This section of the website aims to answer the questions most frequently asked by leaseholders about paying for Major Works. If you have a question that is not covered here, please contact our leasehold caseworkers who will be pleased to talk through any concerns that you may have regarding payment of Major Works charges.
When should I pay my Major Works charge?
What are the methods of payment available?
What can I do if I need extra time to pay?
Can I get help paying my Major Works charge?
What happens if I cannot afford to pay for the works or a loan?
When should I pay my Major Works charge?
Payment is due within 21 days of the invoice date. If full payment is not made within 21 days, then you must complete a payment options form and return it to Leasehold Services. We enclose a payment options form with every invoice we send you.
Most Major Works costs will be invoiced on an estimated basis. When the actual cost is known at the end of the works, your service charge account will be adjusted to reflect the actual cost - resulting in a credit or debit being applied to your account. We will write to advise you of the actual cost and tell you the amount of any adjustment to your account.
What are the methods of payment available?
Direct debit
To set up a direct debit, you will need to agree a monthly repayment plan with us.
Standing order
You can ask your bank to pay the service charge by standing order, usually on a monthly basis. If you set up a bank standing order with your bank, we still require you to complete and return a payment options form and return it to the Leasehold Services team so that we can update our system. Please quote your 10 digit Major Works account number when paying by this method.
By credit or debit card
You can pay by credit or debit card at the Town Hall in Catford, by phoning the Council’s hotline 020 8690 8707 or by calling the Leasehold Services team 0800 028 2 028 - Press 5. (It may be cheaper to call 020 8613 4000 from a mobile). If you use a credit card to make your payment a surcharge will be added to the amount you pay. There is no surcharge for debit card payments.
Payments Online
Payment can be made on Lewisham Council’s website www.lewisham.gov.uk using a credit or debit card. From the home page, click the ‘online payments’ option to go to the secure card payment site, select leasehold Charges, and complete payment details as prompted on screen.
If you use a credit card to make your payment a surcharge will be added to the amount you pay. There is no surcharge for debit card payments. Select ‘online payments’ from the options on left hand side of screen.
Plastic card
The Major Works Payment Card can be used at any Post Office. You can also use the card to pay by cash at a Pay Point outlet.
If you require a Major Works Payment Card, please request this on the Payment Options Form sent with every invoice or contact Leasehold Services 0800 028 2 028 - Press 5 (It may be cheaper to call 020 8613 4000 from a mobile) to request for a card to be sent to you. If you pay by cheque at the Post Office the cheque should be made payable to ‘The Post Office’.
In person
You can pay at any Post Office or PayPoint outlet using your plastic card (see details above). You can also pay at a bank using the bank giro slip at the bottom of your invoice. You should be aware that some banks will charge you for this service.
By telephone
Phone 020 8690 8707 to access the touchtone payment service. You will need your 10 digit Major Works account number to use this service. Payment can also be made by calling Leasehold Services 0800 028 2 028 - Press 5 (It may be cheaper to call 020 8613 4000 from a mobile).
Direct payment from your bank account
You can also arrange to transfer your payment directly from your bank account to the Council’s bank account. You must quote your 10 digit Major Works account number as the reference. Our bank details are:
Name of Bank: Co-operative Bank PLC Lewisham Branch
Account No: 61073843
Sort code: 08 90 29
What can I do if I need extra time to pay?
The following information is about the main options available, but you may also wish to seek independent financial advice.
Interest free payment option
Lewisham Council has recently introduced a new ‘interest free payment option’ for resident leaseholders who are required to pay for Major Works as part of their service charges. We send out information about the ‘interest free payment option’ with every leasehold invoice. However, if you would like more information visit our website or contact Leasehold Services.
The new interest free option allows up to:
- 24 months interest free for bills less than £3,000; or
- 36 months interest free for bills over £3,000.
Increasing your mortgage
Leaseholders who already have a mortgage on their home can ask their mortgage lender to have the cost of the works added to their existing mortgage. The mortgage lender pays for the Major Works and then the leaseholder makes payments to the mortgage lender for the cost of the works and interest - over the remaining years of the mortgage.
Re-mortgaging
A number of leaseholders have arranged to re-mortgage their property with a different mortgage lender. The new mortgage takes into account the cost of the works. Sometimes it is possible to re-mortgage at a lower rate of interest than you are paying on your current mortgage. However, a new lender may charge you an arrangement fee for the new mortgage.
