We provide management and maintenance services for your building or estate that everyone benefits from, such as:
- Cleaning shared areas
- Phones
- Lift maintenance
- Heating and hot water
- Lighting in communal areas
- Gardening and grounds maintenance
- Caretakers or concierge services
Your lease or tenancy agreement lists exactly which services you pay for. We collect this money in advance so there are always funds available when services have to be paid for.
We review these charges every year based on what we expect services to cost, so they may go up or down. If you pay service charges, you'll get a detailed breakdown in your annual new charges letter, which will include your rent if applicable.
If you are eligible for benefit support, Housing Benefit and Universal Credit don't cover some charges like heating, hot water, or services they consider "luxury" (such as concierge services or a gym). You'll need to pay for these yourself.
Not everyone pays the same amount for service charges. Your share depends on factors like the size of your home, what services benefit your property, and the terms of your lease or tenancy agreement. Some agreements specify a fixed percentage that we can't change, while others allow us to calculate shares based on what's fair and reasonable. We calculate this as fairly as possible within what your agreement allows, so that people who benefit more from services contribute more to the costs.
Nobody can predict exact maintenance costs before the year begins, so your monthly payments are based on our best estimate. Each year (usually in September), you'll receive a statement showing:
- What we estimated costs would be
- What we actually spent
- Whether there's money left over or additional costs to pay
Several factors cause increases:
- Inflation - The cost of everything rises over time
- Building age - Older buildings need more repairs
- Insurance costs - Building insurance has increased significantly due to fire safety requirements
- Legislative requirements - New checks and maintenance needed to comply with legislation such as the Building Safety Act
- External events - Service charges aren't protected from wider economic impacts, such as utility price increases and labour shortages that affect maintenance costs
We send you the actual costs each September - within six months of our financial year ending. This statement shows the difference between our estimate and what we actually spent.
How much you pay depends on two things: your type of tenancy and your property's share of costs.
Your share is usually based on:
- The size of your home (larger homes typically pay more because they benefit more from shared services)
- The number of bedrooms you have
- What your lease or tenancy agreement says
We follow professional guidelines and best practice to make shares as fair as possible. If you have a bigger home, you're likely to use shared areas more, so you contribute a bit more to their upkeep.
Your tenancy type also affects what you pay for. Leaseholders own a stake in the building, so they contribute to more costs related to the maintenance and upkeep of the property, including structural maintenance, building insurance, and reserve funds - all as set out in their lease agreement. Tenants typically pay for different services as outlined in their tenancy agreement.
If we spend less than estimated, there's money left over. What happens to this surplus depends on what your lease or tenancy agreement says - we either:
- Refund it to your account - as a lump sum for leaseholders or as a Previous Year Balance (PYB) through reduced monthly charges for tenants, or
- Put it into the building's reserve fund for future repairs
The first option is most common, but it's based on what your agreement says and not our choice or yours.
If we spend more than estimated, there's a shortfall. Each resident who pays variable service charges will be billed separately for their share of the extra cost - as a lump sum for leaseholders or added to monthly charges as a Previous Year Balance (PYB) the following year for tenants.
Yes. Even if you only own part of your home through Shared Ownership, you pay 100% of the service charge because you benefit from all the same services as someone who owns their home outright.
You pay your share of electricity costs for:
- Lighting in shared areas like hallways and stairwells
- Outside lighting on your estate
- Powering lifts and entry systems
- Maintaining these electrical systems
- Standing charges from the energy supplier
Electricity bills include:
- Standing charge - A fixed daily fee that covers the cost of maintaining the energy network
- Usage charge - Based on how much electricity was actually used (measured in kilowatt hours)
If we can't get a meter reading, we estimate usage. We're currently installing smart meters for 100% accuracy.
This varies based on your building size and how busy the shared areas are. It's usually once or twice a week. Your local officer can tell you the exact schedule for your building.
Communal gardens are shared facilities available to all residents. You have to contribute to their maintenance whether you choose to use them or not, just like other shared services.
As a freeholder, you don't pay service charges for the maintenance, repair or insurance of your own property - this is your responsibility. However, if your property is on an estate, your transfer documents specify which estate maintenance costs you must contribute to (such as shared roads or green spaces). If you don't have these documents, contact your mortgage provider or the Land Registry.
If we charge for water, we estimate costs based on the previous year's bills. We adjust these if the final bill from the water company is higher or lower than expected. Most residents pay their water company directly.
Yes, your service charge covers general maintenance and repairs to your building, plus buildings insurance and shared services like heating, lifts, concierge, and cleaning shared areas.
We typically only clean communal windows (not your personal property windows) about three times a year. If you have concerns about the quality of service, contact your local officer through your online account.
Housing Benefit: Check your benefit letter or contact your borough benefits team directly.
Universal Credit: Check your monthly statement - it shows exactly why you're not receiving full support.
Write in your Universal Credit claim journal that you want them to pay rent directly to us. You can also tell your housing officer you'd like this arrangement.
Eligible for Housing Benefit/Universal Credit:
- Communal services like lifts, entry doors, gardening, cleaning shared areas.
NOT eligible for Housing Benefit/Universal Credit:
- Personal services like heating/hot water to your home, meals, laundry, personal care, personal alarms.
Write in your Universal Credit claim journal that you want them to pay rent directly to us. You can also tell your housing officer you'd like this arrangement.
Contact your local housing officer immediately if you're having trouble paying. We can:
- Look at payment options available to you
- Provide guidance on managing debt
- Agree on repayment plans
- Connect you with support services
Paying rent and service charges is a priority. Not keeping up with payments can affect your credit rating and could result in losing your home.
If you don't pay or keep to a payment arrangement, we will take legal action which could result in losing your home.
Other consequences include:
- Court orders affecting your credit rating
- Having to pay court and legal costs
- Difficulty transferring to another property
- Being refused re-housing if you lose your home
- Poor payment references affecting future loans or mortgages
Contact your housing officer immediately if you have concerns about payments.
- Estate costs - Shared between everyone on your estate (like grounds maintenance)
- Block costs - Shared between everyone in your building (like lift maintenance)
- Core costs - Shared between people who use specific shared areas (like entrance hall cleaning)
You might pay into all three depending on where you live and what services you use.