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Service charges

Half yearly service charges accounts for April 2012 to October 2012 were sent out on Monday 30 April. We apologise for them being late on this occasion. We have recently transferred to a new IT system and have encountered technical difficulties in producing the accounts for the first time.

For those not paying their service charges by monthly instalments, your balance is due within 21 days. We would be grateful if your account can be paid in full, by 21 May 2012.

If you pay your service charge by direct debit, please be advised that your instalment for April has not been taken. Your balance will be spread over the next five months from May to September 2012. Alternatively, If you would like to make a payment for April, you may do so using our other payment methods. Your remaining balance will be taken over the next five months.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Service charges

A lease requires that you to pay a share of the cost of managing a block. This includes insuring, maintaining and repairing the exterior and communal parts of the building and providing any other service specified in the lease.

If your block of flats is on an estate, you also have to contribute towards the management and maintenance of the communal estate areas. 

The council is legally obliged to charge leaseholders for their share of its costs and to make sure that the charges it sets are 'reasonable'.

You can view a breakdown of what is on your service charge bill here

The types of services that may be carried out and for which you pay via your service charges are:

all minor repairs	graffiti removal
cleaning	lift health & safety
grounds maintenance/gardening	lift maintenance
communal electricity	hire of paladin bins
concierge	pest control
caretaker	security
	window cleaning

The estate office will upkeep and monitor certain services via planned preventative maintenance (PPM). This will include items such as communal water tanks, fire equipment, electrical circuits and switches, and door entry systems.

Building insurance is also covered in the service charges but not contents insurance (which you have to take out yourself).

We include the latest copy of the Lessee newsletter with your Service Charge accounts. The newsletter contains informative articles relevant to our lessees.   The latest edition was sent out with April's account.

For a comprehensive guide on the council's responsibilities for repairs and improvements (be it day-to-day maintenance or major repair or improvement works), please consult chapter five of the lessee handbook. 

For more information on service charges please consult chapter three and chapter four of the lessee handbook.