Frequently Asked Questions

HomeGround have an active role in the administration of the insurance program and often becomes the link between the broker and our customers. We employ a team of insurance professionals available to assist homeowners with any insurance matters.

HomeGround have agreed to undertake a number of activities/obligations on the behalf of the broker that under a more direct placement a broker or insurer would need complete. In return for this work we receive remuneration. This does not increase the cost of insurance. If HomeGround did not undertake these tasks, the cost would be incurred by the insurer or broker.

You may have received an email and/or letter recently from HomeGround, asking you to complete and return a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate (LDoC). We understand that this request may come as a surprise to some customers, and that you may be confused about why we have contacted you in this way.

The LDoC is part of a new process introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 to gather mandatory information about leasehold properties in buildings above a certain height. We are required, because of the new legislation, to ask you to complete this document to formally record how your property should be treated for the purposes of certain types of cost related to building and fire safety issues.

The Government has issued guidance for leaseholders on its official website, which can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mandatory-information-required-from-leaseholders-and-building-owners

This is an important process, and only needs to be completed once for each leasehold property affected. If we have sent you a request to complete an LDoC, there is a time limit stated in our covering letter by which you must respond. We have put together some “Frequently Asked Questions” to help resolve any questions you may have, so that you can complete the LDoC fully and return it to us as quickly as possible.

You have received the notice because the building in which your property is situated meets the requirements which determine that your landlord must serve the notice under the Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2022, in certain circumstances.

Those circumstances are:

• The building owner has become aware that the that the leaseholder's property is to be sold.
• The building owner has become aware of a defect at the building which meets the definitions under the Building Safety Act 2022, for it to be relevant to the regulations referred to above.

The Regulations apply to residential buildings located in England which contain at least two flats, and are at least 5 stories or 11 meters high, that were built prior to 28^th June 2022.

The recent changes brought about by the Building Safety Act and the associated regulations provide some leaseholders with protections against costs arising from certain building safety related costs, in some circumstances. Some leaseholders will still have to pay, up to a capped amount and others will still have to pay in line with their usual service charge apportionments as determined by their lease.

The LDoC enables the Landlord to understand who within a block may, under certain circumstances, be required to contribute towards those building safety related costs, and to ensure that they only pay the amount that the law has deemed appropriate.

You need to complete the LDoC to determine if you qualify for the leaseholder protections against building safety costs, arising from Building Safety act and to enable your landlord to calculate your maximum financial contribution towards those costs.

The information provided in the LDoC will help your building owner to ensure that no leaseholder will pay more than the law now requires in relation to building safety related costs.

Not necessarily. The requirement for a leaseholder to complete a LDoC, in the circumstances where the leasehold properties is to be sold, applies regardless of whether a relevant building defect has been identified.

The LDoC template makes clear that it is the current owner who is responsible for providing the information required in the form. You may however need to contact the previous owner of your leasehold property, or your conveyancer, if you did not own the property on that date, as the previous owner will be required to confirm their ownership status at that point.

The LDoC certificate template contains a section specifically for shared ownership leases. The purpose of the questions within this section is to assist the landlord in understanding your contribution towards any relevant building safety costs. Therefore, you are required to supply information relating to the percentage of your share of ownership in your leasehold property, which will in turn be used to ensure the correct calculation is applied to you. Without this information, your building owner will assume that you own 100% of your leasehold property.

If you no longer own the leasehold property but did as at 14^th February 2022, you will need to supply this notice to the person who currently owns the leasehold property and contact us to let us know. You will still need to supply the information to enable the new owner to complete the details regarding the ownership status on 14^th Feb 2022 and supply us with evidence to show that you sold or otherwise transferred your interest in the leasehold property as at that date.

The LDoC itself provides a list of evidence requirements and the government guidance provides further detail on the appropriate documents that can be provided to support the information contained in the completed certificate. These include:

• A utility bill or council tax statement in your name as at 14^th February 2022 to demonstrate that the property was your principle home.
• A copy of the Land Registry’s title for your leasehold property which details the current ownership and provides evidence of the last sale date. This document may also detail the last sale price.
• If the above Land Registry Title does not detail the last sale price, a copy of the contract of sale, or some other formal document from your conveyancing solicitor at the time of sale, perhaps a completion statement, may be used as evidence of the price paid by you for the leasehold property.
• If you are a shared ownership leaseholder, a copy of the shared ownership lease must be provided to evidence that the property is owned on that basis. In addition, the contract between yourself and the Housing Association (or other immediate landlord), or documentation arising from it, to evidence the % share owned as at 14^th February 2022, must also be provided.

If you do not complete and return an LDoC, your leasehold property will not qualify for the protections against certain building safety contained within the Building Safety Act 2022.

This means that your contribution towards any building safety related costs that may have otherwise benefited from protections, will be charged and payable by you, and future leaseholders of your leasehold property, at the usual service charge apportionment, as determined by the lease. The building owner is committed to making every effort to limit the amount that leaseholders pay towards any works to a relevant building defect by pursuing all other avenues, including the developer of the building.