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Vanbrugh Court is occupied by a mixture of owner-occupiers (leaseholders) and tenants. Leaseholders are given a copy of their lease when they buy their flat, along with a copy of the Leaseholders' Handbook, which provides them with information about the block and its utilities.
When a flat is rented out by the owner, it is the owner's responsibility to ensure that the letting agent and tenant are given information about the block. Sometimes this does not happen and tenants move in without knowing, for example, where the utility meters are or how to dispose of refuse. For this reason, the Residents' Association have produced a small Tenants Handbook which is posted to new tenants when the management committee has been informed that the tenancy has changed.
The topics below are a summary of the pertinent items from both handbooks, but please refer to your handbook for full details. If you have any further queries, please direct them to the Managing Agents, or to the Residents' Association.
The Residents' Association holds some information about the owners and tenants. Please read our Privacy Notice for more details.
The term normal working hours used below is defined as 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturdays.
Each flat has smoke detectors that are tested regularly. The building is fitted with auxiliary fans that are automatically turned on when one of the smoke detectors is activated. The fans allow air to be blown in to the public corridors to keep them as clear of smoke as possible, allowing an escape route via the front staircase.
The building is also fitted with audible alarms. These are situated in the public corridors, two per corridor, at floor level. The alarms are not connected to the smoke detectors and are only activated when someone breaks the glass on one of the Fire boxes.
There are two Fire boxes on each corridor, mounted on the wall at about shoulder height. Please familiarise yourself with the location of the Fire boxes on your corridor.
In the event of a fire:
The front door uses a video-phone entry system. Please do not allow anyone unknown to enter the building, either by the entry-phone system or by meeting them when you enter or exit the building. This is to ensure the security of the property and to prevent 'cold callers' and other sales people entering the block.
When you enter or leave, ensure that the main doors are locked behind you.
You should be issued with two keys for your flat door and another to enter other secure areas of the building.
The gas meters for all the flats are in the storage area in the north basement area. The meters are in a separate room, off the storage area.
The electricity meters are in cupboards in the public corridors outside the flats. The cupboards are shared by several flats, so yours may not be right next to your door.
The water supply is covered by the annual maintenance charge, paid by all leaseholders. There should be a shut-off valve in your boiler cupboard but the main one is in a cupboard in the public corridor outside your flat.
The two lifts in the building are serviced regularly and are currently maintained by Otis plc. The doors to the lifts must not be jammed open as this may cause the lift to fail.
Each lift is fitted with an alarm call device that automatically reports breakdowns to the lift company.
If you are in the lift when it breaks down, press the alarm button. After five seconds, voice communication with an operator will be established and they will give you instructions.
Each of the flats has a parking space or garage. When the flat is rented out, the garage or space may or not be included in the agreement. If you are a tenant, the letting agent or owner should inform you whether the space is available to you.
In order to deal with persistent, unauthorised parking by non-residents persons, we have an arrangement with a clamping company.
If workers use the private parking at the rear of the building, please ask them to display a notice in their vehicle indicating where they are working so they can be contacted easily.
Brighton and Hove, like most other authorities, has a waste-disposal problem. Please recycle as much of your waste as you can. Communal bins are available at the southern end of the car park for glass, paper, card, plastic, and tins.
Note that disposing of glass and tins is very noisy and intrusive for the flats near the bins. You should therefore only use the recycling bins during normal working hours.
Non-recyclable household waste should be placed in a securely-tied refuse sack and left outside your flat door where it will be collected and disposed of by our cleaner. The cleaner starts work early so make sure you put your rubbish out by 8 a.m., Monday to Friday.
If you miss the cleaner, you can take your waste down to the refuse room yourself. It is at the southern end of the car park, at the bottom of the driveway. There are a few large refuse bins in that room and they all have the same use: non-recyclable household waste.
All other waste, such as electronic equipment and bulky items, including cardboard boxes, cannot be put in the refuse bins: you must dispose of such items yourself. You can take it to the nearest waste disposal site, which is off Old Shoreham Road, close to the junction with Sackville Road. See the Council's web site for opening hours.
The flats in Vanbrugh Court are solidly constructed but, like any flats, they are not completely soundproof. Noise between flats can be one of the main causes of annoyance to residents so please be considerate of your neighbours. At the same time, living in a block, no-one can expect to live in perfect silence and during the day you should expect to hear, and probably welcome, signs of human activity.
Under the terms of the lease the 'quiet period' is between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The Residents Association has a policy of allowing no pets to reside in the block.
When moving in and out of the building, every effort should be made to prevent the carpeting, walls, joinery and fittings to the public walls being made dirty, scratched or damaged. You should ensure that your removal company is adequately insured so that the cost of any damage that is caused is fully recoverable.
If you have to use the lift for removals, please ensure that it is not overloaded and that the lift doors are not held open for any length of time. Each lift door has a sensor which stops the door closing automatically should an obstruction be present and the door mechanism can fuse if it is permanently obstructed, rendering the lift inoperable. If you do need to keep the lift door open, you can request a lift door key in advance from one of the Directors or the Managing Agents.
Ideally, protective sheeting should be placed in the lift car during removals and, again, care should be taken to ensure that the walls and finishes of the lift are not damaged.
Site last updated: 09 June 2018 Privacy Notice