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South Tyneside Homes

South Tyneside Homes Putting housing at the heart of South Tyneside Contact us - South Tyneside Homes 0191 423 4000 Fix it 0800 694 6900
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Services charges and ground rent

What is a service charge?

A service charge is a payment you have to make towards the landlord’s costs of providing services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance and management in relation to the building where your flat is. If your block of flats is on an estate, you also contribute towards managing and maintaining the shared areas of the estate. Service charges may be actual or estimated costs. We split service charges fairly between all the flats in the building. It is important to note that the cost of the services to tenants is not subsidised in any way by leaseholders. We pay the percentage relating to properties we do not let on long leases. Tenants contribute to some of the charges through the rent they pay.

Service charges

The rights of a landlord to collect service charges must be set out in the lease. If the lease does not contain a clause on paying service charges, we cannot collect them. We explain some of the services such as insurance and maintenance in more detail elsewhere in this handbook. The council, as freeholder, is responsible for maintaining the structure and exterior of the whole building and the communal areas such as halls and stairways. The costs incurred by the council are passed back to you on a proportional basis through the service charge.

Ground rent

This is the charge you pay once a year to reflect the fact that the building containing your home is owned by the council. The charge is an annual payment as detailed in your lease.

What do the service charges include?

  • Day to day repair/maintenance – routine repairs.
  • Electricity – cost of lighting communal areas.
  • Landscaping – upkeep of landscaped areas around the block.
  • Caretaking services – these include inspecting the estate and building where you live, reporting faults, cleaning areas as shown on your local schedule, picking up litter, moving rubbish bins and carrying out bulk refuse collections.
  • Maintenance of fire alarms/extinguishers in communal areas
  • Maintenance of door entry systems.
  • Lifts – maintenance and repair.
  • Major work service charges - these are for large work projects, such as renewing windows or roofs, redecorating the outside of the building, and inside and shared parts. The services you receive will depend on where you live.
  • Shared TV aerial – keeping a shared television aerial in working order. You have to pay even if you choose not to use it.
  • Door-entry system – maintaining remote controlled door-entry systems if these services are in place, including regular visits under a planned maintenance contract.
  • Door-entry system – maintaining remote controlled door-entry systems if these services are in place, including regular visits under a planned maintenance contract.
  • Management fee – this is the cost of calculating and issuing invoices and other financial information, together with the cost of running the services detailed above.

How can I pay leasehold charges?

We offer a number of different ways to pay to make paying your service charge as easy as possible.

  • Direct Debit - If you have a bank account this is the easiest way to pay your service charge. Payments can be debited monthly from your account. To find out how you can pay by Direct Debit contact your local Housing Office.
  • Standing order - Simple to set up. A regular payment can be sent by your bank to your service charge account. If you pay monthly, it must be in advance. Your estate officer will explain how to set up a standing order, provide you with the relevant forms and help you fill them in.
  • Housing Office - You can pay your service charge in cash, by debit card or by cheque to the cashiers at your local Housing Office or at Gordon House. Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to ‘South Tyneside MBC’. The offices can receive cash between 9.00 am and 4.00pm (3.30 pm on Fridays) except Whitburn (1.00 pm - 4.30pm, and 3.30 pm on Fridays).
  • Swipe card - If you want to pay your service charge this way, all you need to do is go into one of the approved outlets and tell them how much you want to pay. They will accept your money and swipe your card through their system. You will be given a receipt as proof of payment. The payment is credited to your rent account.
  • Debit card - Customers who wish to use their debit card to pay their service charge can use it at any Housing Office or at Gordon House.
  • By post - You can pay your service charge by post if this is easier. Please do not send cash through the post. Make cheques and postal orders payable to ‘South Tyneside MBC’ and send them to your local Housing Office.

For more information on service charges, please see section 7 of the Leaseholder Handbook