ThIS general information page has been carefully designed to provide you with the answers to the many questions that you may have about the purchase of your bespoke lodge and 125 year lease.
As a developer and operator of parks for over 50 years we have provided answers to the many questions posed to us by our thousands of customers. We hope that you find the information we have provided goes someway to answering your questions and queries. If however, there remains points we have not addressed please do not hesitate to contact us, we would like nothing more than to put your mind at ease and respond to your important questions.
We also appreciate that there is a lot of information to digest, whilst we understand that you may wish to absorb all the information provided, we would welcome the opportunity to sit with you and run through the information over a friendly cup of coffee, tea, water or whatever else takes your fancy!
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Lodge Purchase agreement Terms & Conditions
HAVING DECIDED TO PROCEED WITH THE PURCHASE OF YOUR LODGE AT RACECOURSE MARINA YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER INTO A BINDING AGREEMENT WITH US.
The terms detailed in the document shown below are the terms that will be attached to your final design and specification. The terms protect both you as the consumer and us as the retailer, providing us both clear guidance in relation to our statutory entitlement.
Should you have any questions in relation to the ‘Lodge Purchase Terms’ we would be please to provide you with details of a ‘Panel Solicitors’ firm who are paid directly by us to provide our customers with a response to any of their queries. You may of course provide a copy of these terms to any legal representative of your choice.
Further information relating to ‘Panel Solicitors’ can be found within the ‘General Information’ menu above.
The lodge at the point of final purchase (when it is sited on the park and ready to hand to you) will transfer entirely into your ownership. Should you wish to split ownership of the lodge you must ensure that those who are party to the ownership are also party to the 125 Year Lease that is applicable to the plot of land on which your lodge is placed.
125 YEAR LEASE
ONCE YOUR LUXURY LODGE IS ON YOUR CHOSEN PITCH YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER INTO A 125 YEAR LEASE WITH TINGDENE MARINAS LTD.
The lease has been pre-registered and approved by HM Land Registry.
Once you have entered into a lease, you will be provided with the leasehold title deed to your piece of land, the land your luxury lodge is located on.
To ensure that each lease issued is identical, the pre-registered lease will remain exactly the same for each leaseholder, in this regard there can be requested changes made to the lease by your appointed legal representative.
The leases are afforded the protection of the Landlord and Tenants Act, this protection provides clear guidelines for both you as the tenant and us as the landlord.
legal representation
When purchasing your lodge and 125 year lease you will be required to appoint a legal representative to act on your behalf. This may be a firm of Solicitors or a Conveyancing Specialist firm.
It may be that you already have a firm of solicitors who you utilise to act for you in relation to various matters, or a firm that you have dealt with previously.
Should you wish to appoint your own legal representative, we will, upon agreement to proceed, provide your appointed legal representative with full access to the online ‘Legal Pack’ the information contained within this section will enable them to act fully on your behalf.
However, if you do not have a preferred Solicitor or Conveyancing Firm then you may wish to appoint one of the Panel Solicitors who are pre appointed by us to act for our clients. Should you wish to appoint a ‘Panel Solicitor’ they will act on your behalf, and not ours. In doing so they will liaise with you directly in relation to all matters.
The benefit of utilising a ‘Panel Solicitor’ is that we will meet all your legal costs, this could save you in excess of £1000.00
All ‘Panel Solicitor’ firms are regulated by the ‘SRA’ (Solicitors Regulation Authority), further details in relation to the SRA can be found at sra.org.uk.
We would be delighted to discuss the benefits, outside of the cost saving, of utilising the services of our ‘Panel Solicitors’
RACECOURSE MARINA PARK RULES
The Park Rules ensure that we are able to provide a high standard of Estate Management which provides benefit to all who use the park.
The rules form part of your Leasehold Agreement which is constructed under the definitions contained within the Landlord & Tenants Act 1985. The Park Rules have not been compiled to place unnecessary restrictions on Leaseholders or other Park Users but rather to ensure that all occupiers may use the property peaceably in unspoiled surroundings.
Letting Your Lodge
Letting your lodge can prove a fantastic way of earning an additional income or It is often the case that by letting a lodge few selected weeks or weekends the income received is great way to meet the annual costs associated with the lodge.
If you decide to let your lodge for various periods throughout the year when you are not using it, the letting income could prove greater monthly returns than that achieved by standard residential letting properties.
We advise that you carry out your own research in relation to the rental prices you may achieve, there are many well known companies that advertise on the Internet that provide an excellent source of research.
If you decide to let your lodge for more than 140 days in any 12 month period you will be required to register for Non-Domestic Rates, (Business Rates) rather than Domestic Rates (Council Tax), more advice in relation to this can be found under the ‘Council Tax’, shown above.
If you decide to let your lodge you will need to meet statutory obligations such as, Public Liability Insurance, Annual Electrical Certification, Gas Safe Certification and Fire Safety Order 2005 compliance. You will be responsible for ensuring the accommodation you provide to paying guests is fit for purpose and complies with all current legislation.
Typical Running Costs
Once you take full ownership of your Lodge and Long Lease you will start to encounter your annual costs. We have outlined below some of the costs that you will encounter and that you should consider when estimating your ongoing costs.
Letting your lodge for short breaks could be an easy and simply way to cover all your annual costs, if this is something you would like to discuss we would be pleased to advise you of the options available.
