Residents Info

If something related to the property happens outside of normal working hours, call HML's out of hours number for help - 0345 601 2422.

Yes you can but you will need to request permission first. The request form can be found in the HML portal in the menu My Property/Property info/Pets. 

Dogs are not allowed on the lawns and communal grassed areas. We kindly ask you to discourage your dog from using the garden area by toileting them away from all  grassed areas. Please make sure that you pick up after your dog and dispose of poo bags in the general waste bins and not the estate litter bins. 

General Waste: Use the grey general waste bins. These are for normal household waste only. Please see below for how to dispose of bulky items such as furniture.

Please note: In special circumstances, if you are unable to utilise the waste bins please contact the Estate team to discuss other potential arrangements. 

Recyclable Waste: Use the green recycling bins. There is no need to put recyclable items into plastic bags before putting them into the bins, they can be put in as loose items. However, if you need to use bags, please only use clear bags and not black bin bags. Recyclable items include cardboard, plastic bottles and packaging, and glass bottles. For a quick guide on what can be recycled, please see Lambeth’s guide here.

Bulk Waste: It is the responsibility of residents to arrange with the local council to have bulk refuse collected and disposed of responsibly, this includes (for example), unwanted furniture, building debris from refurbishments, and other unwanted bulky items. If you need assistance or clarification please ask SMG Estate Manager, Alan Sheldon.

For debris from refurbishments, it is the responsibility of you as the lessee to ensure your contractors remove all debris from site. It is preferable that this happens on a daily basis as accumulated debris is unsightly, attracts vermin and encourages others to add to the pile.

For household items including all furniture, fridges and cookers Lambeth provide a service to arrange removal of items  for a small cost. See their bulk refuse website. Items are to be left at the front of the property on the day of collection, and marked with the council reference provided, as the collectors will not enter the estate.

If the item can be reused, you can also contact the charity Emmaus to offer it as a donation, and they will arrange collection if interested.

Note: Where articles are dumped and charges are incurred, every effort is made to recharge the costs to the responsible flat. If this is not possible then the service charge has to bear the burden of the removal and is therefore an expense to everyone.

All kitchen food waste can be composted on-site, except meat and dairy. 

Paper and packaging does not go in the composting and should be discarded in the applicable bins. This includes packaging that says it can be composted - the reason being it composts at a different rate to food waste. 

Locations for compost bins are: Manor Court: between blocks 29-36 and 37-44. Streatham Court: Outside 1-10, between 43-54 and 55-62, and to rear 87-91. 

Please put your composting items in a bag (e.g. packaging) before putting them in the bins. This helps the teams manage the composting.

If you have spoken to your neighbour and the unreasonable noise continues then please contact the Estate Manager by email on estatemanager.smg@gmail.com detailing the following:

• Detail of the noise, including times and dates.
• Detail of discussions with the neighbour.

If the noise persists once the Managing Agent has raised the issue directly with the Leasehold, then further action may be necessary. Action by the Managing Agent will only be within the constraints of the lease and evidence of a breach of the lease has to be shown. If the Managing Agent takes forward any action, effort will be made to recover the associated cost from the responsible flat.

In addition, you can also report the noise to Lambeth Council – “In the first instance, if safe to do so, you should make the person creating the nuisance aware of how it is affecting you and ask if they can do something to help. If speaking to your neighbour fails, you can report noise pollution online or 020 7926 5000 during opening hours”.

Property Owners – See the London Fire Brigade website for your responsibilities in making your property safe for your tenants. Remember, if you are letting your flat it is a requirement of Streatham Manor Gardens Limited for your ‘Licence to sub-let’, that all necessary safety certificates are in place and evidence of these needs to be seen by the management company.

Tenants – See the London Fire Brigade website for information on your rights as a tenant.For more information on making your property safe see also the firekills.gov.uk website. It is also possible to book a visit to your property by the fire brigade to help advise on safety precautions. 

Because both Manor and Streatham Courts are examples of fine Art-Deco design, there are strict rules governing the replacement of windows and window frames in both Courts. It is therefore essential that if you are considering replacing windows in your apartment, you follow the conditions set out below.

Flat owners wishing to replace window frames must undertake the following actions:

1. Obtain a ‘Licence to Alter’ from Streatham Manor Gardens Ltd for consent to carry out alterations in accordance with their lease. No works may be undertaken until such consent has been provided in writing. To obtain the licence to alter, please contact HML by email or letter detailing the extent of the work proposed and the name and contact details of the supplying and installing company. A fee is payable to the managing agent of £75 incl. VAT for the formal Licence to Alter.
2. Consider whether local council planning permission is required from the Local Planning Authority. Both Courts lie within the Streatham Hill Conservation Area, therefore works that materially alter the external appearance of the building may require planning consent. It is the responsibility of individual flat owners proposing to undertake window replacement to satisfy themselves by their own enquiries whether or not planning consent is required. If a flat owner believes planning consent is required such consent should be obtained prior to obtaining a Licence to Alter from Streatham Manor Gardens Limited, and a copy of the planning consent should form part of the application.

Regarding action 1 above, each application for a License to Alter will be subject to individual scrutiny. In general Streatham Manor Gardens Limited will, in principle, grant consent for the replacement of windows provided they meet the following criteria:

• (a) the replacement windows do not materially alter the external appearance of the building;
• (b) each individual replacement window matches the fenestration of the window it replaces;
• (c) each individual window matches the colour, finish and style of the window it replaces;
• (d) replacement windows meet all statutory requirements including those of the Local Planning Authority and the Building Control Authority.

