Service charges
A service charge is a payment you make to cover our costs of providing and maintaining services for areas you share with other people who are not part of your household.
What the service charge covers
The service charge you pay depends on the type of services provided, and whether:
- You live in a house, flat or maisonette
- There are shared gardens or other shared areas where you live
If you live in a house and pay a service charge, this charge will most likely be for us to look after shared areas and gardens where you live.
The headings you will see on your service charge statement may include:
- Grounds maintenance (including gardening)
- Cleaning (for shared areas)
- Heating and lighting (for shared areas)
- Lift servicing (maintenance and repairs)
- Security systems (maintenance and repairs, including door entry phones or intercoms)
If you live in a flat or maisonette, you may also pay us for looking after the shared areas and gardens on your estate. You will also have charges which are specific to the block you live in. These could be for carrying out routine maintenance and repairs to your block and any shared areas, providing lighting and heating in these shared areas, and cleaning them.
If we insure the building you live in, you may also have to pay your share of the buildings insurance.
Whatever type of property you live in, your service charge will also include a management fee (which covers our costs in providing these services to you) and an audit fee (which is your proportion of the cost of us having our accounts audited - officially inspected - before we give them to you).
Please note that in some circumstances your service charge may also cover additional areas to those listed above. Please refer to your tenancy agreement or lease, or contact us for more details.
Do you have a query?
If you would like to query an item listed on your service charge statement, please complete our online service charge query form.