Homeowner s Handbook A guide for leaseholders and shared owners About us mhs homes is a not-for-profit organisation providing affordable accommodation in Kent. We own and manage over 8000 properties and provide homes for over 20,000 people. We hope that you will find this handbook useful. We aim to provide excellent services and this handbook provides information on the wide range of services we offer. It will help to answer questions you may have about your lease, your home and your neighbourhood. Please keep this handbook safe and refer to it whenever you need information. We aim to constantly improve our services so items in this handbook may change. When you receive an updated edition, please recycle this one. The most up to date version will be displayed on our website.
This handbook is available in other formats including braille, audio, in large print and in different languages. If you require a different format, please contact our customer service team on 01634 565333 or contactus@mhs.org.uk. Our commitment to you We will: 1. Be courteous, helpful and carry clear identification 2. Ensure information is clear and easy to understand 3. Provide information in a different format upon request 4. Offer you opportunities to shape our services and improve your skill set 5. Provide advance notice of major works to your property or surrounding area Repairs and maintenance What is mhs homes responsible for? We are responsible for repairs to the outside of apartment blocks, and any structural issues. What am I responsible for? If you lease an apartment, you are responsible for maintaining items inside of your flat, the front door of your flat, all pipes and wires within or exclusively serving the flat, window and door fittings and window glass. If you lease a house, you are responsible for all repairs to the house and outside space. Can I make improvements to my home? You may not alter the property without our permission. If you wish to alter the property, you must submit plans and supporting paperwork. We will look at your proposals and will give permission, subject to certain conditions, where possible. Asbestos Asbestos is not a danger if it is intact and not disturbed. Building materials containing asbestos were used in properties during the 1960s and 1970s to provide fire protection, thermal insulation and to add strength to materials. For more information please visit www.hse.gov.uk and search for asbestos. Please get our permission before you make alterations to your home.
You and your neighbours You should be considerate to your neighbours at all times. Under your lease, you must not cause a nuisance to your neighbours by making too much noise or blocking hallways with your belongings. You are also responsible for visitors to your home and people who live with you. If you are having issues with your neighbours, try talking to them first. If this does not work, contact us for further help and advice. If your neighbours are making too much noise, or if you are worried that your health will be at risk, you should contact the environmental health department at your local council. They usually offer an out of hours service if your neighbours are disturbing you late at night. If you contact us about anti-social behaviour, we will: Provide a range of different ways to report ASB. Treat every report of ASB seriously, sensitively and in confidence. Accept and investigate anonymous reports of ASB. Offer support to both the victim and perpetrator. Encourage residents to solve their differences themselves wherever possible. Resident involvement We value all of our customers and we offer opportunities for you to have your say in how our organisation is run, and to gain new skills and experiences. Please see our website for more information. Estate Management All of our estates are inspected periodically to ensure all residents are following their
lease agreements and communal areas are being maintained. If you do not keep to your lease agreement then mhs homes can take legal action against you. You are also responsible for the behaviour of your visitors and other members of your household. Parking Where parking areas are provided they are shown on the lease plan as areas in yellow with black lines. You can park your vehicle there as long as it is roadworthy and it is taxed and insured. These areas should not be used for lorries, vans, caravans, boats or trailers. You must not park on any grassed area or dump rubbish in the parking areas. Disposal of rubbish Rubbish must be stored in the storage facilities provided or kept in your home until bin collection day. You must not leave any items in the communal areas. Gardens and communal areas You should keep any gardens included in your lease in a reasonable condition and not allow anything to grow over communal areas, external walls and footpaths. You must not plant anything in the communal gardens without our permission. Communal areas must be kept clear at all times, and must not be used for storage. Aerials/Satellite Dishes You must not add or fix anything to the property without our permission, including aerials and satellite dishes. We will not grant permission for aerials or dishes in blocks which already have a communal aerial. To check if there is a communal aerial please contact us. Pets Some blocks are designated as pet free for the safety and comfort of our residents. Leaseholders may keep pets if permitted to do so by the lease and with our permission. Permission will be withdrawn
