If you own shares in your home through shared ownership, a service charge is paid as your contribution to the cost of services provided on your scheme. Your lease or agreement will explain exactly what services are provided via your service charge, as well as your obligations to pay. You will need to check your lease for the exact services covered, but they could include:
- Day to day maintenance
- Cleaning of communal areas
- Lighting of common parts
- Repairs
- Heating and hot water
- Lift maintenance
- House manager
- Gardening/grounds maintenance
- Building insurance
- Emergency call/alarm systems
- Management charges
- Audit fee
We review our homeowner service charges annually.
At the end of each financial year, we provide you with a summary of expenditure incurred during the previous year. In summary, we compare the estimate of providing the services against the actual cost. The variance shown can either be a surplus or a deficit.
A surplus means the cost has been less than estimated. The amount will be credited to your account and may be offset against a payment. A deficit means we have incurred costs higher than estimated and an invoice will be issued for payment. This must be paid within 14 days.
Arrears of Service Charge
It is part of your agreement with us to pay your service charge promptly on demand. If you default on your service charge, it means that there will not be enough money to deliver the services to the development. If you are having a problem with payment for whatever reason, get in touch with our team.
Where necessary we will take action to recover arrears. Your home may ultimately be at risk if payments are not made.
