchase your home with up to three members of your current household. You must provide evidence that they’ve lived at your address for at least 12 months before applying. Acceptable documents include:

• Voter registration letters from the council
• Council tax bills
• Official letters from the DWP, NHS, or any government body
• Driver’s license
• Payslips with your address (please redact confidential information)
• Utility bills.

Important: The application form is a legal document. Any alterations made must be initialled by all applicants. Once completed, you can email your application to homeowner@rhp.org.uk, or return to 8 Waldegrave Road, Teddington, TW11 8GT, marked for the attention of the homeowner team. If you have any questions on the process, the Homeowner Team are here to support you via homeowner@rhp.org.uk or by calling 0800 032 2433 and selecting option 4 then option 3.

The Right to Manage (RTM) allows people who own leasehold flats to legally take over the management of their building from their landlord. You don't need the landlord's permission, but you must follow specific rules.

To start, you must set up a formal 'RTM Company' and at least half of the total number of flats in the building must agree to join the company.

Anyone contemplating exercising this right should seek legal advice, or read the guide produced by the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE).

• This right applies to blocks of flats, not houses.
• You must be a 'qualifying tenant', which simply means your original lease was for more than 21 years.
• You don’t have to actually live in the flat to qualify, and you can own multiple flats in the building.

To take over management, the building must meet these conditions:

1. At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be owned by long-term leaseholders.
2. If the building has shops or offices, they cannot take up more than 50% of the total floor space.

There are exemptions to the Right to Manage: further information is available here.

When a homeowner passes away, executors or those waiting for probate often have questions. We’ve answered the main ones below to help guide you. We know this is a difficult time, and we’re here to help. If you need any support or want to discuss anything, please contact our Homeowner Team at homeowner@rhp.org.uk.

Please email us a copy of the death certificate and proof of the Executor or Grant of Probate. This allows us to discuss the property with you. If you are waiting for probate and there isn't a Will, simply let us know.

Because service charges relate to the property, they still need to be paid in full after a leaseholder dies: even while the home is unoccupied.

If you're unable to pay until the property is sold, please let us know. Once we have a copy of the death certificate, we can place a note on the account to support you during this time. You can reach us at homeowner@rhp.org.uk or on 0800 032 2433 (select option 4, then 3)

You find further information on selling your property in our Resales Guide. 

If you are taking ownership of the property:

1. Hire a solicitor to handle the legal transfer and explain your lease to you.

2. Your solicitor must send a 'Notice of Transfer' by email (homeowner@rhp.org.uk) or post (8 Waldegrave Rd, Teddington TW11 8GT) once finished.

3. Pay the £70 notice fee to Richmond Housing Partnership (Sort Code: 30-80-12 / Account: 10864568). Use the first line of the address and 'NT' as your reference.