As a leaseholder or freeholder, you must pay us your share of the cost of managing, maintaining, repairing, insuring and providing services to the block, house or estate where you live.

Service charges cover:

• cleaning;
• grounds maintenance;
• shared heating and hot water;
• repair and maintenance work;
• shared electricity;
• concierge (if available);
• ground rent;
• building insurance, and management costs.

Every July, we will send you a service charge invoice which lets you know how much you need to pay for the current financial year. If you pay the invoice within 28 days, you can get a 5% discount, or you can pay by 10 instalments.

You can also pay your service charges online.

If you feel that we have worked out some charges incorrectly, you must contact the leasehold management team within six months of getting your invoice. Tell us what you think is wrong and we will look into it.

Please be warned, if you miss any service charge payments, you will be breaking your lease and possibly your mortgage agreement (if you have one). If you fall into debt, we will tell your lender who may decide to pay on your behalf. If this is the case, they will add your service-charge debt to the mortgage you still owe them, and you will pay interest on the charge.

If we do not receive a payment, we will instruct our legal department to start proceedings against you. You will then have to pay extra legal and administration charges. If you do not pay your service charges, you could lose your home.

Relevant services

We will only charge you for the following services if you are receiving them. If you are not sure what you are paying for, please check the details in your invoice.

Shared cleaning and grounds maintenance

We employ outside companies to carry out shared cleaning and grounds maintenance work on all the estates and blocks of flats we manage.

We will consult you before we enter into a new contract. The contractors work to an agreed timetable and work plans are available for most blocks. If they are not in the shared area of your block, you can ask us for a copy.

We work out the charges by dividing the total cost of services by the number of properties that benefit from them.

Electricity

The electricity company sends us an invoice for the cost of electricity used in the shared areas and for other shared electrical services in each block. The total cost is divided by the number of properties in the block that benefit from the service.

District heating and hot water

This represents the cost of shared heating and hot water in your block.

Planned preventative maintenance

• mechanical and electrical (M and E) - This is the planned maintenance for all electrical instalments such as light fittings, electrical switches and timers
• M and E heating and cold-water storage tanks - This is the preventative planned maintenance (PPM) for the shared boilers and for the shared cold-water storage tanks. These tanks and boilers have to be inspected by qualified plumbers at various  stages throughout the year
• lift maintenance - We regularly maintain the lifts. It is part of our preventative planned programme of work.

Receptionists and concierges in tower blocks

Some tower blocks in the borough have a receptionist service to make sure that the block is secure and no unauthorised people can get in.

The concierge will have an officer on duty at certain times during the day and night. These times will be advertised in the entrance hall of your block. We will only charge you if you live in a block which provides
such a service.

Estate roads

These are roads on the estates that are not covered by the Highways Department. Only roads adopted by the Highways Department are paid for by council tax. You will have to pay any costs for maintaining and cleaning unadopted estate roads (through the service charge).