Rent and service charges paid by our residents are key to maintaining our buildings and land to high standards. So it’s vital you pay, and we collect all the charges you owe. If you need more information, please contact us.
- Ground rent
This is a rent payable to the landlord. It’s a specific requirement of your lease agreement and must be paid on the due date. This increases as outlined in the terms of your lease.
- Service charge
An annual charge payable by the leaseholder for services rendered. The terms of your service charge are outlined in your lease and set out what you’ll receive in return for what you pay. We’re responsible for maintaining our buildings and looking after the shared areas in and around our blocks. Residents (including leaseholders and freeholders) contribute to the cost of this through their service charge.
What's included?
The services you receive depend on where you live and may include the following:
- Cleaning and maintaining communal areas, including lighting, water and heating where applicable
- Caretaking and security
- Repairs and improvements
- Lift maintenance
- Maintaining door and gate-entry systems
- Grounds maintenance
- Audit fees
- Bin hires
- Estate management fees
- Communal building insurance
- Reserve fund towards the cost of routine repairs or major works.
Service charges are separate from any ground rent you pay, and the amount you pay is set out in your lease. It’s based on the size of your property or the percentage specified in your lease for services we provide to you and your estate.
We do not make a profit on service charges and do all we can to keep charges reasonable.
How we calculate service charges
We charge leaseholders a variable service charge, as set out in their lease agreement. We estimate their service charge cost first, and charge them this amount at the beginning of the financial year. Then, at the end of the financial year, we work out the actual cost and compare the difference. If the actual cost is less, we credit your account. If it’s more, we ask you to pay the difference.
There are lots of reasons why the initial estimated service charge changes during the year. We try to be as accurate as possible, but some costs are hard to estimate, for example, utilities costs.
We’ll send you a written statement showing your service charge income and expenditure no later than 30 September each year.
Paying your service charge
Find out about the various ways to pay your service charge here.
If you do not pay, you’re in breach of your lease and could lose your home.
Section 20 consultation
We’ll always give you plenty of notice of any bills. If we plan to spend over £250 on a single repair on the estate, or a new service contract will cost you £100 a year or more, we’ll consult you first. This consultation process is known as Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended). When we issue the final bill and depending on its size, we’ll give you different payment options, if you can show you’re unable to pay the bill in full.
What happens if I don’t pay my service charge?
If your invoice remains unpaid for 30 days, and you haven’t set up a direct debit or agreed a payment plan with us, we’ll be in touch to discuss why you haven’t paid. If you still don’t pay us, we’ll recover the debt according to the terms of your lease. If we need to, we’ll pass your account to external solicitors or contact your mortgage provider.
We may take possession proceedings against you, which could result in you losing your home.
Challenging your service charge
If you spot an issue with your bill, contact us. We provide a document called 'Your Rights and Responsibilities' with each bill, which sets out how to challenge your bill.
