Service charges in England

A service charge needs more than a total.

Start with what the lease allows. Then separate the amount, the standard of the work and the evidence behind the bill.

The building evidence belongs beside the document.

Start here

Three questions before the argument starts.

Does the lease allow this cost?

Find the charging clause, the service or work it covers, the payer and the method used to calculate that leaseholder's share.

Was the cost reasonably incurred?

For a variable residential service charge, section 19 limits recovery to costs reasonably incurred. A high figure alone does not settle that question.

Was the service or work reasonable?

Where the charge relates to services or works, the standard matters too. Keep specifications, invoices, reports and the outcome separate from the demand paperwork.

Work through it

Read the papers in this order.

01
The lease
Identify the exact cost category, apportionment clause, payment date and any requirement for budgets, accounts or certification.
02
The demand
Check who issued it, the landlord and service-address information, the rights summary and the period or cost it covers.
03
The evidence
Match the amount to the budget, accounts, invoice, contract, consultation record and evidence that the work or service was delivered.
04
The live issue
State the point still in dispute. It may be lease authority, reasonableness, timing, consultation or simply missing information.

Take the next step in LEASE-iQ

Can this cost be recovered through my lease?

Use this for a charge, budget increase, reserve-fund contribution or disputed service.

Ready to copy

Questions to paste into LEASE-iQ

I have uploaded the signed lease for the relevant flat. Please analyse whether the following cost can be recovered from this leaseholder: [describe the cost, service, work, period and amount].

Please:
1. Identify the landlord, tenant and any management company or other relevant party in this lease.
2. Find every clause and schedule that may authorise, limit or exclude this cost. Quote the short relevant wording and give the clause and page.
3. Explain the cost category, payment date, apportionment method and any budget, account, certification or reserve-fund requirements in the lease.
4. Separate what the lease says from what current law may add, qualify or override.
5. State what the lease cannot prove, including whether the cost was incurred, the work was done, the amount was reasonable or the demand paperwork was correct.
6. Give the strongest reasonable reading against recovery as well as the reading in favour.
7. Finish with one of: supported, partly supported, ambiguous or not found. List the documents and facts I should check next before anyone decides whether the charge is payable.

Keep checking: The lease can show the charging route. It cannot prove the amount, standard of work or demand paperwork on its own.

Open the sources

Check the lease, the amount and the evidence.

This guide organises the questions. It does not decide whether a particular charge is payable. A disputed case depends on the lease, the facts and the evidence, and may require tribunal or professional advice.

LegislationLandlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 18

Meaning of service charge

LegislationLandlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 19

Reasonably incurred costs and reasonable standard

Independent guidanceLeasehold Advisory Service

Current independent guide to service charges

Sources and current-law status checked 18 August 2026. Legislation links are the controlling sources. Guidance helps explain the route but does not replace the statute or the lease.

Practical tool

Check the demand paperwork

Record what is present, missing or uncertain without generating a pay or withhold verdict.

Open the tool

Three questions before the argument starts.

Does the lease allow this cost?

Was the cost reasonably incurred?

Was the service or work reasonable?

Read the papers in this order.

The lease

The demand

The evidence

The live issue

Can this cost be recovered through my lease?

Check the lease, the amount and the evidence.

Check the demand paperwork

Related guides and tools.