We include a breakdown of costs in your Service Charge statement, but here we have explained what some of the main headings cover.
For information on our administration fee, see the page Administration fee in this section.
The cleaning and removal of litter from your building or estate, including the stairs, landings, lobby areas, lifts, internal communal windows and bin stores.
The grounds maintenance of the external communal areas relating to your building or estate. This includes the cost of maintaining any communal green spaces, shrubs, plant beds, and parking and hardstanding areas.
The external communal window cleaning of your building.
The cost of supplying electricity for lifts, communal lighting, door entry systems and any external lighting.
The repair and maintenance of communal heating equipment, for example communal boilers and HIUs (Heat Interface Units).
The charge for the supply of communal water for cleaning of bin stores, communal windows and grounds maintenance.
The legally required Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) of the communal parts of your building. FRAs are carried out at regular intervals. The cost varies between building, dependent on the type and level of assessment required.
The servicing and maintenance of any fire alarms, smoke alarms, emergency lighting, fire extinguishers and other H&S equipment located in the communal areas of your building.
The regular servicing and health and safety checks. This cost also includes any maintenance and repairs to your lifts.
The maintenance and repair of the door entry systems provided to your building.
The maintenance, repair and servicing of any communal gate systems provided to your estate.
The prevention of and treatment for pests in the internal and external communal areas of your building or estate.
The cost of pruning and lopping of any trees located in the external communal areas of your building or estate.
The provision of any services or works relating to Health and Safety undertaken to your building or estate.
The testing of any portable appliances or fixed wire testing in the communal areas of your building.
The testing of water supplies and storage tanks/systems in order to combat Legionella.
The servicing and maintenance of any water pumps located at your building or estate.
The costs associated with any bin hire arrangements.
This covers the removal of bulk refuse and fly tipping from your building or estate.
All responsive repairs undertaken to your building or estate. It does not include planned maintenance or major works as you will have been notified of these costs separately with a Section 20 Consultation Notice before works start.
Where an external managing agent is responsible for full or partial provision of services or works to your building or estate, these costs will be listed under this heading.
As the freeholder of your building, we are required to insure your building. The premium covers repair and rebuild costs in the event of an insured event such as fire, escape of water or storm damage. Where a managing agent is involved, the insurance costs will be included in your third-party managing agent charge.
Every year we are required to have service charges at larger blocks audited by an independent auditor, who will check that our accounts are in compliance with our financial requirements. An Audit Report is enclosed with your Actuals Letter where this applies.
This charge provides cover for future major works to your building such as cyclical decorations, roof and window replacement. The funds collected are held in an interest-bearing account, with any interest accrued being added to your reserve fund balance each year. A reserve fund statement is provided with your Actual Statement, showing the current balance at year end.