Leaseholders and buyers

What is the service charge actually doing?

Enter up to five annual totals. Split out any known one-off cost, see where the movement happened and take the right questions back to the accounts.

Read the service charge guide All practical tools

A person checking a service charge total with a large calculator — Find the year and amount that need explaining.

Your figures

Build up to five years of history.

Use figures for the same flat and comparable annual periods. Rename the periods to match the accounts or demands.

Period labelTotal annual charge£Known one-off element, optional£

What do the budget, accounts or demand say changed?

Your comparisonAdd at least two annual charges.

The change, chart and questions will appear here.

Pattern

See where the change happened.

The bar is the total charge. The figures below it show the one-off amount you entered and the remaining recurring estimate.

Add your annual charges above to draw the chart.

Questions for the documents

Now find out why it moved.

01
Did the budget or accounts separate recurring costs from major works or another one-off item?
02
Did insurance, utilities, staffing or a major contract change in the same period?
03
Did reserve contributions or withdrawals change the annual demand?
04
Does the lease permit each type of charge and the way it was allocated?

Your summary

Keep the figures with the explanation.

Add at least one annual charge before copying the summary.

Add at least one annual service charge to build the summary.

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.

Use the result carefully

What the number cannot tell you

A trend can expose the year that needs explaining. It cannot establish the cause, test whether the lease permits the charge, decide whether the cost is reasonable or predict a lender’s decision.

For a purchase or remortgage, ask the intended lender or broker about the actual property and application. For the charge itself, use the lease, demands, budgets, accounts and supporting documents.

Independent service charge guidance from LEASE