I would be grateful for any advice on the issues i am having with HYDE martlet at present. We have a shared ownership apartment in surrey and a leaseholder of 35% purchased 5 yrs ago. In the last two years we are getting invoices from the housing assoc for deficit payments and it is just getting ridiculous now. advice please 1. in oct 2011 we were invoiced for £503 for a service charge deficit for 2010/11. This was a 95% deficit ! They gave us 28 days to pay which we did. Our service charge is only about £500 for the year and so was an awful lot of money 2. In Oct 2012 we were invoiced for £133 for a service charge deficit for 2011/12. I have not paid this yet 3. Today we have received a landlords estimate for communal decoration which totals £100k which our personal share is £750 approx. This is for painting exterior and internal areas. The actual invoice will be sent once the work is complete. We were written to in march this year advising that we had 5 days to reply for comments on proposed future works but the letter arrived 3 days after the deadline. I called Hyde today to ask if we are liable for the whole £750 as surely there is a sinking fund etc and it is part of our service charge and the person i spoke to was unsure of how much i would be billed exactly. 4. Our boiler has a concealed flue and so it needs a new hatch panel installed. Hyde say it is our responsibility as boilers not covered. Some people seem to have theirs done by hyde, some get the response i got All in all i just feel sick for ever getting into shared ownership any advice appreciated especially on point 3 Are we liable for communal areas decoration which was sent for tender - surely service charge is for decoration somewhat? thank you

Hi All I have been living in my shared ownership property since July 2008. I have a property where I can only own 80% of the property. I pay rent on the remaining 20% and this rent is based on the unowned %. I can never own 100% so will always be resoponsible for at least 20% rent. That rent always every year goes up by by inflation (RPI) plus .5%. This 80% max ownership was put in the lease due to the local council planning restrictions. However each year the property is dropping in value and I am responsible for 100% repairs. Is anyone else in this position and does anyone who if there is a way of buying the whole thing so I am not liable for the remaining rent, which could in theory become more than renting a private rented property. OR Even a way of getting out of the lease if the rent becomes too expensive (Even if it means handing it back to them and I loose all that was invested) Every time I try to comunicate with them the atitude I get is "YOU SIGHNED THE LEASE" and that I should have looked ito the finer details with my solicitor and asked more questions. Any information or similar stories from people that have found themselves in a similar situation would be usefull. Also note that I do not think this issue is isolated to Paradgim. Many Thanks

Morning all! Thanks in advance, Ive always had great advice from everyone on here My issue is that I had lived with an ex for a number of years and we had run up just over £2000 in council tax arrears. I wont bore you with why, just that it's in both of our names and needs to be paid. I obviously only want to be paying the 50% I am accountable for however she is being very difficult and will not agree to pay any herself. In the meantime, the council are waiting for a proposal from me for an arrangement. My hope is that there is some way I can have just my 50% split so I can pay just that. The council said no but is there a way around that at all? I cant pay the full amount just because she is ignorant, surely? Thanks!

Hi, I just want to check one thing which seems fairly unambiguous from what i've read but my landlord does not agree. I rent a room in a shared house under an Assured Short Hold Tenancy Agreement. My landlord does not live in the property (although his address on the agreement is the same as mine) and all of the rooms have at one point been occupied by paying tenants. My agent can verify this if required. I have exclusive use of my own room and share the bathroom and kitchen. Should my deposit be protected in one of the three scheme? If my deposit should be protected, must it be registered under my name and at my address? Thanks Jamie