Leaseholder information

You and your neighbours

You have the right to enjoy your home in peace and quiet, and your neighbours have the same right. Everyone has the right to live the way they want to, as long as it doesn’t spoil the quality of life of others. This means being tolerant, accepting and respecting the needs and choices of other people. If you cause a
nuisance or annoy your neighbours, you are breaking the terms of your lease. You may also be breaking the law. 

We recognise that nuisance and harassment can severely spoil our residents’ lives and we are committed to resolving cases of nuisance and anti-social behaviour. By listening to residents, we have made tackling nuisance a top priority and have set up a specialist team to tackle unacceptable behaviour. The Community Safety team wants to make sure our communities are peaceful, safer and more secure places to live.

It is important to bear in mind that what you do can affect your neighbours. So please remember:

• Not to make too much noise, especially at night or early in the morning.
• To help keep the shared areas clean and tidy.
• To take special care to keep pets under control
• To be a good neighbour

Remember that under your lease agreement you have a duty not to cause a nuisance or annoyance to your neighbours. You are also responsible for making sure that your family and visitors to your home do not annoy your neighbours.

What is anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour and neighbour nuisance are general terms used to describe a whole range of behaviours that cause or are likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to others in the estate or local community.  

Examples include loud music, abusive, threatening, intimidating or violent behaviour, racial harassment, selling drugs, vandalism or graffiti, and dumping rubbish. You can contact the leasehold team, if you feel you are suffering from anti social behaviour.

Shared areas and services

We are responsible for maintaining the shared areas in your block, but everyone living in the block has a duty to keep them clean and use them properly. Remember that you pay a share of the cost of maintaining shared areas, so if you see someone damaging or misusing stairways, landings, parking areas, security doors and other shared facilities, tell us at once. If we can get evidence of who caused the damage, we can charge them for it so that you don’t end up paying towards it in your service charges.

Gardens

If your flat has a garden given to you under the terms of your lease, you are responsible for keeping it tidy. You should not allow rubbish to build up as it may cause a health hazard and encourage mice and other pests. If there are open plan gardens round your block, we will maintain them, but you can help by not dropping litter and not parking on the grass.

Satellite dishes

If you want to fit a satellite dish on the outside of your flat, you must get our written permission. We will not normally refuse as long as it is installed properly.

Parking

Most blocks of flats have shared parking areas. Some flats and maisonettes have their own driveway to park on. Parking in shared areas is on a first-come-first-served basis. No one has their own parking space. Please consider others when you park:

• Do not cause an obstruction - you could prevent emergency vehicles from getting through
• Do not park on the footpath - it is against th elaw, and obstructs people with pushcairs or who have disabilities
• Do not park in your garden unless you have a hard standing and a dropped kerb, approved by us
• Do not park lorries and trucks on residential streets and especially in shared parking areas

You can do minor repairs to your own vehicle in a shared parking area, at the roadside or in your garage, as long as you do not disturb your neighbours. You should not do major repairs to your own vehicle or do repairs for other people, whether for money or not.