PrintWhat are Service Charges?
All residents are required to pay their share of the cost of maintaining and managing their building and communal spaces. Charges to leaseholders and tenants are calculated the same way and broadly speaking depend on size. For example, with 10 equally sized flats in a block, 5 rented and 5 leaseheld, each would pay the same one tenth of the overall cost. Tenants’ service charges are attached to their rent, leaseholders are billed separately. The lease defines how costs are shared out.
What do you pay for?
Your service charges cover: ground rent, buildings insurance repairs and maintenance including open spaces, cleaning, communal electricity e.g. lighting, CCTV security, pest control, management fee, and where appropriate, lifts, heating and other shared facilities.How do you pay?
The bill is calculated annually from 1st April to the following 31st March and CTH offers a number of ways of settling the bill. The bill must be fair: leaseholder are entitled to see how the bill has been calculated and can question the value. CTH’s Home Ownership Team will deal directly with leaseholders in the case of a dispute but if leaseholders remain dissatisfied independent arbitration is available from the Leaseholders Valuation Tribunal (LVT).
What happens if you don’t pay?
If the LVT declares the service charge as fare and the leaseholder still refuses to pay, the court can authorise forfeiture of the lease.
For more information on this please contact Avril Shepherd or Sherisse Powell-Grant, your Home Ownership Team, via email or by calling into the Housing Office.