if the pets cause a nuisance or annoyance to neighbours. Rent and service charges How can I pay my rent? Direct debit or standing order - This is the most convenient way to pay as the money is taken directly from your bank account. Please contact us to set this up. Online - You can pay your rent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To register you will need an email address and your tenancy reference number which can be found on your service charge statements. allpay card - You can use your allpay card in any post office, and shops displaying the PayPoint logo. You can also pay online at www.allpayments.net. Telephone - You can ring us to make a payment using a credit or debit card via our interactive service, available 24 hours a day. Post - You can send a cheque or postal order. Please make them payable to mhs homes and write your name, address and tenancy reference on the back. Please do not send cash through the post. What is a service charge? Service charges are set to cover the costs of maintaining and repairing the communal areas and services of the building. The legal definition of service charges includes ground rent, buildings insurance, services, repairs, maintenance and management costs. We send you an estimate for the charges at the start of the financial year. At the end of each financial year, we will tell you how much we spent, compared to the estimate, and send you a credit note or invoice depending on whether you have overpaid or underpaid. As your landlord, we have a duty to ensure that the charges are reasonable and that the works are to a good standard. You have the right to inspect the records to
ensure that you are being charged correctly and to take a copy for your records. Please contact us if you do not understand your service charges or are struggling to pay. What happens if I do not pay my rent or service charge? We will write to you as soon as we find out you have missed a payment or not paid the service charge in full. We will give you the chance to check your financial records against ours, and tell us if there has been a mistake. If you miss a second payment, we will write to you again and explain what happens next. For example, we may contact your mortgage provider, take action through a small claims court or take legal action to repossess your home. Insurance If you are a shared owner of a house, we will arrange buildings insurance for you and send you an invoice every year. If you live in an apartment, the building you live in is usually owned by mhs homes. We are responsible for insuring the structure and communal parts of the block, not the contents of your home. You should take out separate cover for your contents. If mhs homes is not the freeholder, the freeholder will usually arrange buildings insurance. What does the building insurance policy cover? The building insurance covers the communal elements of the building which are mhs homes responsibility to maintain. These include the structure, exterior and the services and installations of the block. Services and installations include items such as door entry system, communal lighting and water supplies and communal smoke alarms. The fixtures and fittings within your property are also covered by the building insurance. These are anything you would not be able to remove and take with you if you moved home. The cover generally applies to alterations and improvements if you have our written permission to carry them out. The insurance includes damage caused by the actions of another leaseholder or tenant. The policy covers damage to buildings caused by unforeseen events such as fire, lightning, impact, subsidence, flood or theft damage.
In the case of theft, you should report the matter to the police immediately and obtain a crime number. The policy does not cover every situation, such as faults caused by mechanical breakdown, hidden defects or wear and tear, which are all treated as normal repairs. What is the excess on the buildings insurance policy? In the majority of cases the buildings insurance cover does not meet all the costs of repairing the damage. The insurers will only meet costs above a certain amount, known as the excess. This is usually 200, so we would have to pay the first 200 of any claim. This means that if the cost of repairing the problem is less than 200, it is not worth claiming on the insurance. Making a claim If we are responsible for the repair, we will make the claim and organise the repair. In these cases you will pay your share of the excess through your service charges. Where you are responsible for the repair you should claim directly from the insurance company within 30 days of becoming aware of any damage to your fixtures and fittings. You will need to ensure that what you are claiming for is covered by the policy and that the item damaged is something that you are responsible for maintaining. You should provide photographs of the damage if you can. If you can t, you should keep the damaged items or have the damage witnessed by an independent person. Repairing the damage If you intend to employ someone to do the repair work you should send us two written estimates for different builders. If possible, send these at the same time as your claim form to the address shown on the form. If you intend to do the repair work yourself you must send estimates for the costs of materials plus reasonable costs of personal labour for consideration by the insurers. You should not start work to repair the damage until you have received written permission from the insurers. What happens next? Once you have completed the claim form and provided two written quotations, the insurers will examine the claim and either give you permission to do the repairs,
