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Find out what your service charge covers, how much it costs and how we work out your fees.
Your service charge covers the day-to-day running costs of services at your building or estate, like cleaning communal areas, maintaining the lawn in shared gardens, running CCTV and testing fire alarms.
The amount you need to pay for your service charge can change each year depending on how much work is needed. We’ll write to you and let you know how much your service charge will cost each year.
If your service charges changes, and you pay your service charge automatically by Direct Debit, this will update automatically.
You can see how much your service charge is in your tenancy agreement, which you can find in My Account.
Most service charges are either fixed or variable.
Occasionally a service charge will have elements of fixed and variable which is called a hybrid charge.
If you pay a fixed service charge, the amount you pay is set.
The amount you pay will be reviewed every year. This is set out in your tenancy agreement or lease.
If you pay a variable service charge, the amount you pay is based on our estimated cost for services, which we send out every year.
We then review at the end of the financial year, usually in April, and create an annual statement which we’ll send you.
Leaseholders and freeholders on a variable service charge will be told how much they have to pay by annual statement, which we’ll send out within six months of the end of the financial year, usually April. The statement will also include any payment needed for major repairs completed during the year.
Leaseholders also have to pay fees, including the independent audit of scheme costs where it is required by the lease.
What your service charge pays for depends on where you live. Some of these services include:
Even though you already pay for bills to cover the cost of energy use in your home, you must also pay the energy bill costs in your service charge. This is to ensure we can run things like lights inside your block, external lighting for pathways and car parks, and heat communal areas.
The gardening costs in your service charge relate to the maintenance of the communal outdoor spaces where you live, like cutting the grass on shared lawns or maintaining paved areas. This doesn’t include your garden.
We review our service charges every year and use this information to estimate how much we think your services will cost in the coming year.
We then divide up the cost fairly between the homes that benefit from these services and apply a service charge according to the terms in your tenancy agreement or lease.
It’s normal to pay a different service charge, even if you live in the same building.
Some of the reasons for this might be:
Management charges or administration fees are a necessary part of your service charge. They help us:
If your service charge changes, you need to let the right authority know so they can reassess your claim.