Service charge loans
Lewisham Council offers service charge loans to leaseholders. You could benefit from this option if you cannot pay the whole amount due within the interest free period. However, you may find that you can get a more competitive rate of interest from high street lenders.
The service charge loans from the Council are secured by a mortgage on your property. If you are interested in taking out a Council loan for the works please contact our leasehold caseworkers. Please note, these loans are discretionary and subject to conditions.
Right to a Loan
Some leaseholders have the Right to a Loan from the Council. This right only applies where the original purchase under the Right to Buy scheme is within the last ten years.
These loans from the Council:
- are secured as a mortgage on your property;
- charge interest throughout the term of the loan ;
- have a maximum and minimum amount for the loan; and
- have a maximum number of years over which the loan can be repaid.
Other loans
Generally loans offering the lowest interest rate are those secured on the property. However you may be able to obtain other loans, such as personal loans from a bank. These loans tend to have higher interest rates.
Lewisham Plus Credit Union
The Credit Union is a not-for-profit savings and low cost loans service for people living or working in the London Borough of Lewisham and north Bromley postcodes of SE19, SE20, SE26, BR1 and BR3.
Lewisham Plus Credit Union 020 8778 4738, www.actscu.co.uk
262 Kirkdale road
London SE26 4RS
Equity loans
There are a number of different schemes designed to assist older homeowners to release the equity value in their home. It is particularly important that you receive legal and financial advice before entering into one of the schemes. We suggest that you consider using the service provided by the Home Improvement Trust, which is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at helping homeowners aged 60 or above, disabled homeowners or homeowners living with disabled person/s.0800 783 7569 www.houseproud.org.uk.
Can I get help paying my Major Works charge?
Housing costs
If you are in receipt of certain payments from the Department for Work and Pensions, as a leaseholder you may qualify for assistance with some housing costs.
Our leasehold caseworkers can give you information about this and assist you with making a claim. Alternatively, our caseworker can make an appointment for you with our Welfare Benefit Advisor who will help you to work through different options and make sure you are claiming all the benefits your are entitled to.
For independent advice, you can contact the benefits service (run by JobCentre Plus) 0845 608 8770.
General
If you are considering taking out a loan to pay for the works, it is important that you read all of the terms and conditions carefully. Some loans have heavy penalties if you wish to pay the debt off early. It is important to remember that if you fail to keep up the repayments, on a loan secured against your property, your home could be repossessed.
Before entering into any loan agreement you may wish to take your own legal and financial advice.
Schemes to assist leaseholders with bills in excess of £10,000
Lewisham Homes and Lewisham Council will consider all cases where the charge for works of repair, improvement and maintenance exceed £10,000 to any one leaseholder in any five year period. The Council has the discretion to reduce the Major Works charge so that it does not exceed £10,000 in any five year period. However, it has to consider each case against certain criteria.
Please note that the Council does not have the power to reduce the charge below £10,000 in any five year period.
If your Major Works bill exceeds £10,000 within a five year period, Lewisham Homes will write to you and ask you if you wish your case to be considered under ‘exceptional hardship’ as well as other criteria. To do this we need to ask you about all of your financial circumstances and the options open to you to pay for the Major Works.
What happens if I cannot afford to pay for the works or a loan?
If you are in this position it is important that you contact Leasehold Services straightaway. You can discuss your individual circumstances over the phone, or arrange an interview. Home visits can be arranged if you are unable to come to the office for health reasons. We will assist you in identifying benefits that you may be entitled to claim and work with you to calculate an amount that you can afford to pay. We will then discuss with you ways that may help to reduce the amount you need to borrow and in doing so reduce the interest that you pay.
In order to provide this assistance, we will need to ask you to provide full details of your income, expenditure and savings. We can also arrange for you to receive assistance from the Financial Services Authority.
What will happen if I do not pay the Major Works bill?
It is a condition of the lease, that leaseholders contribute towards Major Works when they are carried out to their block or estate. Every effort will be made to come to an arrangement that is acceptable to both you and Lewisham Homes as the Council’s managing agent. We provide assistance that is generally not available to leaseholders in the private sector, for instance allowing payments by instalment and offering service charge loans.
We will take recovery action for non-payment of charges via the courts but only after we have tried to reach a suitable arrangement with you.