appoint a loss adjuster or explain why the claim has not been agreed. A loss adjuster is a representative of the insurers who is qualified to assess the value of a claim. If the claim is accepted, the insurers will tell you which quote has been agreed. Home contents insurance You must arrange your own home contents insurance cover. Your insurance should cover all your personal belongings, including clothes, decorations, furniture, electrical appliances, and jewellery. If damage is caused to your personal belongings and possessions such as furniture, carpets or clothing you will have to claim on your own contents insurance, regardless of the cause of the damage. mhs homes has negotiated a home contents insurance policy which has been specifically designed for our residents; more information is available on our website. Selling, moving and subletting Subletting Shared Owners are not allowed to sublet; this is one of the terms of your lease. Subletting your home without our permission is very serious, and we will take legal action against you if you break this term of the lease. If you are a Leaseholder, you can sublet your home as long as you give us a forwarding address and details of the person who is staying in your property and any management agents. You must make sure your tenant keeps to the lease agreement. You also need to tell your mortgage provider that you are subletting. You will still be responsible for any rent and service charges that must be paid to us. If you are subletting your property, please contact us. Your mortgage When you bought your home, mhs homes had to approve your mortgage. If you want to change your lender and remortgage your property, you must first get our approval. We will give you our approval as long as your new mortgage is for the same amount
as your old one and on the same terms. If you want to borrow more money on your mortgage, you need our permission. We will only give our permission if you do not owe us any money. Staircasing buying more of your home When you want to buy more shares in your property, you can talk to us about how much you would like to buy. Until you own 100% of your home, you will have to pay rent on the part you do not own. However, your rent will be reduced when you buy more shares in your property. The detailed procedure for staircasing is set out in your lease. Your home needs to be valued and you have to pay for this beforehand. The valuation for staircasing will not include any improvements you have made to your home. Selling your shared ownership property You can sell your shared ownership property at any time. Once you have confirmed that you want to sell your share in your property, we will arrange for the property to be valued. You will need to pay the fee for this valuation. The valuation will include any improvements you have made to the property. The sale price will cover the share of the property that you own, including improvements. For more details on subletting, re-mortgaging, staircasing and selling your home, please contact us. Leaseholders You can sell (transfer) your lease to anybody you want. When you sell your lease, it does not end, but is transferred to a new leaseholder. When you are about to complete your sale, you need to tell us so that we can close your account with us. If you bought your home from us under the Right to Buy scheme and you want to sell your home within five years of buying it, you may have to repay part or all of the discount you received. After the property is sold, the buyer s solicitors must serve a notice of transfer to the buyer and/or notice of charge (mortgage), or you will continue to be responsible for
the property. You do not have to pay back the discount if you sell the property to your husband or wife as part of a divorce settlement or if you sell as a result of a compulsory purchase order from the council. We will only end your lease if we have taken legal action against you. This will only happen in exceptional circumstances, for example, if you do not pay your service charges or if you break other conditions of your lease. Changing the lease You can ask us to extend your lease at any time. The Leasehold Advisory Service s lease extension calculator gives you a guide to the costs of extending the lease of a flat. You can negotiate certain changes to the lease, known as varying the lease. If you can t come to an agreement with the landlord, and live in a flat, you can ask the Residential Property Tribunal to vary the lease. If you live in a leasehold house, the tribunal can only vary what the lease says about building insurance. Gas safety Gas safety is extremely important and landlords have a legal obligation to comply with statutory Gas Regulations. In order for us to demonstrate that the housing we offer is safe for all of our residents, those properties which have gas appliances should have an up to date Gas Safety Certificate. All leaseholders must provide an annual Gas Safety Certificate. The certificate must demonstrate that all the gas appliances in the property have been tested and approved by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Failure to comply with this regulation will be considered a breach of your lease.
