Service charges for leaseholders

You'll need to pay a variable service charge as a leaseholder. Your lease will confirm what this covers. It’s usually a contribution towards the cost of maintaining and repairing the structure of the building like the roof, brickwork and gutters as well as any shared areas like corridors, stairwells, paths and gardens. It also includes a management fee and a charge for buildings insurance. If the block your flat is in contains internal communal areas, your service charge also covers cleaning, electricity, lifts and repairs of these areas. 

The service charge is worked out on a block by block basis. You’ll get your estimated bill in March / April and an accurate bill in September / October.  We look at all costs spent on each block from 1 April to 31 March the following year. These include repairs, and how much services like cleaning and maintenance cost. Your bill will show your share of the costs, which is split equally between the number of homes in your block.  

Service charges should be paid immediately, or you can pay by direct debit as long as the full amount is cleared before the next bill is sent out.

You can pay your service charges on our website: https://www.vicohomes.co.uk/your-home/your-rent-and-how-to-make-a-payment/

As we look at all the costs spent on your block that year, the service charge can change year to year. It’s really important that you budget for your service charge.

• Caretaking and cleaning in multi-storey blocks, including refuse collection and cleaning materials.
• A regular cleaning service for communal areas in low rise blocks 
• Electricity in communal areas, such as staircases and external security lights. Maintaining the lifts, including relevant insurance.
• Buildings insurance for the building you live in.
• Repairs and maintenance for communal areas, including painting of those areas. 
• Environmental works, including grass cutting and ground works on the communal areas of land surrounding your home.
• Management fee, including dealing with insurance claims, calculating and collecting charges, tenancy disputes, antisocial behaviour issues and any other leasehold management issues.
• CCTV in the communal areas.
• Communal window cleaning at low rise blocks on a quarterly basis.

The annual charge for the services you get is calculated by adding up the estimated costs of providing the services, and dividing that by the number of homes in the building.

A simple example would be: 

Cost of service each year - £1,000
Number of homes in the building - 50
Calculation: £1,000 / 50 = £20 cost to each home, each year. 

The service charges are reviewed every year and can go either up or down, depending on the cost of services provided.

If you have any money worries and would like some help or advice, visit the Cash Wise website or speak to our Debt Team by calling us on 01977 724464. 

If you have a question about your service charge that isn’t covered here, please email [email protected] 

Estimate example: 

Actual example: