What are service charges?
Your service charge is a payment that helps cover the cost of shared services and repairs.
For example, if you live in a block of flats with a shared garden, your service charge pays for its upkeep. This is because the garden is for everyone to use and doesn’t belong exclusively to any one resident.
Your tenancy agreement explains exactly what’s included in your service charge.
How we work out your charges
I’m a variable service charge payer
Every year we estimate the cost of providing your services. It’s what we think the cost will be for the year ahead, based on the information we have (for example, how much we spent last year).
Here’s how it works:
- At the end of February, we’ll send you an estimate for services from April to March.
- In September we’ll then check the estimate against the actual costs.
- If we charged you less than we actually spent, we’ll ask you to pay the difference.
- And if we charged you more than we actually spent, we’ll send you the amount we owe you.
The type of tenancy you have determines whether any debt owed (either to us or to you) will be settled right away, or carried over into the next year.
If you rent your home and move during the year, please make sure any debt is settled up before you leave.
We do our best to make sure that our estimate is accurate, and you’ll only ever pay the true cost of services - we don’t make a profit from service charges.
And your service charge is always split into weekly or monthly payments, so you’ll never get it as one big bill.
I’m a fixed service charge payer
Each year, we work out the cost of maintaining your neighbourhood and set the service charge for that area. We’ll let you know your new service charge in February.
That fixed service charge will stay the same throughout the year – so we’ll never under or over charge you (or have to make up the difference).
Your service charge letter explained
Each year, you’ll get a letter from us with details of your new rent and service charges.
This letter tells you:
- What your new rent will be
- A clear breakdown of the services you pay for
- Your home’s share of the service charge costs
It’s important to check your letter carefully so you know what’s changing and when your new charges start. If you have any questions, we’re here to help.
Help if you’re struggling to pay
If you’re worried about paying your rent or service charges, let us know as soon as possible so we can try and help.
We can offer advice around:
- managing debt and budgeting
- benefits and employment support
- financial help that may be available to you
You can also use our benefits calculator to check you’re not missing out on extra money from the government.
We know it can be stressful to fall behind on payments, but if you work with us to handle the debt then you won’t be at risk of losing your home.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Take a look at our full list of service charges.
Need help with any of the terms we use?
Our service charge glossary explains them all.
How to pay
We have several ways to pay, to make it easy to stay on top of your service charge payments.
Why do I pay a service charge as well as rent?
Your rent covers the services we provide for your home. It includes things like repairs and dealing with anti-social behaviour (ASB).
Your service charge, on the other hand, covers shared services outside your home. These are usually for all residents in your block or neighbourhood – for example, lifts, communal cleaning or grounds maintenance.
Can I challenge my service charges?
If you disagree with part of your service charge, let us know which part and why.
While we look into it, you still need to pay the rest of your charges. We’ll aim to get back to you within 28 days with the outcome.
If we agree with your dispute, we’ll reduce or remove the charge.
If we don’t, the charge will still need to be paid.
If you’re not happy with our decision, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) or a County Court to review it. You might want to get independent legal advice before doing this.
Need to raise a dispute? Contact us
Why do I pay an administration charge?
Your administration charge covers our costs for managing the services we provide. It includes things like:
- tendering for new contractors
- managing contracts for services like cleaning and grounds maintenance
- handling questions and complaints
- checking and paying invoices
- Preparing, calculating and sending service charge statements
What’s a Section 20B notice?
A Section 20B notice is a legal document we must send you if we can’t tell you your final service charge within 18 months of when we spent the money.
The notice lets you know there’s been a delay and tells you the total cost for your block or estate (we call that space your ‘scheme’).
It doesn’t include your individual share yet – we’ll send that later with your final service charge statement.
For example:
We currently think that the total cost for your scheme from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 is £100,000.
This is the full amount for the whole scheme. We won’t know your individual share until we complete the final statement.
What’s a cost evidence pack?
So that we can show you that the services we charge you for happened, we collect proof of the work that was completed and how much it cost.
We then send that to you in a ‘cost evidence pack.’
It includes:
- a breakdown of costs
- copies of bulk invoices or individual orders, depending on the size of the area the service covered
You can read more about bulk invoices below.
What’s a bulk invoice?
Sometimes the invoice in your cost evidence pack might cover a wider area than just your block.
These bigger invoices are called ‘bulk invoices,’ and we use them whenever we hire a contractor (for example, a repair team) to manage several estates in one go, rather than signing lots of individual contracts.
A bulk invoice works the same way as a normal invoice and won’t affect how much you pay or the service you get.
Do I need to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about any changes to my service charges?
If you get housing benefit or Universal Credit and your service charges change, you’ll need to let the DWP know straightaway.
They’ll reassess your payments, which may take a little time. That’s normal, so don’t worry.
You can find more information on housing benefit or Universal Credit on the DWP website.