Service Charges and What you should expect to pay

A service charge is a charge that leaseholders pay to the landlord/freeholder or sometimes a management company to cover the cost of services provided under the lease. The charge is often payable yearly, twice yearly or sometimes quarterly. Here, Beyond Conveyancing’s Steph Nield breaks down what you can expect from your service charge.

What does it cover?

The landlord’s power to recover the service charge from you is set out in the lease. They can only therefore recover costs if the lease contains provision for this. The works covered will depend on the property and the estate that it is contained within, but examples of the services included are:

Maintenance and repair of the exterior of the building, roof, foundations, guttering and communal drains
Lift maintenance
Maintenance of entry doors and gate systems
Central heating or lighting of communal areas
Window cleaning
Insurance of the building (not including contents)
Management fees
Upkeep of the communal areas e.g., gardening and cleaning
Luxury facilities such as on-site swimming pools and gyms

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