Leasehold and Right to Buy Manager

Job details

Salary: £35,892 - £40,464 per annum (inclusive of allowances)
Location: Civic Centre, Gravesend
Contract: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full-time
Hours: 37 hours per week
Closing Date: 18 July 2025

The Role

This is an exciting time to join Neighbourhood Services at Gravesham as it embarks on a programme of change, aspiring to provide the best possible service for our tenants and leaseholders. The Leasehold & Right to Buy Manager role is integral to delivering exceptional frontline services.

Are you passionate about making a real difference in people’s lives? Do you thrive in a role where every day is different, and every challenge brings an opportunity to create positive change? If so, we want YOU to join our amazing housing service!

As Leasehold & Right to Buy Manager, you will play a vital role in our communities by fostering relationships with tenants and leaseholders, resolving issues, and supporting them to flourish in their homes. Each day presents unique challenges, all aimed at ensuring our neighbourhoods remain places tenants are proud to call home, with your efforts making a significant impact daily.

As Leasehold & Right to Buy Manager, you will be responsible for the delivery of excellent housing management, tenant and leasehold support, and work alongside Housing Management, Finance, Legal and Repairs colleagues to ensure the best service possible is delivered.

You will administer the Right to Buy process to ensure of the timely completion, or rejection, of all applications.

Main responsibilities

Leasehold Services

  1. To ensure that a high-quality service is delivered to all leaseholders, providing relevant advice and information to leaseholders to ensure that they are kept informed regarding the service provided to them.
  2. To be responsible for carrying out all Section 20 consultation in relation to repairs, major works and improvements; in both leaseholder properties and communal areas in line with legal requirements and to respond to leaseholder’s queries about major works and recharges.
  3. To provide support to the Housing Operations Team in all matters relating to planned works, maintenance or responsive repairs in leaseholder properties and communal areas including the review of all invoices for any works carried out.
  4. Raise invoices to leaseholders for capital works following any observations from leaseholders and the works being completed. Agree repayment plans with leaseholders for the invoices and liaise with Finance to set these up.
  5. To lead on requests from leaseholders to carry out improvements or alterations and to ensure that any necessary inspections are carried out and appropriate guidance is issued, working with internal team to ensure all improvements and alterations are legally compliant
  6. To monitor the calculation of service charges, ensuring that notification is sent to all leaseholders in accordance with the leases, legislation and our statutory obligations.
  7. Regular review of service charges to ensure that we are meeting our statutory obligations and to ensure that leaseholders are advised of charges in accordance with their leases and in a transparent way, ensuring that all costs are recovered.
  8. To ensure the efficient collection of leasehold service charges to minimise arrears and debts, ensuring that recovery action is taken in a timely manner and progressed to legal action if required via County Court proceedings.
  9. To be responsible for the enforcement of conditions of lease or covenant with support from other departments as appropriate. To represent the Council at Tribunals with regards to any lease variations or disputes.
  10. To be responsible for updating the Tenant and Leaseholder handbook; the setting and attending of a leasehold forum and ensuring that the Council website is kept up to date with relevant leaseholder information.
  11. To be responsible for reviewing and drafting new leases to ensure that our leases are up to date and reflect any changes in legislation and statutory obligations.

Right to Buy

  1. To be responsible for delivering the Government’s Right To Buy schemes in accordance with legislation; taking ownership and responsibility for the whole right to buy process from start to finish ensuring that legislative and regulatory processes and deadlines are met.
  2. To review all Right to Buy applications for either acceptance or denial of the application.
  3. To be responsible for calculating the correct level of discount for each Right to Buy application ensuring Cost Floor and Section 125 costs are included in accordance with legislation.
  4. To carry out the necessary checks and investigations upon receiving a Right to Buy application such as registered address, bankruptcy and insolvency, money laundering or risk that the council property was fraudulently obtained. Any identified concerns should be passed to the Fraud Team to investigate to prevent housing fraud.
  5. To provide information to customers in relation to home ownership issues including but not limited to leaseholder service charges, ground rents and rechargeable repair accounts.
  6. To be responsible for managing the Right to Buy Back scheme for the Council ensuring that the Council exercise the Right for First Refusal if desired, ensuring that all of the necessary procedures are followed and within the legislative timescales.
  7. To liaise with the Legal Department, to ensure that solicitors’ enquires relating to the sale and resale of leasehold properties are answered efficiently.

