FAQ'S

Many leases provide for the collection of sums in advance to create a reserve or 'sinking' fund to ensure that sufficient money is available for future scheduled major works, such as external decorations or lift replacement. The lease will set out when regular, cyclical or maintenance works are due.

Contributions to the reserve fund are not repayable when the flat is sold.

Ground Rent is the rent that all Leaseholders pay to the owner of the land (the Freeholder or Head lessee). Terms for this payment will be set out clearly in your lease. Ground Rent is strictly payable in accordance with those terms - normally annually or half yearly.

In layman's terms, the physical space would normally be a flat in a residential building and the lease, a legal document signed by both landlord and lessee.

The lease which is normally for 99 or 125 years outlines the obligations for both parties and will usually state the price originally paid for the flat.

The lessee will be legally obliged to pay the Ground Rent strictly in accordance with the terms of the lease.

The amount of Ground Rent due can vary in each property. For example, a 2 bedroom flat held on a 99 year lease granted in 1962 may have a Ground Rent due of only £10 per annum paid annually in arrears. However, a 2 bedroom flat held on a 99 year lease granted in 2003 could easily have a Ground Rent of £200 per annum paid annually in advance.

On a newly built block of flats the developer will decide what annual ground rent to impose on each flat together with an asking price.

All flat buyers would be well advised, therefore, to take detailed legal advice on their leasehold obligations before purchasing a flat in a residential development.

Service charges are payments made by the leaseholder for all services which will include maintenance and repairs, insurance of the building and, in some cases, provision of central heating, lifts, porterage, lighting and cleaning of common areas etc. Usually the charges will also include the costs of management by the professional managing agent.

Service charges can vary from year to year; they can go up or down without any limit other than that they are reasonable.

Details of what can (and cannot) be charged by the landlord and the proportion of the charge to be paid by the individual leaseholder will all be set out in the lease.

All costs must be met by the leaseholders. Most modern leases allow for the collection service charges in advance, repaying any surplus or collecting any shortfall at the end of the year.

All service charge payments we receive are paid into an independent client bank account. These client funds are held in a separate account from other properties we manage. At the end of the financial year for each block, independent accountants we have appointed produce an income and expenditure statement outlining the total service charges received for the year against the total expenditure. At the bottom of the statement it will clearly show how much money is left in the service charge fund.

The accounts are produced in accordance with the Landlord & Tenant Act and our Client Bank Accounts are regulated by the RICS Code of Conduct.

An annual budget including expenditure cost estimates is prepared and agreed for each estate prior to the start of its financial year. The Service Charges required to fund this anticipated expenditure is calculated and issued to each leaseholder along with expenditure and details.

Individual properties and lease particulars can vary considerably making comparisons of Service Charges difficult. In summary:

You cannot compare apples with oranges and there are probably good reasons for the two charges being very different. Here are some typical reasons:

1. You may have a more comprehensive set of services funded through your service charge (e.g. site manager, all windows cleaned, lifts, car parking, entry systems etc.).
2. Does your friend's service charge include sinking funds as ours usually does? If not, their charge is likely to fluctuate dramatically from year to year as large expenditure falls due.
3. How many apartments are in your friend's block? Small blocks tend to have a higher maintenance charge per flat and overall maintenance costs are often disproportionately expensive because the cost is shared by fewer lessees, rather than being spread across a large number. For example, a roof repair provided for only 4 flats is expensive compared to the same facility provided for 20.
4. Do you have extensive gardens or is your block an older building? If so, your service charge could be adversely affected.
5. What size is your apartment? Service charge is often calculated by reference to the floor area of your apartment. If you own a two bedroom apartment and your friend owns a studio apartment then this can make a significant difference.

Yes. As part of the contract of sale there should have been an agreement that the previous owner of your property would still be liable for a proportion of any balancing charge. Indeed, the solicitor that acted for the previous owner may have kept back a sum of money from the sale (retention) to cover this additional charge. We recommend that you contact your solicitor as soon as you receive our invoice in order that any recovery of monies due to you can be made.

It may be for any number of reasons.

The cost of providing maintenance services to your property or estate is assessed annually but is initially based upon our knowledge and experience with other similar properties. In future years we have the benefit of actual expenditure but even so there are some matters that are impossible to accurately predict. The costs of repairs in one year may be minimal but may be quite substantial in the next year. Additionally, we may have to take into account outside influences such as changes in Government legislation which have recently led to substantial increases in the costs of providing management services generally.

That aside, it is often difficult to accurately predict the levels of expenditure in the first year or two of a new development. As a consequence there may be increases in the costs of providing certain services for the first few years until the development is completed.

Of course, the contractors who provide services to your property will normally increase their prices yearly to cover their inflationary costs. Specifically, and following September 11 2001, insurance companies, having regard to global climate changes, the increase in personal injury claims etc., have had no option but to review insurance premiums irrespective of specific claims made under buildings insurance policies. In most cases this has led to large increases in premiums.

Yes. You should pay all of the charges due on the property prior to any sale taking place. To protect the purchaser's interests, their solicitor must establish that there are no debts outstanding on the property. Part of the usual pre-sale enquiries that solicitors make, is to ask if there are charges due or outstanding against the property. If you have not paid in full it will, in most cases, delay completion of the sale of your property. Your own solicitor will apportion any money due back to you in the final completion statement.

You can pay by cheque (by post), visa, standing order, or bank transfer. Please see the "make a payment" page.

It is the leaseholder's obligation to pay the service charges and ground rent promptly under the terms of the lease. If they are not paid and the landlord is able to show that the charges are reasonable, then he can begin forfeiture proceedings. If approved by a court, this can lead to the landlord repossessing the flat. However, under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, the right of the landlord will be restricted.

Please write to advise us of any change of correspondence address.

For legal reasons we cannot accept such advice over the telephone. You must write to our administration department who will then make the necessary amendments.

Please contact us. The ownership of most properties is recorded at the Land Registry. There are often restrictions to prevent registration without a certificate from the freeholder. The intention being to safeguard the interests of a new purchaser from inherited arrears of service charge. If you contact us, we will advise you if your solicitor has applied for a certificate or not and if there are any matters that are preventing the issue of a certificate.

We're very sorry you feel the need to complain.

We've made it very simple for you to do. Just follow this link to our page to make a complaint.

Make a complaint here