Service charges
Services charges cover the cost of additional services within your tenancy. Here you can find the full list of additional services we provide as a part of your service payment.
Service charges
The service charges we charge are to cover the additional services we provide to you and include the provision of security (including door entry and CCTV), cleaning, heating and lighting in communal areas, as well as grounds maintenance.
Please see below a full list of the additional services we provide as part of your service charge payment.
Please see below a full list of the additional services we provide as part of your service charge payment.
This service is for the annual servicing and maintenance of the digital aerial in a block.
This service is for the servicing, regular cleaning, and maintenance of bin chutes within a block.
This charge includes servicing, repairs, and maintenance of the static CCTV system within a block.
This service is for the caretaker service provided at our blocks. The charge includes such costs as caretaker salaries, rent, agency staff, equipment and uniforms.
This is for the cleaning of all communal areas such sweeping and mopping of the corridors and stairs leading to the properties, and cleaning of the communal door. For sheltered schemes, this will include the cleaning of the communal room, kitchen and communal toilets. This charge also covers salaries, agency staff, cleaning products/supplies, tipping, litter picking, vehicle hire and insurance.
This service is for the electricity supply in the communal areas of the property.
This charge is to cover the costs of future replacement or decoration of the shared community room in our sheltered scheme blocks.
This service is for the communal door of a block. This charge is to cover the cost of maintaining the system including call-outs, repairs and the telephone line.
This charge covers all the maintenance of the grounds within your block and open spaces within your area that may not be maintained by the council. This includes gardeners, salaries, agency staff, equipment, repairs, tipping waste and vehicle hire.
This charge is for the service, maintenance, and repair of the fire alarm system. It also includes the service and replacement of fire extinguishers for your block.
The charge covers the heating of communal areas.
These charges include the cost of the warden call equipment and the Independent Living Advisors' salaries.
This charge covers the servicing contract, insurance, call-outs and repairs to the lifts within your block.
This is 10% of the total cost of eligible service charges. This is to cover the administration of tendering for new contractors, managing contracts, dealing with queries and complaints, checking and paying invoices, and preparing and issuing service charge statements.
This charge is for the service and maintenance of booster pumps, dry risers, electrical testing, lightning conductor service, PAT testing and ventilation service.
This charge applies if you/the tenant has had a phone installed in your home with an agreed time to alert the call centre to confirm safety. If the agreed call is not made, this will be escalated until contact is made to confirm you are OK.
This charge is for the service, maintenance and repairs of the pedestrian and car park gates in your block.
This charge is for the service of the water tanks within your block. It also covers the ongoing maintenance and any repair works that may need to be done, including legionella testing.
This charge is for the window cleaning carried out at our blocks and sheltered schemes.
Variable service charge regime
We only charge you for the cost incurred for delivering our services. Each year we assess how much we expect to spend on providing services to your property, we base this on an estimate of costs, and it includes inflation and reflects the costs charged by our contractors.
These costs are then apportioned (divided) by the number of properties who receive the service. At the end of the financial year, we then review what we have charged you to what it cost us to deliver the services and apply any surplus/deficit adjustments against your charge in the next financial year.
February-March
You will receive a letter advising of your new service charges from April based on estimated costs for the following year.
April
From April the new service charge year starts, and you will begin paying your new service charge price.
May - August
We review expenditure and compile accounts for the previous year ending 31 March.
September
In September, customers will receive service charge statements showing what the services cost compared to what they were charged.
October - November
In October and November, works starts on budget setting for the proposed estimates.