Ask The Experts

Most modern leases allow a landlord to collect money in advance to establish a sinking fund to cover the cost of cyclical or expensive work such as decoration of the outside of a building or structural repairs such as roof works.  It is collected over successive years so that monies are in place when these larger works need to be carried out.

When you purchase a leasehold flat, you buy the right to live there for a set number of years (the term) and ground rent is charged by the freeholder as rent for the land on which the building is built.  The amount of ground rent you need to pay (which may be nominal) will be set out in your lease.

It is a legal requirement that the person responsible for the fire risk assessment must review the assessment regularly to make sure it’s up to date. Government guidance recommends that blocks of up to three storeys above ground and built in the last 20 years should have a fire risk assessment every 4 years and reviewed every 2 years. Higher risk blocks, for example those with more than 3 storeys or of an age, should have a risk assessment every 3 years and reviewed every year.  The highest risk buildings, the recommendation is annually.