Information for leaseholders

Information for leaseholders

A leaseholder is someone who owns a property but does not own the land around their home or the building their flat is part of.

Newcastle City Council owns the land and the building that your home is in and is the freeholder of your building.

They are required to maintain the exterior of the building and any common areas. You must pay towards the costs of managing and maintaining your block, which means that you will be charged for any repairs carried out to the structure or communal areas of your building.

Information for leaseholders

What are my responsibilities?

You must:

  • Pay an annual ground rent and service charge in advance of each financial year
  • Pay a management fee to cover the cost of running the leasehold service
  • Inform us if you are going to sublet your property
  • Ask for landlord's permission before carrying out certain works to the property
  • Buy any loft space that you wish to use separately because it is still owned by Newcastle City Council and is not included in this lease
  • Maintain any garden that you are responsible for
  • Carry out all internal repairs and decoration to the property
  • Not cause nuisance to your neighbours
  • Not leave your property empty for more than 30 days

What are YHN’s responsibilities?

As we are managing agents on behalf of the freeholder, we are responsible for the main structure of the building, the shared parts, and any shared services to your building or estate. These will depend on where you live and the type of property in which you live, but may include:

  • Outside walls
  • Inside structural walls
  • Roofs, foundations, timbers, joist beams, chimney stacks, gutters, rainwater, and soil pipes
  • Window frames
  • Lifts
  • Door entry systems
  • Estate lighting
  • Block lighting (entrance halls, stairways, etc.)

We also must:

  • Send out annual service charge invoices
  • Arrange the buildings insurance for your property and recharge the premium as part of the annual service charge
  • Carry out all external repairs, maintenance and major works, and recharge a share of the cost of this work to you

Where do I go for advice?

For help and advice you can contact our Home Ownership team

Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm



Telephone: 0191 278 7725

E-mail: leasehold@yhn.org.uk

Postal address: Home Ownership Team, YHN House, Benton Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7LX

The Leasehold Advisory Service also provides free advice to Leaseholders and offers a mediation service to help resolve disputes without the need to go to court.  If you filed a complaint with us and were unsatisfied with the outcome, you can approach the Leasehold Advisory Service for advice on the situation.

Telephone: 020 7832 2500

Online: www.lease-advice.org

Need more information?

Service charges

Buildings and contents insurance

Repairs, alterations, major works

Sub-letting your leasehold flat

Buying and selling your leasehold

Extending your lease

Buying the freehold of your property

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