Service charges
As a leaseholder you have an interest in the block which your property is part of and you must therefore contribute to the cost of maintaining the block and any associated services. These are known as service charges. Our annual service charges will be broken down into seven individual charge items:
- Ground Rent
- Administration
- Management
- Buildings Insurance
- Communal Cleaning
- Repairs and Maintenance (minor works)
- Repairs and Maintenance (major works)
Service charges, other than Ground Rent, are billed annually in arrears and are due to be paid on 1 April each year. Ground Rent is billed in advance. Payment for your service charges is requested by way of a formal Ground Rent and Service Charge Demand.
Due to the complexity of the billing process, in particular the need to calculate and categorise repairs costs through to the end of January, the demands are usually issued on, or just after, the 1 April but you will be given 30 days from the date the demand has been issued to pay.
Because payment should be made in full we recommend that you budget for this in advance. The charges are variable but we suggest the following as a minimum guideline:
- £500 for ground rent, management, buildings insurance and communal cleaning
- £250 for general day-to-day repairs and maintenance
- £500 for future major works