Leasehold Officer

Leasehold Officer

Islington

Job Role

collecting service charges (annual and major works), building insurance, ground rent, shared ownership rent and ad hoc recharges across a residential and commercial property portfolio;

Providing a front-line leasehold management service including processing legal notices and applications for alterations, sales, subletting, re-mortgages etc;

Investigating and resolving breach of lease cases.

Key Responsibilities

Provide a comprehensive arrears service on a patch basis or other designated area in accordance with Islington Council’s policies and procedures. This includes carrying out all functions relating to the control and monitoring of arrears (for example, negotiating payments and taking recovery action, including legal action in the County Court or First Tier Tribunal) ensuring that targets and timescales are met.

Provide general advice to leaseholders about benefits entitlement and identify suitable cases for referral to the debt advice service provider.

Ensure that legal recovery action is co-ordinated in cases where there is both annual and major works service charge debt on accounts.

Make payment arrangements with leaseholders to clear their arrears in line with procedures.

Investigate and respond within target timescales to correspondence, queries, disputes and complaints relating to the quality and extent of services and work recharged to leaseholders/freeholders, and on the calculation, apportionment and collection of charges where these impact on collection, liaising with the relevant Home Ownership teams and council departments as appropriate.

Ensure a high quality, helpful and friendly leasehold management service is provided including giving advice to leaseholders about their statutory and contractual rights and responsibilities.