Service Charges
What are service charges?
Services Charges are paid with your rent, but not every home has an additional service charge. They are calculated separately from the rent and cover actual costs of services on each property, such as:
- Lighting in Communal Areas (stairs, hallways)
- Cleaning of Communal Areas (inside and outside)
- Grass cutting and Grounds Maintenance
- Window Cleaning
- Cost of renewal of communal items (ie fire equipment, disabled adaptations, lifts, door entry systems, etc)
- Servicing of equipment (ie fire equipment, disabled adaptations, lifts, door entry systems, etc)
- Insurance on communal equipment (ie disabled adaptations, lifts, door entry systems)
- Community Alarm scheme
At the start of your tenancy, and every February afterwards, you receive a breakdown of what services apply to your home. If you have any requests for further services you can contact us at any time with your suggestion.
What’s NOT Included
Service Charges and Rent payments do not normally include:
- Council Tax
- Water Rates
- Gas bills
- Electricity bills
You are responsible for paying any bills for utilities and Council Tax unless we have notified you at sign-up that some of these charges are included in your Service Charges. These will be clearly stated in your Tenancy Agreement/Service Schedule.
There is a lot more information about rents & service charges in the Tenant Handbook that you received at the start of your tenancy.
