Homeowner Service Charge breakdown

*Service charges currently under review*

Here is a list of the services we provide. You only pay for the services and work for your block and estate, including our management services. The services you are charged for are shown on your annual service charge bill including the cost for each service.

Bulk Household Waste Removal

This is a regular service provided to collect large waste items generated by residents living on housing estates to an authorised disposal site. Please note that this service does not apply to street properties only properties on housing estates. 

Caretaking

We clean and take care of the shared areas inside the building. It includes: reporting damage to shared areas, washing shared areas, replacing light bulbs and covers to lights in shared areas, making sure that communal areas in buildings are safe, sweeping and cleaning lifts, dealing with blocked rubbish chutes where possible, working with antisocial behaviour team to tackle antisocial behaviour which affects the building & estate. 

Communal heating

You are charged for this service if your property is connected to a central boiler shared by a number of properties.

Communal heating repairs

This is the cost of repairs carried out to the communal heating system. 

Communal lighting 

This service includes all shared lighting in the block, for instance in corridors and stairwells. We work out the charge for shared lighting by dividing equally the cost of electricity used to provide lighting to entrances, staircases and shared areas between all the properties that benefit. It does not include the cost of repairs as we charge for these separately. We use the bills we receive from the energy company for your building to work out the charges.

Drying Room rent

If you have purchased a lease for a former drying room, this is your ground rent for that lease. 

Entry phone

This is the maintenance charge for the entry phone system.

Grounds maintenance

The service includes maintaining grassed areas, flower beds etc. As a leaseholder, we charge you for your share of the costs for those areas that benefit your estate.  When working out the service charge we divide the total cost for the area by the number of properties benefiting from the service. In some cases the block will not be part of an estate. If this is the case, the costs will be for maintaining the green areas around the block.

Ground rent

This is charged in accordance with the terms of your lease and in most cases is £10 per annum. 

Common parts buildings insurance 

This is your contribution towards the cost of insuring the shared areas including the structure and outside, known as the 'reserved' property. You are responsible for insuring your leasehold property defined as the 'demised' premises in your lease under separate cover.

Lift

This service includes regular checks, servicing and maintenance, and call-outs to repair a broken-down lift.

Management

Only costs which leaseholders benefit from are included in the management charge. There is a different level of management charge for flats in converted street properties and flats in blocks. This is because street properties receive fewer services so less staff time is needed to calculate charges and manage the accounts.

You will notice that the housing management charge appears differently on your breakdown this year. This is because we’ve combined your housing management charges. It includes:

• Leaseholder Involvement For your estimated charges, we haven’t included a resident involvement cost. This is because our resident involvement service has changed. Leaseholders still have the opportunity to be involved in Tenant and Residents Associations (TRA’s) Resident Engagement and Resident Scrutiny Panels, apply for Board positions and training opportunities. If the service provided changes over the course of the year, this will be reflected in your actual costs.
• Antisocial Behaviour Service (ASB) This team work to make you feel safe and secure in and around your home and you can find out more about how they work here.
• Customer Services We have a customer service team who work in our office reception, answer telephone calls and deal with incoming mail. Office space, telephone and online services. Your charge also covers the costs of the facilities available for you to access in our offices, like telephone and online services.

Pest control

This is the service provided to buildings where there are known problems with pests such as cockroaches, pharaoh ants or rats. A service charge is made where treatment of the whole block is required. If only some properties in a building need treatment the individual resident who needs the service pays for the work.

General building & estate repairs 

This service is the day-to-day repairs and maintenance work we carry out to the structure and shared parts of your building and the estate. Although we carry out repairs with our own workforce, there are instances where we appoint specialist contractors to carry out the work. Building maintenance includes work to: shared parts, for example, the roof, shared doors, main storage tanks etc.; drains and gutters, including jetting, rubbish chutes’ clearance; repairs to shared lighting; and estate roads and paths.

Working out the service charge for building maintenance 

We divide the cost of the work, plus the overheads of running the service, by the number of properties in the building or on the estate. In some cases the repair may only be relevant to one part of an estate, in which case we take this into account in the calculation.

Store shed rent 

This is the annual rent for the store shed you rent from us.

Sweeping

This charge is only for estate roads and paths that are not part of the highways. Where the road is a highway, you pay for this service in your Council tax. 

Technical servicing and repairs

This is the cost for repairs and maintenance for communal water tanks, air vents, lightning conductors, fire safety equipment, electrical mains, Digital IRS /TV aerials. 

Communal window cleaning

We carry out a window cleaning service for windows in communal (shared) areas. This work is carried out by a contractor appointed by Lewisham Homes. The cost of providing the service for your block is divided by the number of properties in the block. Each communal (shared) window is cleaned twice per year.