Frequently Asked Questions

HomeGround is a specialist asset manager for residential property portfolios across England and Wales that are owned by freeholder and landlord companies. HomeGround looks after these portfolios on behalf of major institutional UK investors, such as pension funds.

Please start by checking all the FAQs. If you need more help then please use the contact form. Make sure you have given us enough detail so we can understand your query. You'll be given a case number to quote in future discussions about your enquiry.

For the best experience we recommend that you always log in first, then you won't have to fill in as many basic details: Sign in or Register.

If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it by clicking here.

We usually respond in 3–5 working days. You will get an email that either answers your query or asks you to log back in to the HomeGround portal to see the answer.

HomeGround is here to help you, as a customer, to manage your rights and responsibilities as a leaseholder or freeholder.  

On behalf of your landlord HomeGround: 

• collects and administers ground rents and implements rent reviews
• arranges building insurance
• manages lease extensions, freehold purchases, landlord consents and title transfers.

(1) This summary, which briefly sets out your rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, must by law accompany a demand for administration charges. Unless a summary is sent to you with a demand, you may withhold the administration charge. The summary does not give a full interpretation of the law and if you are in any doubt about your rights and obligations you should seek independent advice.

(2) An administration charge is an amount which may be payable by you as part of or in addition to the rent directly or indirectly:

• for or in connection with the grant of an approval under your lease, or an application for such approval
• for or in connection with the provision of information or documents
• in respect of your failure to make any payment due under your lease or
• in connection with a breach of a covenant or condition of your lease.

If you are liable to pay an administration charge, it is payable only to the extent that the amount is reasonable.

(3) Any provision contained in a grant of a lease under the right to buy under the Housing Act 1985, which claims to allow the landlord to charge a sum for consent or approval, is void.

(4) You have the right to ask a First-tier Tribunal whether an administration charge is payable. You may make a request before or after you have paid the administration charge. If the tribunal determines the charge is payable, the tribunal may also determine:

• who should pay the administration charge and who it should be paid to
• the amount
• the date it should be paid by and
• how it should be paid.

However, you do not have this right where:

• a matter has been agreed to or admitted by you
• a matter has been, or is to be, referred to arbitration or has been determined by arbitration and you agreed to go to arbitration after the disagreement about the administration charge arose or
• a matter has been decided by a court.

(5) You have the right to apply to a First-tier Tribunal for an order varying the lease on the grounds that any administration charge specified in the lease, or any formula specified in the lease for calculating an administration charge is unreasonable.

(6) Where you seek a determination or order from a First-tier Tribunal, you will have to pay an application fee and, where the matter proceeds to a hearing, a hearing fee, unless you qualify for a waiver or reduction. The total fees payable to the tribunal will not exceed £500, but making an application may incur additional costs, such as professional fees, which you may have to pay.

(7) A First-tier Tribunal has the power to award costs, not exceeding £500, against a party to any proceedings where:

• it dismisses a matter because it is frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process or
• it considers that a party has acted frivolously, vexatiously, abusively, disruptively or unreasonably.

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has similar powers when hearing an appeal against a decision of a First- tier Tribunal.

(8) Your lease may give your landlord a right of re-entry or forfeiture where you have failed to pay charges which are properly due under the lease. However, to exercise this right, the landlord must meet all the legal requirements and obtain a court order. A court order will only be granted if you have admitted you are liable to pay the amount or it is finally determined by a court, a tribunal or by arbitration that the amount is due. The court has a wide discretion in granting such an order and it will take into account all the circumstances of the case.

We may not have your correct contact details or preferences if:

• your previous agent has not passed them on
• you have rented out your property and not updated us about the change in your correspondence address
• you have recently purchased your property and we have not been informed about the change in ownership, in which case please check with the solicitor or conveyancer who dealt with your purchase that a notice has been served on the freeholder about the sale.

You can check and update your correspondence address and method in your account on the HomeGround portal under the My Details option.

If you are already registered on the HomeGround portal but need help resetting your password, please click here.

To register on the HomeGround portal you will need your 12-digit customer reference number and your security key, which can be found in the welcome pack that was sent to you when we first acquired your property and on our invoices. If you need help with your security key and customer reference number, please complete an enquiry form.

To register, please click here.

The records passed on to HomeGround from your previous freeholder, after our client purchased the freehold of your property, show that you had not paid your ground rent for the periods shown on the invoice.

If you have paid this ground rent to your previous freeholder (or their agent), please send us documentation showing the payment, such as a bank statement or a receipt from the previous freeholder.

Once we receive documentation that proves payment, the arrears charges are marked as disputed on our system with ** while we try to obtain that payment from your previous freeholder.

We can experience delays in sorting out arrears and if you do receive a ground rent invoice for the next period, please ignore the charges marked ** as we do not expect you to pay them. Your total outstanding balance on your account will also exclude the charges in dispute.

Please contact us if you require additional information about an invoice for arrears.

No. HomeGround only collects ground rent and building insurance premiums.

Service charges are separate from your ground rent and are dealt with and collected by your building’s managing agent.

HomeGround is not involved with the maintenance or management of your building.

If you have already registered on the HomeGround portal

When you first registered on the HomeGround portal you received an email with your login details. Your username is the email address you used when you completed the registration process. For security reasons, we do not keep a copy of your password. If you have forgotten your password, please reset it here:

Reset Password

We will email you a link to reset your password – the link expires after 4 hours.

If you have not yet registered on the HomeGround portal

Registering is easy. You will need your 12-digit customer reference number and your security key, both of which can be found on a HomeGround invoice and on our welcome letter. To register your personal account on the HomeGround portal:

Register

HomeGround Management Limited - 9 January 2019