The cost of living in a development can vary across our portfolio. If you would like details about a specific development, information can be obtained upon request, prior to purchase using the below details:

Peverel Retirement
Administration Centre
12 Centre Court
Vine Lane
Halesowen
B63 3EB

All Peverel Retirement managed developments are now enrolled into the Housing Ombudsman Service. This service will cover aspects of complaints that are unresolved through the Peverel Retirement complaints procedure and may previously have had to go to a Leasehold and Valuation Tribunal.

We very much hope this service will be well-received by Residents and can confirm that throughout the first year, 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011, the cost of membership will be covered by Peverel Retirement and will not be reclaimed through the service charge.

For more information on the Housing Ombudsman:

Website
www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Write to
Housing Ombudsman Service
81 Aldwych
London
WC2B 4HN

Email
info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Telephone
0300 111 3000

Minicom
020 7404 7092

Fax
020 7831 1942

If an employee’s job involves selecting of working with suppliers, a Group policy is in force which makes sure that 
 

Lifts (In England and Wales) – Peverel Retirement awarded a national contract to Orona (formerly Liftserv) following a tender process six years ago. This arrangement has been continually reviewed on an annual basis, with the contract due to be put out to tender in 2010. New build developments will have a maintenance contract with the company that was chosen to install the lift by the developer. In general, these contracts are for three years at which they point they will be reviewed by Peverel Retirement.

CarelineUK – Part of the Peverel Group, more information can be found at www.carelineuk.com. The service CarelineUK offers is the most comprehensive in terms of experience and range. An independent report by Research Factor demonstrated that neither CarelineUK’s major competitors nor large scale local authorities could provide a ‘like for like’ offer for developments of an equivalent size (ie 40 flats).

All suppliers are subject to a formal review by the House Manager and Area Manager.

This can be found in the development manual/guide.

Peverel have experienced contractors specialising in the provision of services to the property industry and therefore can bring value to the tender process. Where a contractor, who is connected to the landlord or manager is selected (after consultation), a note advising of the connection will always be included in the Section 20 Notice – ie ‘We wish to bring to your attention that [xxx name of company xxx] is connected with the landlord or manager.’

A third notice vendor Section 20 notice will then have to be sent.

If only two tenders are received, the project may still proceed but a note will have to be made on the Section 20 notice that other tenders were sought.

After consultation with Peverel Retirement, contractors put forward by Residents’ Associations can be invited to tender.

Invitations to tender will be sent out to at least three independent contractors (which have no link to each other). A consultation with Residents will then take place to present the summary of tenders received. A maximum of five tenders will be sought.

For work over and above the £250 threshold, Peverel will follow a strict tender process in accordance with Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. If work needs to be carried out and will cost below £250 per unit, Peverel, do not have to seek tenders.

Peverel’s management fees were ranked the 9th least expensive of 27 companies who participated in Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM) industry fees benchmarking survey (2008).

This will be clearly set out in your budget and accounts.

The ARHM code tells us that our fees should be charged on a per unit basis. We benchmark our fees on a frequent basis. We also hold an annual finance meeting with Residents where any concerns can be shared with our operations team.

The management fee is the income Peverel Retirement receives to administer the services required to look after the development. Each management fee that Peverel charges for its work is shown clearly in the budget and service charge accounts for every development and is split into two component parts:

· Estate management
· Accounts administration

Yes, but only if your deed requires this.

From end February 2010, these permission charges will be fixed by Peverel at £35 plus VAT – see www.peverelretirement.co.uk/useful_info_resources

Our permissions staff have to go through up to eight steps including:

1. Making enquiries of the House Manager, Area Manager and Technical Officer
2. Obtaining designs and drawings from the lessee / applicant if necessary
3. Seeking other relevant legal / technical advice
4. Communicating with the landlord – creating bespoke communications to the specific request
5. Sending the permission to the lessee
6. Liaising with the House Manager and sending them relevant correspondence
7. Recording permission
8. Providing reasons for rejection – if necessary

The landlord giving a specific permission can have the following benefits for the landlord, the lessee and other occupiers of the building:

· The lessee does not breach the terms of their lease
· Ensuring the work is carried out by suitably qualified and insured contractors
· Restricting the hours of work
· Requiring the lessee to obtain planning or building regulation consent
· Ensuring the work will not diminish the landlord’s asset or detract from the development
· Ensuring the work will not adversely affect the structure of the buildings
· Ensuring the work will not adversely affect the building insurance cover
· Minimising disruption to other occupiers
· Protecting other occupiers
· Ensuring that there will not be an adverse impact on the service charge (i.e. mobility scooters damaging hallways)
· Providing evidence on a sale of an apartment that the landlord did consent to alterations made to the apartment. This is a query usually raised by conveyancers as a buyer does not want to take over a breach of the lease

By speaking to your House Manager, Peverel Retirement can then action your request and make sure all required parties are informed and all documentation is completed.