In order to meet the above criteria it is anticipated that replacement windows will need to be aluminium or steel-framed and glazed with double glass insulating units. Glazing bars will be externally mounted, must match the section and size of existing windows and frame colours should be white internally and untextured black externally. The choice of supplier and installer is of course a matter for individual occupiers, but the ‘The Window Clinic’ (www.windowclinic.co.uk) have undertaken many installations in the grounds that meet the above criteria. Please note however that it remains the responsibility of the individual owner to ensure that the proposed window installation meets the general criteria.

Note related to action 2 above: Informal advice has previously been received from the Council’s Conservation Officer that provided replacement windows do not materially alter the external appearance of the building, no planning consent is required. The Council criteria considered in determining whether a material alteration has taken place are broadly the same as those required by Streatham Manor Gardens Ltd, as outlined above.

In addition for Streatham Court, informal discussion with the Council indicates that Lambeth Planning Authority granted a general consent for the original steel windows to be replaced with uPVC. This consent was granted on 13 January 1999, ref 98/01711/FUL in respect of Streatham Court (1 – 91) and Leigham Hall (1 – 40). 7. It is recommended that applications should be made to the Local Planning Authority to confirm the works you propose fall within this consent.

This information provided by Streatham Manor Gardens Limited is given on an informal basis to assist individual occupiers. It remains the responsibility of the individual flat owner to satisfy themselves that the works proposed meet the Council’s planning requirements. No liability shall attach to Streatham Manor Gardens Limited, its agents or employees arising from the above and/or from any failure of lessees/occupiers in complying with statutory or other requirements.

Residents can contact the SMG Estate team to apply to purchase a remote which operates gates to both courts.  Please note there is a charge for the fob. There is also a limit to 2 per household.

You can find the building insurance documents available on this page. Any questions please contact HML.

One of the most frequently asked questions surrounds the liability of residents for insurance. In this context resident is used as the liability is different depending on if you are a leaseholder or a sub-tenant of leaseholder. The consequences of wrong or no insurance are enormous and we hope the clarification of responsibilities helps.

Buildings Insurance Policy

There are various conditions attached to the buildings policy, a copy of the schedule and summary of cover can be requested from HML, but there are some conditions we would like to highlight. a. The policy excludes sub-lettings to asylum seekers and DHSS referrals. b. Any incident that may give rise to a claim must be notified within 30 days, failure to do so may give rise to the claim being declined. c. Nothing should be done to invalidate the insurance such as storing inflammable materials in the flat. d. If an incident occurs (such as a leak) everything should be done to reduce the damage or restrict the extent of damage. In the event of a flood the water should be isolated as quickly as possible.

Service Charge

Through your service charge payments the Buildings Insurance, Contents of common parts, Engineering, Employers and Public Liability Insurance is paid. This covers the structure including the roof, walls foundations as well as the common parts contents (light fittings, carpets fixtures etc).

Lessee Liability 

The lessee of each flat is responsible for his or her own contents insurance. This includes their carpets as well as personal effects. Most contents policies will also give Third Party Liability cover that protects you in the event of damage to other property as a result of something occurring in your flat e.g. washing machine overflowing.

Tenants Liability 

As sub-tenants of a leaseholder (whether an individual lessee or from Northumberland & Durham) you are responsible for your own contents. That is everything not included in your landlords contents cover. If you need clarification speak to your landlord, their representative or the agent your rent through.

Consequences

If you do not have proper cover there may, in exceptional circumstances, be a claim against you. The result of using cheap and incompetent contractors has given rise to instances where substantial damage has been caused by water leaks to flats directly due to contractor’s errors. In some instances the contractors did not have liability insurance and the lessee did not have contents insurance cover. The buildings insurance that may meet the claim will, in such circumstances, seek to recover their loss against the lessee of the flat where the work originated. We are aware in the current climate of “blame culture” insurers are looking for every reason not to accept liability for a claim.

For further information on living in a leasehold property, see ARMA’s guide here.

There is a Government Publication detailing your rights and responsibilities if you are renting your apartment – see the guide on gov.uk. 

If you are , or are considering, sub-letting your flat, you must:

1. Inform the Managing Agents, in order to apply for a License to Sub-let from SMG Ltd. HML will be able to provide further guidance. Please note a fee may be required for the license.
2. Check that the rental would not be considered a ‘House in Multiple Occupation’ by Lambeth Council. See their website for further information. 

You can find the site plan here. 

Some of the flats in Streatham Court and Manor Court have retained open fireplaces. Whenever an open fire is being used you should be more conscious of the risk of fire to the property and to the buildings as a whole. Basic fire precautions such as smoke detectors should be installed in every flat as a first warning against fire.

If you are using an open fire or thinking of using an open fire please take care to read these guidelines for your own safety and that of your neighbours:

1. Chimneys must be swept annually or if not currently in use, before they are used for an open fire.
2. Chimneys must be checked their entire length for obstructions or old flue liners from appliances removed by previous occupiers.
3. Chimney pots must be checked, they must be securely bedded on the stack, have no cracks or be damaged in any way, if they are they should be replaced. The chimney pot should also be the correct size for the flue and fire.
4. If there is any doubt as to the integrity of the flue a smoke test should be undertaken by a competent contractor and a written report obtained.
5. The buildings insurers may require seeing written evidence that a flue has been swept and that a smoke test was carried out.
6. A properly fitted fire grate must be installed and a fireguard used.
7. Only smokeless fuels may be used and only fuel for immediate use should be stored in the flat.
8. If in doubt ask the Managing Agents or Estate Team, they are here to help.

A build-up of moisture in the home can cause a range of problems, and can potentially damage the fabric of the building if allowed to continue. There is lots of information and guidance online on this subject, for example The Energy Saving Trust has a page advising on how to manage condensation and mould in the home. 

Please email here questions and enquires for the directors.

mcscdirectors@gmail.com