Selling your home
Selling your home (leasehold)
This information covers selling your home as a leaseholder, and the steps you will need to take when you do so.
Legal costs
We will charge solicitors for any enquiries they make about the proposed sale of your home and for providing the information required.
Repayment of discount
If you applied for the right to buy on or after 18 January 2005, and wish to sell within five years of buying, you will need to repay discount. The calculation to determine the amount of discount to be repaid is different for each flat.
If you do sell your flat, you must contact one of our Home Ownership Advisors at least two months before the sale being completed. Contact us for details.
Notice of assignment
Your purchaser's solicitor must make sure that we receive a copy of the notice of assignment. The amount charged by us for this notification is stated in your lease.
Service charges
The solicitors acting for both parties are responsible for splitting charges accordingly, on completion of the sale. If there are any service charges outstanding these will have to be paid before completion of the sale.
It is usual for your solicitor to withhold an amount of money from the sale of the flat to pay the adjustment for the actual expenditure in the previous financial year. Any surplus money is returned to you once the actual accounts are raised.
Selling your home (shared ownership)
Selling shared ownership property is slightly different. If you are a shared owner and you want to sell your home, you must call us to find out the options available to you. We provide this service through our Commercial Team, who can be contacted on 01494 476 305
We keep a waiting list of people who want to buy a shared ownership home. Should we need to find a buyer for you, your lease will tell you how much time we have to find a buyer for your home. This period is known as the 'nomination period' and usually lasts eight weeks.
If we can't find you a buyer by the end of the nomination period, we can give you permission to sell your home on the open market. If you own all the shares in your flat and we are the landlord, you can sell your home on the open market, although you will normally have to refer questions raised by the buyer's solicitors to us to answer.
There may be a clause in your lease which allows us to name a buyer who meets the shared ownership conditions. You must sell your home at the open market value. Your share of the sale price is the same as your percentage share of your home, so if you own 50%, you collect 50% from the sale, less costs. At completion, your solicitor will be asked to collect any rent or outstanding balances owed by you. This will be calculated to the completion date.
Your costs
Most costs are subject to frequent change and we will be able to advise you of what to expect, but generally when you sell your home you will have to pay the following charges:
- valuation fee
- revaluation fee (if required)
- any mortgage payments due to your mortgage lender
- your solicitor's fees
- our solicitor's fees
- the estate agents' fees (if a purchaser is not found by us)
- administration fee (if applicable)
You should check to ensure you will get enough money from the sale of your home to cover all these costs. It will usually take about three months to sell your property from the date you tell us you want to sell. It may take longer if the buyer also has a property to sell.
More information can be found in the leasehold handbook.