A service charge is a payment made by a leaseholder or tenant towards the costs of providing services such as repairs, maintenance, insurance and management costs.

Your charges will vary according to the services you receive. Our leaseholders pay a variable service charge which means that each year we will give you an estimate of what we think the cost will be for providing these services.

At the end of the year we work out the actual costs and send you a statement showing how this compares to the previous estimate. If the amount is higher than the estimate we will either carry this forward so that it is paid with future charges or ask you to pay the difference at the time. This will depend on your lease. If it is lower we will carry this forward and take off the charge for the following year or refund you depending on the terms of your lease.

Generally, we will charge you for each financial year from 1st April but this will be confirmed in your lease. We will let you know the estimated charge for the year ahead at least one month before the charge changes and will send you a statement six months after the end of each financial year, letting you know how much we have spent on services provided to you.

In some cases a management company may provide services. Where this happens we generally pay their invoice and then pass this cost on to you. This might be called ‘Third Party Service Charge Managing Agent Fee’ or ‘estate management cost’. Your lease will give you more information about any management companies who are involved in providing services where you live.

If you think you are paying an unreasonable amount for your service charge you have the right to challenge this. In the first instance please speak to you home ownership officer to discuss your concerns.