Service charges and ground rent
As a leaseholder, you will be charged for the services we provide to you, as well as the ground rent (if applicable).
If you are liable to contribute, you will receive the bill for your ground rent in April each year along with your estimated service charges. This is set at the figure indicated in your lease.
The services you are charged for will vary depending on where you live, the type of property you have, and the conditions of your lease. If you live on an estate, for example, you will receive more services than if you live in a property on a street.
All leaseholders are charged for:
- buildings insurance
- management fees
- Estate repairs and block repairs
If you live in a block you may also be charged for:
- electricity costs for communal lighting, heating and lifts
- lift repairs and maintenance
- communal television aerial maintenance
- caretaking and concierge services
- maintenance of items such as water tanks, door entry systems, fire alarms, intruder alarms and dry risers
If you live on an estate you could also be charged for:
- maintenance of services such as CCTV and car park barriers
- grounds maintenance
Review the caretaking serviced blocks
Calculating your service charge
If you are living in a block we take the cost of the service to the whole block, and divide the cost according to the number of flats within the block.
If you are living on an estate we take the cost of the service to the whole estate, and divided the cost according to the number of properties on the estate.
You can find more information about how we calculate your service charge in the information sent to you with your estimated and actual charges.
Billing your service charge
Each April, we send you an estimate of how much we think we will spend on your property in the coming financial year (1 April to 31 March). Your bill tells you the date by which you must pay it.
In September we send you details of how much we have actually spent on your property in the previous financial year and a breakdown of that spending.
If we have spent less than we estimated, we will credit your account and this credit will be offset against your future monthly estimate charges. If we have spent more than we estimated, we will send you an additional bill. It will tell you the date by which you must pay it.
For further information on this matter, please contact the Accounts Receivable Team as follows:
- Telephone: 0203 949 7732
