Frequently asked questions

You must be 60 years old, or over, to live at Mount Battenhall. However, a family member can buy a property for a qualifying relative.

There is a reservation fee of £1,000 to secure the property of your choice; this goes towards your deposit. This fee is transferable and will be refunded after deduction of reasonable abortive legal fees, administrative costs and any other additional costs directly incurred relating to the reservation, up to a maximum of the full value of the reservation fee, if the reservation does not proceed to sale.

To reserve off plan, please ask a member of the Sales Team.

Properties will be reserved for a period of two months. The price will be fixed at the date of reservation, subject to contracts being exchanged within two months. At the end of two months, the developers have the right to terminate the reservation and re-market the property.

Each property is sold on a 250-year reducing lease from 1 July 2020 (the date of the first lease).

The landlord/freeholder is ERL (Worcester) Limited, whose registered office is Scutches Barn, 17 High Street, Whittlesford, Cambridge, CB22 4LT, a company registered in England and Wales, company number 10780048.

The management company, which is responsible for the day-to-day running of Mount Battenhall on behalf of the landlord, is Mount Battenhall Management Company Limited of Scutches Barn, 17 High Street, Whittlesford, Cambridge, CB22 4LT, registered in England and Wales, company number 12392549.

The converted existing properties and the new-build elements of the development are covered by Checkmate and the NHBC respectively. Both these organisations provide a 10-year structural warranty for the buildings, full details of which will be provided shortly after reservation by the warranty provider.

Both Checkmate and the NHBC subscribe to the Consumer Code for Home Builders (the Code) which gives protection and rights to purchasers of new homes and makes the home-buying process fairer and more transparent. A copy of the Code will be given to you at the point of reservation.

As developers registered with these warranty providers, we are required to comply with the Code in all respects and we are committed to doing this. Many of the Code’s requirements reflect our own principles and standards, as set out in our Customer Charter and Procedures, a copy of which will also be given to you on reservation.

We can provide the details of established estate agents and conveyancers to assist you. This is a non-obligatory service and you are, of course, free to use firms of your own choosing. Please see the Sales Team for more details.

No company or person connected with Mount Battenhall receives any incentive or commission from any service provider we may recommend.

Owners/occupiers may have pets, but pets are not allowed in internal communal areas and they must not be a nuisance to other owners/occupiers. Any owner/occupier that has a pet must appoint a vet as a guardian for the pet in the event of an emergency.

A limited number of allocated parking spaces are available to owners/occupiers on a first-come, first-served basis under an open-ended licence at an annual charge of £250 per space. Only one parking space licence per property will be granted and owners/occupiers who have this benefit cannot occupy an unallocated space.

Other unallocated spaces are available free of charge in the car park located near the main building.

No trailers, camper vans or caravans are allowed to be parked in the car parks.

Our Spriggs’ Restaurant is provided for use by the owners/occupiers and their visitors. Its professional chefs will serve freshly-prepared meals daily, including traditional Sunday lunch, and it will be the venue for special dining events.

There is a daily concierge service available, undertaken by the Duty Managers.

You can use the 1½ hours’ house-keeping assistance for cleaning, ironing or light errands (eg, shopping). Additional hours can be bought by arrangement.

We provide a guest suite for family and friends. A charge is made to users to cover the cost of maintaining this.

Mount Battenhall is staffed 24-hours a day. Tunstall have installed the call systems and all owners/occupiers are issued with an emergency pendant to make an alarm call to the Duty Manager.

Yes, and it will meet every six months, with a representative from Enterprise Retirement Living (the Community Operator) and Mount Battenhall Management Company Limited, to discuss all aspects of the management of Mount Battenhall.

The Sales Team will be happy to assist you on your move-in day and ensure that you have everything you need. Some time will also be made available for you with our handyman, subject to booking. Three hours are provided free for all new properties; additional time can be purchased by arrangement.

The management of the exterior of the property and the grounds is the responsibility of Mount Battenhall Management Company Limited. Owners/occupiers are not permitted to paint, add hanging baskets, add satellite dishes, etc, to the exterior of any property, or make any changes to the gardens. Any such additions or changes need approval from the freeholder.

No properties at Mount Battenhall can be let out by the Leaseholders. The community is for those who own properties and live at Mount Battenhall.

Please see the Sales Team for more information and further details.

We have relationships with local CQC-registered care providers, who will be happy to come and visit you and assess your needs. However, you are free to use any agency you wish. Details can be obtained from Mount Battenhall staff.

The cost of personal or domiciliary care is not covered by the monthly fee and any arrangements for such care are the subject of separate agreements between the provider and the recipient.

No company or person connected with Mount Battenhall receives any incentive or commission from any care provider we may recommend.

The monthly fee is currently £153.75 per week for one bedroom properties and £163.37 per week for two bedroom properties. These equate to £666.25 and £707.92 a month (£7,995 and £8,495 per annum) respectively.

The monthly fee covers all aspects of operating and maintaining Mount Battenhall (see the separate document, The Management Fee, available from the Sales Team).

The management fee is reviewed once a year, on 1 July, and any increase is based upon the higher of the previous March Retail Price Index % figure supplied by the ONS or the Annual Earnings Index.

There is a peppercorn ground rent, but no actual charge will be made for this.

The freeholder will have first option to buy your property back at the agreed open market value. If the freeholder decides not to make an offer, then the property will be offered first to prospective purchasers on the waiting list (if any) and then marketed on the open market. Our experienced and active Sales and Marketing Team, which constantly markets and promotes our retirement communities, will handle this for you. You are free to employ your own estate agents independently, if you wish, but you will be responsible for any fees payable.

A Deferred Development Payment is due to the freeholder when the property is re-sold (see below).

When a property is sold or reassigned, a Deferred Development Payment (DDP), which is a percentage of the selling price or market value based on the length of time you own the property, is paid (as shown in the table below).

DDPs are normal practice in retirement villages. Their purpose is to ensure that all property owners, not just the original purchasers, contribute to the initial capital cost of the buildings (construction and/or renovation) and provision of the communal facilities, which together have been very expensive and which will benefit owners/occupiers over many years; leases have, therefore, been structured to take account of this. The alternative would be for the first purchasers to pay a very high initial price. They also ensure that the value of the landlord’s investment is maintained, thus enabling the villages to be operated by the landlord to the high standard you would expect, which in turn can help improve the resale value of the individual properties.

They also cover the services of our dedicated Sales Team to re-selling a property. You are free to use external agents, but you would be liable for their charges.

Our Sales Team will fully explain the DDP.

Any uplift in equity (increase in value) achieved from a sale of a property, after payment of the Deferred Development Payment, is retained by the vendor(s).