For more information, visit the Gas Safe website: www.gassaferegister.co.uk. If you are unhappy with the service you have received, please contact our customer service team first. They will aim to resolve the issues straight away and will give you more information on the next steps to take if you are still unhappy. Please visit www.mhs.org.uk for more information about our complaints policy. Your lease and the law Complaints Your lease Your lease is a legal document which sets out your and our rights and responsibilities. This handbook offers general information about your lease. Even though there are many types of lease, they all contain the same basic points and responsibilities. Your lease sets out: The boundaries of your property. Rights and responsibilities. The shared areas in your building. The amount of rent and service charge you should pay and how we review this. How often you must pay the service charges that are due. How you can buy more of your home. How you can sell your property. If you have lost your lease, you can buy anther copy from: HM Land Registry, Land Registry of England and Wales, 32 Lincoln Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PH or from the Land Registry website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry
Rights and responsibilities This is only a guide, please see your lease for your exact rights and responsibilities. mhs homes' responsibilities: Repair and maintain the main structure of your property Including the roof, drains, window frames, shared entrances, hallways, staircases, gardens and paths. Repair and maintain any services provided to your block or estate, such as lifts, entry phones and shared lighting. Keep your home insured against risks such as fire and storm damage. Our insurance does not include contents insurance. Manage your block or estate in a reasonable and cost-effective way making sure that you keep to the conditions of your lease or tenancy. Keep accounts of service charges made for repairing, maintaining and insuring your property. Give you an estimate of the service charges for your home. Keep a final account showing how much we actually spent on work and services on your block or estate, along with details of how much you have to contribute in service charges. Tell you before we carry out any major work to your building, hire any new contractors or introduce any new services. Collect ground rent and service charges to cover the costs of how much we spend on services. Respect your right to live in and enjoy your home. We have the right to: Come into your home to carry out inspections or repairs, as long as we call at reasonable times and give you notice. We do not have to give you notice or call at a reasonable time in an emergency. Leaseholder responsibilities: Pay ground rent, insurance premiums and service charges. Pay rent if you are a shared owner.
Keep your property in good repair including all services that only you use. Get our permission before making any changes or improvements to the structure of your home. This includes any work to the inside of your home involving moving or removing inside walls. Keep the communal areas and staircases free of any obstruction. Keep to the conditions of your lease at all times and show consideration to your neighbours. You must not cause a nuisance to, or annoy, your neighbours. Be considerate to others. You must not harass or offend others, including staff. Let us into your property to repair or inspect the shared services or areas of your building. We will give you reasonable notice, except in emergencies. Use your property as a private home only (unless it is commercial premises). Tell us if you transfer your lease. Give us the property at the end of your lease. Take out contents insurance in line with the conditions in your lease. You have the right to: Live peacefully in your home. Enfranchisement You can buy the freehold of the building with your fellow lessees if: The building has two or more flats; if there are only two flats both must participate in the process At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be held on long leases Less than 25% of the floor area (excluding the communal areas) of the building is in non-residential use The number of tenants participating must also equal at least half the flats in the block. Right to Manage As a leaseholder you may have the right to manage (RTM) the block. Please contact the Leasehold Advisory Service for more information.
Consultations Section 20 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 mhs homes has a duty to consult with leaseholders and shared owners about certain types of work and long term agreements which relate to your property. The following is a summary of the main points we will consult you about. This summary is not meant to describe the law in full. If you have any questions, please consult a solicitor or visit the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) website: www.lease-advice.org.uk. We must: Tell you before we carry out work above a certain value Tell you before we enter into a long-term agreement with contractors Say why we think the work or the agreement is necessary Give you our reasons for choosing contractors Send notices to you and to any recognised tenants associations Give the opportunity to suggest different contractors The rules give two separate 30-day periods for you to make observations. If we do not ask you about long-term agreements that we want to make with contractors, we will not able to collect service charges from you above 100 each year. If we carry out work to the building and do not tell you about it, we will not be able to collect more than 250 from you each year. The requirements are defined under qualifying work and qualifying long-term agreements. Qualifying work This means work on a building for a specific repair or improvement works. We must tell you if work on your home will cost over 250. In a property where not all leaseholders pay the same service charges, we must consult all leaseholders if any one leaseholder would have to pay more than 250. If we do not consult you, we will not be able to collect service charges from you over 250.
Qualifying long-term agreements A qualifying long-term agreement is an agreement that a landlord makes with an independent organisation or contractor for a period of more than 12 months. Longterm agreements include on going contracts with no set end date. We must tell you if you will have to pay more than 100 in service charges (relating to a long-term agreement) in any one year. In a property where not all leaseholders pay the same service charges, we must consult all leaseholders if any one leaseholder would have to pay over 100 in any one year. If we do not inform you about how much you would have to pay in service charges, we will not be able to collect service charges from you over 100 a year. Examples of qualifying long-term agreements include: lift contracts, entry-phone systems, managing waste or maintenance, gardening, insurance and utilities. Some of these services may only have one possible supplier, but we must still discuss the matter with you or get permission from the First-Tier Tribunal to use a specific supplier. Contracts that are not long-term agreements include: Employment contracts. Management agreements made by a council and a tenant management organisation or an organisation formed under Section 2 of the Local Government Act 2000. An agreement between a holding company and its subsidiaries, or between subsidiaries working for the same holding company. An agreement that was entered into when there were no tenants or leaseholders at the property (for example, on a housing estate that is still being built) and was made for less than five years. A 12 month agreement that was entered into before 31 October 2003. If the long-term agreement includes maintenance for the property, and this work results in you being charged more than 250, we must talk to you about this separately. The original discussion we have with you does not mean that we will not consult you about the work at a later stage.
