Charter Quay is an award winning residential and commercial development located in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The site was completed in 2003 and comprises 238 apartments, five town houses, river moorings, restaurants, bars, a café and The Rose Theatre.

Situated between Kingston's ancient market square and the River Thames, the site is built around a piazza, the Hogsmill river and a waterfowl conservation area. All residents share access to an extensive roof terrace and each apartment is allocated a secure underground car parking space. The estate is serviced by a 24 hour onsite concierge team, operating 365 days of the year.

Residential site plan

In 2013 the Charter Quay Residents' Association, CQRA, acquired the site from the landlord to become the largest mixed use development in the UK owned and controlled by the residential leaseholders. They now operate the estate under the company name CQRA Ltd.

Charter Quay moorings
The Charter Quay moorings are directly licensed from the environment agency to Charter Quay Moorings Limited (CQML). CQML is the company that acts on behalf of the residential boat owners moored at Charter Quay. CQRA Ltd authorises CQML to have the licence with the environment agency.

Are you planning to visit Charter Quay by boat?
Visitor mooring information ››

Find out more about kingston's historic riverside
History of Kingston's riverside ››

Commercial Units
As the landlord for the Charter Quay site, CQRA Ltd is also responsible for overseeing the commercial units. We work closely with them to make the site attractive to visitors and customers as well as to residents.

Commercial units operate to a sub-lease which is owned by Maizelands Limited and Arringford Limited. The sub-lease is administered by Jones Lang LaSalle, although HML Andertons are the point of contact for site issues.

Commercial site plan

Unique and independent

CQRA Ltd is the owner of the whole development. The shareholders of CQRA Ltd are solely residential leaseholders. The ownership was acquired after a series of successful legal actions against the previous owners.

The shareholders do not pay ground rent. The few residential leaseholders who are not shareholders continue to pay ground rent, c. £250 per annum at present rising to c. £500 per annum in 2025. However, they can become shareholders at any time in the future on payment of a premium (c. £4,500 in 2013, rising progressively to c. £9,000 in 2025).

Management
Shareholders elect the Directors of CQRA Ltd at an annual general meeting. CQRA Ltd appoints an independent managing agent to manage the development on a day-to-day basis. Since 2009, the managing agent has been HML Andertons (in 2017 they changed their name to HML). Their achievements to date include:

  • Maintaining the service charge at the same level during this period whilst providing improved services.

  • Providing a stable team of concierge, cleaning and maintenance staff.

  • Maintaining and enhancing the development through the use of verified external contractors.

Benefits for owners
There are a number of key benefits that residential leaseholders enjoy, a few of which are genuinely unique.

  • Charter Quay is a unique development owned and managed by the residential leaseholders.
     

  • There is no landlord seeking to make a profit from the development. The financial arrangements for running the site are completely transparent. As a result the Service Charges are under the control of the residents.
     

  • All flats and houses own (no additional fees or rents) at least one car parking space in a secure underground car park.
     

  • All residents have access to a private roof terrace.
     

  • 24 hour concierge service, 365 days of the year.
     

  • High speed broadband connections to all apartments and houses.
     

  • Residents' air conditioned gymnasium.
     

  • No ground rent except for non-shareholders.
     

  • A superb location in the centre of a thriving riverside town.

Journey to independence ››