Service Standards

The Home Ownership Unit provides advice and support to tenants wishing to buy their home under the Right to Buy. We also help home owners who have purchased a lease on their home where the London Borough of Lewisham is the freeholder and Lewisham Homes is the managing agent.

• Send out a Right to Buy pack within one working day .
• Provide an advice service by telephone and on an appointment basis within three working days.

• Help you to complete your Right to Buy application and explain the process to you fully.
• Acknowledge receipt of your Right to Buy application within three working days
• Process all Right to Buy applications in accordance with the 1985 Housing Act.

This means we will:

• Send you an application form for the Right to Buy within one working day
• Tell you whether or not you have the Right to Buy your home within four weeks of receiving your original application
• Send you an offer notice, giving you full details of the sale, within eight weeks of confirming your Right to Buy your home if you are buying a house, or within 12 weeks if you are buying a flat.

• Check our records annually, to make sure we have your full name and address for any correspondence.
• Consult and liaise with leaseholder groups.
• Send you an annual service charge bill, including information on different payment options available and the total balance of your service charge account.
• Inform you at least five working days in advance of any action to be taken to recover any service charge payments owed.
• Notify you of loans available from the Council for payment of major works bills.
• Offer you a confidential debt advice service if you are having difficulty in paying your annual service charge.

To help us provide the best possible service to you, we ask that you carefully read all the information we send on the obligations and responsibilities of owning your own home.