Your lease/deeds will be very specific about this. It is possible to make alterations / improvements to certain parts of your flat. In England and Wales however, written permission must be sought from your landlord. In addition, Peverel Retirement, as the Managing Agent, should also receive your request in order to action.

Peverel Retirement does not receive any commission on the valuations it arranged.

Most insurance policies have an excess, which is paid by the policyholder when a claim is made. If your claim has been caused by another Resident, then you or your insurance company should seek to recover the excess from them. This is a matter between you and them. The level of excess also has an impact on the premium costs. You will not have to pay an excess if the claim relates to a communal area as this is paid for by the service charge.

We strongly recommend that you take out contents insurance. Contents cover is provided for the communal areas under the Building cover. We do not provide contents cover for Residents' flats, but cover can be provided on request by Kingsborough Insurance Services. Our contents policy is bespoke to Retirement living and therefore provides specialist cover at a very competitive rate.

Public Liability cover (or Property Owners Liability cover as it is also known) is provided to cover injury/death to third parties or damage to third party property. It is necessary for the person making any such claim to prove negligence.

Generally, under the block policy there is no charge for Employer's Liability cover. The Employees concerned are the Peverel employees, when they visit, and any dedicated staff, for example concierges or House Managers. The cover also covers if contractors, appointed to site, for work on communal areas at the request of Peverel or the Residents' Association and do not have their own Employer's Liability. The cover also provides for the defence costs for Peverel or the Residents' Association if they become involved in a claim.

In England and Wales this insurance is often required by the landlord. If your block was to be damaged or destroyed by a terrorist’s bomb and we had not insured for this eventuality, you would have to pay for the reconstruction. The requirement is also, very often, a mortgage company requirement. This has been tested at LVT which has found it a reasonable requirement.

Copies of the Insurance Schedule can be found on the development notice board. Copies of the details of the cover can be sent on request.

Your share will be in accordance with your service charge proportion.

We are always happy to ask our nominated broker to look at pricing, if a like-for-like quotation is obtained. Please contact your Area Manager or send details to

Kingsborough Insurance Services

Queensway House

11 Queensway

New Milton

Hampshire

BH25 5NR

Because that is what your lease/deeds says must happen.

The brokers to the Peverel Group work closely with the insurance division in the placement and administration of the Group’s property insurance portfolio. They approach the insurance market with each property portfolio and provide options for the placement of each risk in the insurance market. In addition, they are responsible for the management of the claims procedure, working closely with insurers, loss adjusters and contractors.

Kingsborough Insurance Services are the insurance division of the Peverel Group of companies. They are authorised and regulated by the FSA to undertake insurance mediation activities on behalf of the Peverel Group. This involves working in close liaison with brokers in the placement, administration, and renewal and credit control of the property insurance portfolio of the Peverel Group. This task cannot be undertaken by Property Manager and / or other Peverel staff due to restrictions imposed by the FSA in terms of competency as an insurance professional.

The insurance provisions are generally set out in the lease/deeds. Generally, In England and Wales, your lease states that insurance must be placed with the landlord’s nominated agent. This ensures that the whole block is insured, and both the landlord's and the leaseholder’s interests are protected.

This will be set out more clearly on your service charge accounts.

When the landlord arranges the buildings insurance, it is normal for a commission to be paid.

Under the terms of the lease/deeds, the landlord or Peverel Retirement is required to ensure that your building is adequately insured. It is recommended by insurers and RICS that a revaluation is carried out every three to five years. We often find that new buildings are significantly underinsured, as it would not cost the original developer as much to rebuild the structure, as when third party quotations are obtained for a completed development. Again, we endevour to act within the guidelines and ensure new buildings are revalued within five years of completion.

The landlord has an obligation under the lease to insure the building.

The lease/deeds will be specific about fees payable.

These charges are currently being reviewed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and we are restricted from making any further comment until the OFT investigation is concluded when we will, of course, abide by the court ruling.

Currently this fee is payable under the terms of the lease/deeds and is simply collected by Peverel Retirement. In England and Wales this is collected on behalf of the landlord.

A transfer fee may be paid upon the sale of a property under the terms of the lease/deeds. A fee of 1% (this can vary) may be made as a contingency fee which goes into the development contingency fund. In England and Wales a further transfer fee to the landlord may be required.

In England and Wales, the landlord may reserve the right to withdraw the benefit of the guest room income being passed as a credit to the service charge. The landlord will give advance notice of any such decision to do so. This is not applicable to Scotland.

Where the guest room income has been credited back to the service charge the amount for the year will be shown in the service charge accounts. The amounts will vary depending upon the level of use that the guest room receives over the year. The charge for the use of the guest room, which is generally modest, may vary between developments and should be checked with the House Manager. In England and Wales, the landlord may periodically review the level of charges for guest rooms on your behalf. In Scotland the Residents will usually decide the levels of charges.