PAYABLE TO TINGDENE MARINAS LTD – YOUR LANDLORD
Ground Rent – The Ground Rent is reviewed Annually by RPI (Retail Price Index). Ground Rent for 2024 - £3,649.33 + VAT. The definition and review of the Ground Rent is detailed within the Lease. The Lease is afforded the protection of the Landlord & Tenant Act.
Service Charge – The Service Charge is operated under the definitions of The Landlord & Tenant Act, and the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) code of practice. Service Charge funds are ring fenced in a client account, these funds are used to maintain the communal areas of the park only (Roads, Pathways, Street Lighting). The Service Charge was first implemented in January 2024 at a cost of £720.88 + VAT. At the beginning of each year, we will provide an estimate of the expected Service Charge Expenditure. Within 3 months of the end of the Service Charge Period, we will provide to all Leaseholders an externally audited account showing the exact level of costs (and the detail of those costs) to which the Service Charge Funds have been utilised.
The Annual Ground Rent and Service Charge are payable in January of each year, the ‘Annual’ period runs each ‘January – December’.
PAYABLE TO THE LOCAL COUNCIL – DOMESTIC OR NON-DOMESTIC RATES
If you choose to occupy your Lodge for yours or your friends and family use then you will be required to pay the local council Domestic rates (council tax). The current banding for council tax can be found here –
If you decide to make your lodge available for 140 days or more letting then you will be required to register your lodge for Non -Domestic Rates (Business Rates). Further information in relation to Non-Domestic Rates can be found here
PAYABLE TO SERVICE PROVIDERS – ELECTRICITY, GAS, WATER, TV LICENCE, SATELLITE TV & WIFI
All services to your lodge are direct supply, this means Electricity, Gas and Water rates are all payable direct to the utility provider. The utility providers will be informed your lodge has been connected to the services, and accounts for each utility will be set up in your name.
INSURANCE
As the Lodge is in your ownership, we require you to provide insurance cover for the Lodges full reinstatement cost, you are also required to ensure that you have a minimum of £2m Public Liability Insurance as part of your policy if you intend to let your Lodge for a fee. The cost of insurance will vary on an annual basis between various providers, we suggest that you take some time to shop around for cover rates, quotes can be obtained from the majority of the online comparison sites.
GENERAL WEAR & TEAR
Whilst the lodge is covered under various Warranty Policies, we advise that you should consider a PC Sum for ongoing small remedial works, especially if you are planning on letting out your Lodge to support your annual costs. It is often the case that no works are required, but on occasion some items, including your own furniture may need replacing, we find that considering such costs upfront limits surprises going forward.
COUNCIL TAX
Once you take ownership of your lodge we will inform the local council of the names registered leaseholders. As the Lodge may be used all year round the local council have banded the Lodges as band A for council tax purpose.
The button below provides the current charges applicable to the bands.
The applicable charges are set by the local council and not by us as the park operator. In this regard we have no influence over the applicable charges and what those charges may or may not increase to on an annual basis.
If you are intending to make your lodge available for letting for more than 140 days in each year (you do not need to let the lodge for this period, you simply need to make it available for this period of time) then you will qualify for the registration of Non-Domestic rates (Business Rates)
Further information relating to this matter can be found at:
Should you register your Lodge for Non-Domestic rates (Business Rates) the services which are provided via the Council Tax payment (Domestic Rates) which you will cease to pay will no longer be provided. In this regard you will not be entitled to free waste collections as you will be running your Lodge as a business. However we will assist you in calculating the applicable cost that you will be required to pay to us so that we can facilitate your commercial waste via the commercial waste agreement we already have in place.
If you are considering letting your Lodge to assist with your annual costs then our ‘How to maximise your rental opportunities’ document is well worth a read.
STAMP DUTY LAND TAX (SDLT)
The purchase of the lodge does not attract Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT).
You or your nominated legal representative will be required to submit an SDLT return for the purchase of the lease of the land your lodge will be placed upon.
Your legal representative will be better placed to advise you of the SDLT return they will be required to make on your behalf.
If SDLT is payable (due to the value attributed to the Lease of the land by us), we will make this payment in full on your behalf, thus there will be no extra expense to be met by you.
The total SDLT potentially payable by us on your behalf is £1,800.00.
TV LICENSING
You will need to register for a new TV Licence once you take occupation of your lodge if you:
Watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service
Download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.
This applies to any provider and device they use, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorder.
Follow this link to find out more about watching live TV.
In some cases your main home’s TV Licence may cover your lodge. However, you are unable to move your licence to cover your lodge while you’re there and then move it back again.
If you hold a TV Licence that applies to another property and that licence is not being utilised whilst you are at your lodge then you can complete a ‘Non-simultaneous use declaration form’ further information in this regard can be obtained by visiting tvlicensing.co.uk.
If you decide that you need a TV licence to cover your lodge then you can apply for a new licence by pressing the button below
Flood Management
All locations next to the water are suspectable to flooding. However extreme care and detail has been adopted by us to ensure that the Local Planning Authority and the Environmental Agency have limited concerns in relation to the potential flooding of the park.
The development and implementation of a robust flood mitigation procedure formed part of the planning permission obtained for the 12 month operation of the park.
The Lodge development has been carried out in accordance with paragraph 103 of the NPPF & Policy F1 of the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead Local Plan to ensure the layout does not increase flood risk. A flood management plan has been completed which will be made available as part of the purchase process. All lodges are positioned outside flood zone 3 (1:100 year probability of flooding). We are happy to provide you or your legal representative with further details in relation to this.
