Service charges

A service charge is the money you pay for the cost of services and repairs to shared parts of your building. Shared owners, leaseholders and rented residents may all pay service charges. No matter who lives on your estate or in your block, you’ll only ever pay your proportion of the costs.

Some residents also pay a personal service charge, and this is shown separately on your statement. This charge will not be covered by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit so you’ll need to pay for this.

Your service charges cover things like:

• Cleaning, lighting and maintenance of shared areas like stairwells and hallways
• Building insurance
• Hot water and heating, if there’s a communal system
• Lifts and door entry systems in a block of flats
• Making sure your fire equipment is safe including regular checks and repairs, meeting the new requirements and legislation
• The cost of keeping the estate road, lighting and other parts (e.g., the main drains) maintained if you live on an estate not adopted by the local authority.

You’re estimate booklet detail the specific service charges you pay for.

Yes, we work out the estimated cost for the financial year using information available at the time and by looking at previous costs together with any changes in the price of the contract, VAT and the level of service required.

Your occupancy agreement will say if you pay variable service charges.

If you pay a variable service charge, we’ll aim to let you know the actual annual cost within six months of the end of the financial year.

If we’re unable to do it within this time, we’ll issue a notice in accordance with section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended) notifying you that costs have been incurred and that you’ll be required to contribute to them once the final accounts have been produced.

If you’re a homeowner, we’ll make any adjustments for any under or overpayment of service charges to your account. This adjustment will usually be made at the end of October once you receive your actual service charges statement.

If you’re a tenant, we’ll add or deduct the difference to your following year’s estimated service charges, as a service charges adjustment.

A fixed service charge means you pay a set amount for services, just like residents on a variable charge. However, your charge won’t change based on actual costs, so you won’t receive a refund or be asked to pay more if expenses are different from the estimate. You also won’t receive a statement showing actual costs.

Charges can vary depending on your home type, size, and your status (social tenant, private tenant, shared owner, leaseholder, or freeholder). For example, some charges may already be included in your rent, so they won't appear separately on your statement. You might also have personal charges, like heating, electricity, or water, that aren’t included in your rent.

Costs can vary between blocks due to differences in the number of properties or the services provided. For example, a block with more flats may have a lower cost per property, while another block may have more frequent cleaning or additional services, which can affect the overall charges.

The management fee covers the costs of centralised services, including overseeing contractors, managing contracts, handling leasehold administration, addressing queries and complaints, processing invoices, preparing service charge statements, and collecting rent or service charges.

If you don't receive the services or items you're being charged for, it's important to raise the issue with us. Charges are shared between properties based on the services provided. For example, ground floor flats contribute to lift servicing, and upper floors to door entry systems. If a service isn't delivered, we’ll investigate and ensure that any issues are addressed.

Service charges can rise due to factors like increases in fire and building safety requirements, as well as rising costs for materials and parts. Your service charge directly covers the cost of services provided to your block or estate.

You'll receive a breakdown with your rent increase letter showing the estimated amount for each service. These charges are used solely to cover service costs and reinvest in your homes and communities, with no profit made.

New service contracts are set up through a competitive procurement process to ensure we deliver the best service and value for money. We focus on maintaining high standards while keeping costs in check.

Houses on estates may have to pay service charges to cover services not included in the rent, such as tree pruning, gardening, or maintenance of shared areas. These charges help maintain the overall upkeep of the estate and the services you benefit from.

Maintenance and repair charges ensure regular checks and prompt repairs. While we don't offer refunds if equipment fails, we monitor contractors to ensure repairs are carried out quickly.

We’re sorry if we haven’t met the high standards we set ourselves. We encourage you to get in touch with us about anything you’re not happy with so we can understand where we’ve got things wrong and look to improve the situation.