Shared ownership arrears policy
Introduction
Residents of shared ownership homes have an obligation to pay CKH rent and service charges as part of their lease. This policy outlines the steps we will take should a shared ownership resident fall into arrears with either their rent or service charge payments.
Our commitment to you
As a resident in a CKH home, you have an obligation to pay rent and service charges in line with the terms of your lease or covenant. This is in addition to any mortgage payments you are required to make to your mortgage lender.
If you fall behind with payments to CKH for your rent and/or service charges, we will start a process to start recovery of the amount owed. That process could end with the organisation taking possession of your home if you persistently fail to pay your rent and/or service charge. This will always be a last resort.
All shared owners have a named Income Adviser who can support you with advice if you are struggling to make payments. We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible if your financial situation changes and you are finding it hard to pay. We can help you to find additional support and put in payment plans to help you keep your home. It is your responsibility to contact your mortgage lender if you are struggling with your mortgage payments. Please call us on 01733 385000 option 3 if you need to speak to us about your account.
You are required to pay a minimum of one months rent when you complete on your home purchase. You are also encouraged to set up a Direct Debit to make future payments. We will issue you with an annual rent letter to inform you of any changes to your rent and service charge.
What happens if I fall into arrears?
Step 1
As soon as your account goes into arrears by any amount over £9.99 the recovery process will start. Your Income Adviser will contact you, either by letter, email or telephone, to advise you of the arrears and to make arrangements for you to clear the outstanding amount. We would encourage you to do that as soon as possible.
If you are unable to pay the outstanding amount in full, we will put in place a payment plan, for a set amount on a set date. We will advise you that failure to maintain the payment plan would result in automatic escalation of the arrears process. We will put in place a Direct Debit for the amount agreed with you in the payment plan.
If you do not contact us to make payment or arrange a payment plan at this stage, we will escalate to stage 2 of our process.
Step 2
We may at this stage arrange a visit to your home this will enable us to engage with you and arrange either payment of the outstanding arrears in full or the setting up of a payment plan.
Payment plans
A payment plan will be set up in such a way that it should clear all your arrears within a maximum period of three months. We will continually monitor the plan to ensure you stay on track. If you breach the plan we will escalate your arrears to the next stage.
If you are experiencing financial hardship and would be unable to repay within the three months, an accurate income and expenditure form will be requested from you. Consideration will be given to extending the period only in extenuating circumstances.
If your payment plan runs over March, when changes to your rent and service charge take effect, we will review your plan and amend any Direct Debits to take the changes into account. You will be notified of your new payment amounts via a letter from Allpay.
If you miss one payment of the payment plan, a phone call, email or letter will be sent requesting you contact your Income Adviser. If you make contact, we will request payment in full to clear the outstanding debt however if you are unable to make this payment, then the relevant escalation pathway will be followed.
Notice of Seeking Possession (NOSP)
If arrears continue to increase, we will serve you with a Notice of Seeking Possession (NOSP), along with the Section 166, Form of Rent demand Notice. This will be served to all parties where there is more than one resident listed, but the name that appears on the NOSP will be that which appears on the lease. Where possible, the NOSP will be hand delivered.
Shared ownership NOSPs will be served using Ground 8 (mandatory ground) where there is a minimum of 2 months arrears and Grounds 10 and 11 (discretionary grounds). Ground 8 is a mandatory action which leaves judges with no option but to give possession back to CKH. You will be informed that there is no discretion on behalf of the judge. This will mean that should the case proceed to court then your home will be given back to CKH and could result in you becoming homeless. You will be encouraged to pay your outstanding arrears in full or make an agreement to prevent this from happening.
Contacting your mortgage lender
When we issue you with a NOSP we will also send a copy to your mortgage lender, along with a copy of your rent statement showing one year’s worth of history. We will always let you know that we have done this.
We will also include a separate notice informing them of possible possession proceedings under the Housing Act 1988 and the grounds on which the action will be based.
We will grant your lender at least 28 days written notice of our intention to commence possession proceedings under the Housing Act 1988. They will take this time to write to you or consider paying the arrears on your behalf and adding this balance to any outstanding mortgage.
Court application
Six months after serving the NOSP (as long as the lender, if involved, has had 28 days to respond to the request for payment) if your arrears are still outstanding, we will file your case with court to proceed with the process for gaining possession of your home. We will write to you to inform you of the time, date and location of your court hearing.
Court hearing
If Ground 8 still applies we will seek mandatory possession. Where Ground 8 no longer applies (ie the arrears are now below eight weeks) the Income Adviser will seek a suspended possession order and court costs.
If the case is ‘adjourned with liberty to restore’ the Income Adviser will make an arrangement with you to repay the arrears whilst at court. This is to ensure that the arrears are paid off and the need to return to court negated. If you fail to adhere to this agreement it will result in the claim being returned to court and possession of your home being sought.
Outright possession
If the judge grants us outright possession of your home, they will stipulate the time at which you are required to vacate your home. You will be sent a letter that informs you of the decision and the time and date you are expected to vacate. If you remain in the property after that time, we will make an application to the court for a warrant to secure a date for eviction and possession of the property.
Eviction
We will write to you and inform you of the time and date of the eviction. We may make a referral to the Housing Needs team of your local authority to inform them of your household make up, the reason for the eviction and the time it will be taking place. We will also advise you that you should seek independent legal advice if you wish to stop the eviction. We will inform the bailiffs of any disability conditions or health and safety risks that are known to us.
At the time of the eviction, the bailiffs are responsible for gaining access. A member of CKH will be present. We will change the locks, affix a sign to the property with information on the reason for the eviction and who to contact. We will also photograph and document all property left in the home. If you are present at the time of eviction, we will ask you to sign a property disposal form and we will take back any communal entrance fobs.
Any property left in the home will be removed within 48 hours of the eviction.
Further information:
Who is responsible for managing the shared ownership arrears policy?
This policy is managed by the Service Manager – Income Management reporting into the Director of Operations.
Legislation and regulation
This policy is written in accordance with regulatory and legislative requirements.
Information sharing
Cross Keys Homes has an information sharing agreement with key agencies and contractors to share information in relation to the delivery of our services. Information shared must be relevant and the Data Protection Procedure adhered to when handling data. You can find more information about how we manage your data in our Transparency and Privacy Policy.
Monitoring and review
The Shared Ownership Arrears Policy was reviewed and approved in December 2024 and will be reviewed every three years – next review December 2027.