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. Enter the oldest period first and the newest last. Rename the periods to match the accounts or demands. A blank one-off means nothing is deducted; it does not confirm that there were no one-offs.

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

What do the budget, accounts or demand say changed?

Copy a question for LEASE-iQ →

This tool does not upload or save your figures. They are included only in the text you choose to copy.

Your comparisonAdd at least two annual charges.

The change, chart and summary 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 balance after that deduction. The balance does not establish which costs will recur.

Add at least two 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.

The summary includes the amounts, entered one-offs and your notes. Add at least two annual charges to compare them.

Your service-charge summary

Add at least two annual service charges to build the summary.

Copy into LEASE-iQ

Take your figures straight to the lease.

Copy the question below.
Open LEASE-iQ and choose your uploaded lease.
Paste the question, then check the cited clauses and pages.

Ready to copy now. Your figures and notes will be included when you enter them.

Open LEASE-iQ ↗

New to LEASE-iQ? One residential lease is free, with no one-month limit. Request free access first, then follow the secure upload instructions after confirmation.

Your question, ready to paste

Please read the signed lease I have uploaded, together with any variations I have supplied. Identify the service-charge, allocation, budget, accounts and reserve-fund provisions. Quote the clause and page for each point. Separate what the lease says from current law, my notes and facts needing other evidence. Do not decide liability or tell me to withhold payment.

The question updates as you change your figures. Nothing is sent automatically. You can adapt the text after pasting it into LEASE-iQ.

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