The First-Tier Tribunal The First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) now has powers to make decisions on all issues relating to Section 20. The FTT will let us carry out work or hire contractors without consulting you if they believe the reasons for this are reasonable. For example, the FTT might let us do work to your property or hire contractors without consulting you if your home needs very urgent work doing to it, they are satisfied that we have a very good reason for not consulting you or work needs doing to your property but it is difficult for us to get more than one estimate. Who will you consult when you want to do work on my home? We will tell you and any Recognised Tenants Association (RTA) if we want to make any changes to your home. We must send you and your RTA (if you are a member) a consultation notice. An RTA is an association formally recognised by the landlord, or by a rent assessment committee, under section 29 of the Landlord and Tenant act 1985. What do I do if I want to suggest a contractor? Under the rules, we must ask you if you want to suggest possible contractors. Any contractors that you suggest will be asked to provide an estimate for the works. How long will the consultation process take? The whole process will usually take over three months. This is because: You have 30 days to respond to a notice of intention we issue before inviting contractors to bid for work. If you suggest a contractor, we will invite them to bid for the work. If contractors that you suggest decide to bid for the work, we must check whether the contractor meets the necessary conditions (such as approved list). We must respond in writing to any comments you have about our choice of contractor or the work we want to do. We must summarise your comments and our responses and send them to you. We must then send you a notice of the work we want to do or make details of the work available for you to look at. You have a further 30 days to respond to the notice of the work we want to do.
Inspecting documents We must allow you to inspect documents, the place and hours that you can look at the documents must be reasonable. We must allow you to inspect and take copies of documents free of charge but may charge an administration fee. Considering your comments If you send us any comments about our suggestions for work on your property during a consultation period, we must consider these. If we cannot show we have considered your comments the FTT may decide that we have not followed the consultation procedure properly. Leasehold disagreements. The First Tier Tribunal (FTT) can: Decide how much you should pay if you want to buy, extend or renew the lease on your home when we cannot agree a price. Change estate management schemes under the leasehold reform housing and urban development act 1993. Judge disagreements about the right of first refusal procedure (which gives you the right to buy the freehold before we offer it to anybody else if we decide to sell it) and the compulsory acquisition of the landlord s interest in blocks of flats. Decide who must pay service charges. Settle disagreements about our choice of insurer. Decide whether to grant us special permission not to consult you about service charges, administration charges, the right to manage, appointing managers and changing leases. Visit www.lease-advice.org/ for more details. The law As your landlord, we must follow all relevant laws, which are summarised below. For more information, please visit the Leasehold Advisory Service website or seek the advice of a solicitor. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Definition of variable service charges Definition of a tenant Reasonableness of service charges
Consultation 18 month limit on charging Inspection of accounts Insurance matters Residents Associations Managing Agents Right of First Refusal Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 Variation of leases Demands to include landlord s details Leasehold reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 The Secretary of State issues codes of practice for those who manage leasehold properties. You have the right to buy the freehold of your property (in some circumstances). You have the right to a housing management review. Housing Act 1996 If you are behind with paying your service charge we must make sure that the service charges are reasonable before we can take action to evict you. Gives the Minister of Housing the power to introduce a new Leaseholders Guarantee. Introduced the Right to Acquire for some tenants who live in properties built with public funding after 1 April 1997. Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 Introduced the Commonhold tenure. Strengthened the right to manage. Amended the consultation requirements of the Landlord and Tenant Act. Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 Management Audit Collective enfranchisement Secretary of State s power to approve Codes of Practice
