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Living in Somerstown – For Flat Owners
Downland Court, Oaklands Court, Festival Court and Paulus Court
Ownership of the flats is leasehold, and there are certain rules and regulations contained in the lease for your property. Only some of the key points are set out here, so please also see your lease document. (Contact your solicitor if you do not have a copy.)
Buildings insurance for the blocks of flats is arranged by the managing agent. You will need to arrange your own Contents Cover, together with any Landlord’s Insurance if required. Please contact the managing agent for further information – especially if you think a claim may arise, eg if water has escaped from another flat and caused damage.
Please advise the managing agent if a flat will be unoccupied for more than 30 days.
You are allowed to sub-let your property; however properties can only be let for occupation by one family and cannot be let as an Airbnb. Multiple occupancy letting is a contravention of your lease document. If you do let your property, you should ensure the managing agent has your correspondence details and those of your letting agent.
It is the home owner’s responsibility to ensure that the tenant adheres to the terms of the lease. You might consider attaching the Somerstown information leaflet to the tenancy agreement. Please ask the managing agent for a leaflet and make your letting agent and tenant aware of the rules and regulations, as Somerstown can take action against the home owner if there is any breach.
All flat owners who decide to let their property should bear in mind the nature and character of this estate when selecting a tenant. They must not do anything that might cause annoyance or disturbance to the neighbours.
Anyone who is concerned by a tenanted property or affected by nuisance by tenants should contact the managing agent for advice. It would be helpful if you were to keep a careful note of the date, time and exact nature of any disturbances.
Each flat has a specified garage in one of the estate’s compound areas. Garages should only be for a car/motor cycle or domestic storage; they must not be used for commercial purposes.
Garages must remain with the flat as one unit; separate subletting is not permitted.
The estate is responsible for the garage roofs and the tarmac forecourt areas; however, individual owners are responsible for the maintenance and replacement, if necessary, of the garage doors.
You may run a small business from your flat only with prior written consent of the Management Company and as long as it does not cause any disturbance to any other occupants in the block.
You should not keep pets in the Somerstown flats.
Communal areas must be kept free at all times; nothing should be stored in hallways or cupboards with shared access for fire safety reasons. Hallways, stairs and landings are maintained and cleaned regularly by a cleaning contractor. Windows to the flats, however, are not maintained or cleaned by the estate; this is the responsibility of the property owner.
An entry phone system is fitted to the communal front door. In the interest of security do not admit anyone who claims to be visiting another flat; only allow entry to a genuine visitor to your own property. Additional keys for communal front doors can be purchased from the managing agent.
It is important that the main front doors to the blocks are kept closed at all times. Please do not wedge them open.
Your own flat front door is important in preventing the spread of fire – it must be a fully compliant 30 minute fire door, so you are not permitted to change the flat front door. Please contact the managing agent if you have any queries about this.
Please see separate Fire Safety sheet for more details – Click here.
Please note the ‘No Smoking’ signs and do not discard cigarette butts on the ground.
There is a communal terrestrial aerial and Sky dish system installed, so individual aerial/satellite dishes are not permitted. In the event of problems please refer to the managing agent.
Virgin Media cable is available on Somerstown estate but is not yet run into the flats. If you are considering this service please be aware that Virgin Media will need to obtain consent from Somerstown, and this may not be a quick process due to the complexities involved.
Should you decide to sell your property, you need to ensure that your share in the Management Company is transferred with the property and that your purchaser enters into a direct covenant with the Company to adhere to the terms of the lease. Your solicitor will arrange this for you. Please note that no estate agent signboards can be displayed.
You must not hang washing out to dry in the communal gardens or hang washing inside or outside your windows.
Please be considerate of your neighbours. This includes avoiding loud music, banging doors, or large numbers of guests entering and leaving flats, especially at night.
Nothing should be done that might cause the insurance policy affecting the flats’ buildings to be voided.
Communal bins are for the use of residents only and you must use them in accordance with Chichester District Council guidelines. Waste and recyclable materials are collected on a rotating fortnightly basis.
General rubbish should be placed in securely fastened plastic bags and placed in the black lidded bin. Recyclables (red lid) should NOT be placed in plastic bags. In the interests of hygiene please wash jars and bottles; cardboard should be flat packed to save space.
Please note that the Council will only remove items that are in the bins, so if you have bulky items you must arrange clearance or take these to the tip yourself. CDC impose a penalty charge for misuse of bins therefore if the estate incurs such a charge this will have to be passed on.