In England and Wales, where the landlord is providing the benefit to Residents of a guest room within the development, the landlord may be entitled to receive the guest room income. However, in most cases, including Scotland, the monies are credited to the development's service charge account, thereby helping to reduce the service charge.

Length of stay is generally restricted to a maximum of five consecutive days in one booking, but it may be necessary for the House Manager to regulate this from time to time on a priority basis.

Where a development has only one guest room, priority is usually given as follows

1.         Visiting Relief House Manager
2.         Visiting relative of a sick Resident
3.         Any other Resident's visitor
4.         Visiting relative of the House Manager
5.         Residents from other developments

There is usually a nominal charge for the use of the guest room and this may vary at certain developments. The exact charge should be checked with the House Manager.

In England and Wales, the landlord is often entitled to receive the guest room income, however in most cases, including Scotland; the monies are credited to the development's service charge account, thereby helping to reduce the service charge. In England and Wales, the landlord can change this practice at any time, but will give advance notice of any decision to do so.

Most developments contain a guest room or guest suite and this usually comprises a twin bedded room with a shower or bathroom. The standard is that of a good class hotel room.

In England and Wales, the income from the flat rental is passed to the landlord. If Residents believe that the level of the rental over time has moved away from what might be regarded as reasonable they should contact the landlord. The landlord is then in a position to review the level of the rental. The landlord should seek to ensure that any rental is reasonable. In undertaking this review both parties will have regard to the location and quality of the development and of the House Manager’s flat and the terms that apply to it. If, after any such review, Residents continue to be dissatisfied with the rental level they may approach a leasehold valuation tribunal (LVT).

The rent was set in the first instance by the developer. The initial purchasers of flats within the development will have been provided with a model service charge at the time of making their purchase enquiry. This model service charge will have set out the rental on the House Manager’s flat.

Peverel Retirement is required to collect House Managers’ flat rental on behalf of the landlord through the service charge, under the terms of the lease/deeds.

The original developer may have retained the House Manager’s flat and established a rental on the flat, which the lease/deeds sets out should be paid. The rent was designed to compensate the developer for providing a flat within the development for the House Manager, ultimately for the benefit of the Residents. This arrangement should have been explained to each person by the solicitor acting for them at the time of purchase. Under the terms of the lease/deeds, you are usually obliged to pay the required service charge contribution including a proportion of the rental on the House Manager’s flat. The income from the House Manager’s flat is passed to the landlord.

Following the end of each financial year the accounts are prepared and then audited by an independent firm of accountants. A summary is sent to every Resident and, if deemed necessary, the accounts will be fully explained and any questions answered at a Residents’ meeting. All receipts and invoices are logged by the House Manager and held on site. Requests to see this information can be made at any time.

Yes, subject to your circumstances, you can obtain advice on this through your local benefits agency(http://www.dwp.gov.uk/directgov.shtml) who will then ask Peverel Retirement to provide details of service charges for this purpose on your behalf and in complete confidence.

The service charges are based on whether you have a one or a two bedroom flat, the two bedroom flat usually incurring the higher charge. The proportion of the overall costs of running the development allocated to your flat is set by your developer and shown in your lease/deeds.

Peverel Retirement is duty bound to collect service charges as outlined in the terms of the lease/deeds. Some of our sites require service charges to be collected in advanced 6 monthly instalments, in monthly instalments and even in quarterly instalments. Peverel Retirement, in conjunction with Residents, helps set up the option to use Premium Credit if the Resident does not want to pay in advanced instalments. This company pays advanced invoicing on behalf of the Residents and then charges them monthly instalments in return. It is this agreement between the resident and Premium Credit which incurs the interest charges on the monthly instalments (please note, this is a completely separate agreement and Peverel Retirement hold no responsibility in this agreement). In paying service charge invoices, Peverel Retirement can accept at no extra costs, credit cards, debit cards, cheques, postal orders, direct debits and Premium Credit.

Peverel Retirement aims to control costs and give value for money. This objective is helped greatly by the fact that Peverel Retirement manage developments across the country and the experience and negotiating power which this gives them is far greater than that of an individual. However, it is not possible to give a set percentage for any increase, as costs of items such as communal electricity, metered water supplies, etc. are outside their control. Legislative changes may also affect costs - e.g. changes to the imposition or rate of VAT.

Generally your lease/deeds will provide that these will have to carry on being paid.

Normally, after furniture has been removed, an allowance is made for 3 months, only if the property is empty, but this may vary from one Local Authority to another.

This may be possible, yes, subject to your financial status. An application form can be obtained from the Local Authority office, to which it should be returned. Visit - http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_money/benefits/help_with_your_council_tax_council_tax_benefit.htm - for more information