Role of Leasehold Valuation Tribunal Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 Right to Manage, Collective Enfranchisement, Lease Extensions and New Leases, Service and Administration Charges, Notices to Accompany Demands, Variation of Leases, Insurance, Ground Rents, Forfeiture, Leasehold Valuation Tribunals Housing Act 1980 Limit on RTB leaseholders being charged for structural defects Housing Act 1985 Right to Buy for Local Authority and non-charitable housing association tenants Requirements of the sales process Limitations of leaseholder s liability to pay service charges in the first five years Right to a loan for leaseholders under Housing (Service Charge Loans) Regulations 1992 Housing Act 1996 Right to Acquire for tenants of Registered Social Landlords Limitation on forfeiture for non-payment of service charges Role of Leasehold Valuation Tribunal Collective enfranchisement Power of Secretary of State to waive charges Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 Created offence of providing misleading advice or information to purchasers Consumer Protection Act 1987 Landlord not to give artificially low estimates of service charges Housing and Planning Act 1986 Valuers to take into account 5 year estimates for service charges Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Rules governing investment advice Law of Property Act 1925 Forfeiture provisions and notices to mortgages regarding relief from forfeiture Arbitration Act 1996 Powers of arbitration tribunals
Glossary: terms used in your lease Arrears Any money including rent or service charges that you owe us. Block The block is the building as described in the lease for which you are responsible for paying your share of the costs. Breach A failure to do or carry out a duty. Consent Written permission for you to alter the property. Consultation Your right to be asked about and given the opportunity to comment upon works and services to the block. Covenant A promise to do something. Cyclical Decorations We arrange for the exterior and shared areas of some properties (usually flats) to be decorated on a regular basis. This is known as cyclical decorations. Deed of Variation An agreement between the landlord and the leaseholder to change the terms of the lease. Demised Premises The parts of the building you have purchased and are responsible for (Clause 1 of the Lease). Easement A right over someone else s land. First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) An independent and impartial review panel. Freeholder A person or company who owns a property indefinitely. Ground Rent A fee paid by the leaseholder to the freeholder as a condition of the lease. Improvement The provision of something new to the building.
Lease A legal agreement which gives details of rights and responsibilities of both the leaseholder and the landlord. Leaseholder Someone who has bought a flat from us for a specified number of years. This word is sometimes used to describe a shared owner (see below). Major Work Examples of major work are repainting, re-roofing and concrete repairs. Outright sale Where we build or convert properties that we plan to sell and then we sell them as a leasehold (for flats) or freehold (for houses). Qualifying Long Term Agreement An agreement for over 12 months to provide works or services for which you may have to contribute more than 100 or more for any years covered by the agreement. Qualifying Works Works that cost over 250, you have the right to be consulted Quiet Enjoyment Allow the tenant to use land and buildings without interference. Repair Responsibilities The repairs which, under the terms of the lease, the leaseholder and landlord agree to do. Right to Acquire A scheme which gives some residents with an assured tenancy the right to acquire their property from us. Right to Buy A scheme which gives some residents with a secure tenancy the right to buy their property from us. Many of our leaseholder properties were originally bought under this scheme. Share A percentage of a property that you or we own. This is also known as equity. Shared areas Parts of your building, estate or services you share with other people, such as hallways and staircases. These are sometimes called communal areas or common parts. Shared owner Someone who owns a share of their home and rents the remainder from us.
Shared ownership Where we build or convert properties that we plan to sell but we still own part of the property when it is sold. If you are a shared owner, you will pay us rent for the share we still own. Sinking or Reserve Fund A fund set up within service charges to collect advance payment for major spending such as roof repairs and decorating shared areas. Staircasing If you are a shared owner you may be able to buy more shares in your home. The legal word used to describe the process used for shared owners to buy more shares in their home. Subletting When you let the flat to someone else and become a landlord who is responsible for the acts of your tenants. Shared owners are not allowed to sub-let. Useful contacts Buildings Insurance Arthur J Gallagher Housing 01245 341218 Age Concern 0800 169 6565 www.ageconcern.org.uk Citizens Advice Bureau www.citizensadvice.org.uk 0870 1264095 Housing Ombudsman 0845 7125 973 www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk Leasehold Advisory Service 0207 374 5380 www.lease-advice.org.uk Maidstone Council 01622 602750 www.maidstone.gov.uk Medway Council 01634 333333 www.medway.gov.uk National Gas Emergency Service 0800 111 999 Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 Medway Mediation 01634 832285 Kent Police Non emergencies: 101 Emergencies: 999