Performance Reporting

  1. To collate regular performance data regarding leasehold management and Right to Buy information for both Housing performance indicators and for Local Authority Housing Statistics returns.
  2. To respond to enquiries and complaints in accordance with the GBC Complaints Procedures.

Policies and procedures

  1. To adhere to policies and procedures and contribute to the ongoing development of policies and procedures that ensure continuous service improvement to meet the needs of customers, regulators and other stakeholders.
  2. To be responsible for managing the internal audits for leasehold services and Right to Buy working in conjunction with the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Team.
  3. Continuous review of leasehold and Right to Buy procedures to ensure a high quality service is delivered; working in partnership with other local authorities and housing providers to share best practice and learn from the wider sector.

General

  1. To carry out such other duties as may be required of you, commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility, as directed by management.
  2. Undertake additional training or vocational qualifications as required.
  3. To participate as required in the Council’s Emergency Planning Operations which may involve duties outside the post holder’s normal job description and contracted hours.  In the event that an incident has occurred which disrupts the council’s ability to deliver it’s critical functions, the post holder will be expected to participate in the recovery stage which may include undertaking duties within the post holder’s competencies in other departments and/or at other locations.
  4. A commitment and contribution to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy is an essential requirement of the post.
  5. The post holder will carry out all duties and activities having regard to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and in accordance with any instructions from senior members of staff under that Act or any Council or Departmental Codes of Practice or Procedures.
  6. The post holder must ensure that data quality and integrity is maintained and that data is processed in accordance with council policy, the Data Protection Act, the Freedom of Information Act and other legislation
  7. The post holder will comply with Statute and Council Policy in all respects.
  8. An awareness and commitment to section 17 which places a statutory duty on police and local authorities to work in partnership to reduce crime and promote community safety. It is also required that community safety is to be a thread running through all functions of the LA.
  9. A commitment to excellent customer service and the values of the Council.

Essential qualifications and experience

  • Ability to make informed decisions, with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
  • Ability to prioritise work and meet deadlines
  • Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally at all levels
  • Proficient IT skills; fully conversant with current uses of information technology in housing management
  • Numerical, analytical, presentation and report writing and skills
  • Strong customer service skills
  • Excellent knowledge of Leasehold legislation
  • Excellent knowledge of housing legislation
  • Excellent knowledge of Right to Buy legislation
  • Excellent knowledge of Microsoft, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
  • Educated to A level or equivalent
  • Recognised Training in leasehold and/or housing management
  • Management qualification
  • Experience of housing and leasehold management and the Right to Buy
  • Experience of income recovery

Working for Gravesham

We are committed to delivering to the community and working with us means you are part of delivering the level of growth and improvement our community needs and deserves. A range of services have been provided to over 106,000 people and 4,000 businesses.

The Borough of Gravesham, situated in the north west corner of Kent, covers 25,000 acres of the most varied countryside in south east England. Bordered by the River Thames to the north, it is at the heart of Thames Gateway and has a significant role to play in the regeneration of a major government growth area.

Read more information about working for us.

Benefits

  • A generous holiday entitlement, plus paid bank holidays
  • In-house and external training including non-qualification, Continued Personal Development (CPD), NVQ and other qualification training
  • Free membership to the Chartered Institute of Housing
  • Membership to Local Government Pension Scheme - Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Access to over 1000+ instant discounts from favourite retailers, restaurants, food delivery services and attractions via our benefits portal VivUp.
  • Career development, training opportunities and access to e-learning
  • Access to eye care vouchers and VDU Glasses
  • External Occupational Health service
  • Cycle to Work Scheme
  • Access to an employee assistance programme 24/7
  • Hybrid Working
  • Free parking
  • Octopus Electric Vehicles Salary Sacrifice Scheme

Important Information

Applicants must be able to demonstrate all essential requirements as listed in the job description. 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.

How to apply

Please send your CV and covering letter to recruitment@gravesham.gov.uk by 18 July 2025.

If you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted.

All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email, if you require documentation in different format such as braille or large print, please contact the Human Resources Team on 01474 337374.

Job Profile