Tenant service charges
In October 2020, the housing service was brought back in-house. Since then, the housing team has been working hard to make your homes and estates better places to live. Part of this work is making sure the costs linked to your tenancy are accurate and easy to understand.
For many years, tenants have been paying a “pooled” service charge. This was one combined amount for maintaining communal areas, but there was no breakdown of what you were paying for. To make things clearer, the housing team has undertaken a piece of work to ‘de-pool’ the service charges. This means you’ll see exactly what services you pay for and how much each one costs.
What is a service charge?
A service charge is a fee to cover the costs of looking after communal areas in your building and/or estate.
As a tenant, you pay a share of these costs. Services may include gardening and ground maintenance, cleaning communal areas, and electricity in shared spaces. A list of these service charge elements can be found in the grid below.
Fixed service charges
As a tenant, you pay something called a “fixed service charge,” which means:
- It’s set for 12 months (April to March).
- It doesn’t change during that time.
The council will base charges on the last known actual cost of the services to calculate the charges you pay. Before the new period starts, you’ll get a full breakdown of what you’ll pay for the year.
How is it calculated?
Your charges are calculated by dividing the number of properties in the building or on the estate which receive a particular service. For example, if there are 10 properties within a building, you pay one-tenth of the cost of the service. Some costs are already covered by your rent, so you don’t pay extra for them. These include:
- Building repairs and improvements
- Decorating communal areas
- Building insurance
Depending upon your tenancy agreement, you may be required to pay other charges for things like water, utilities supplied directly to your home, or an intensive housing management fee. These charges relate to your tenancy, your home, and communal areas.
Examples of communal services
This is a list of the services that could appear on your annual statement:
|
Service |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Tenant service charge management fee |
This is the cost of the management of the services to the building (and estate) where your home is situated. This element also includes the management and calculation of charges, and sundry items and equipment used in connection with the management of the buildings and estates, for example, IT equipment. |
|
Health & Safety |
This element of your service charge includes all health and safety-related charges linked to the building (and estate). Items include fire risk assessments, asbestos reports, legionella testing, and electrical safety testing. |
|
Communal electricity |
This is the cost of the electricity for the communal parts of the building (and estate). For example, communal lighting and door entry systems. |
|
Electrical maintenance |
This covers all the weekly, fortnightly, and monthly testing and servicing of communal electrical systems within the building (and estate). |
|
Grounds maintenance |
Includes elements such as grass cutting, tree and other shrub/flower maintenance within your defined estate. |
|
Cleaning |
The housing service employs a specialist contractor to carry out the cleaning within the buildings. The contractor's staff work to a standard specification, but the number of times they visit each block per week varies according to the needs of the building. Most Independent Living schemes have daily cleaning, whereas the cleaning in other buildings is generally once a week; some blocks are visited twice a week. |
|
Caretaking |
The housing service has a small team of caretakers who, along with the cleaning contractor, help take care of the blocks. Their duties include litter picking, sweeping external courtyards and footpaths, taking care of shared bin areas, and removing or reporting dumped items. They also carry out some minor repairs in communal areas, and they carry out routine health and safety inspections of all blocks that have shared internal areas. |
|
Communal heating |
This covers the cost of heating to the communal parts of the building where a communal heating system is installed. |
|
Communal water |
This covers the cost of the incoming water supply used at the building (and estate). |
|
Communal wastewater |
This covers the cost of the wastewater supply used at the building (and estate). |
|
Refuse services |
Occasionally there’s a need to remove dumped items from the buildings and estates. This also includes bin replacement and other waste-related costs. |
|
Lift |
This element covers the cost of the servicing and maintenance of any passenger lifts. |
|
Laundry facilities |
Some buildings have communal laundry and other facilities. This charge covers the cost of the servicing and replacement of items when required. |
FAQ’s
Q: What is a service charge?
A: A service charge is a payment to your landlord for the cost of running or maintaining the building or estate where you live. This does not include other payments you may make, including such things as garages or individual property utilities.
Q: What is de-pooling?
A: De-pooling means breaking down combined service charges into separate costs for each service. These costs are linked to the block or estate where they happen. This makes the charges clearer and more transparent.
Q: Are the service charges covered by benefits?
A: Service charges for the communal services are classed as eligible for housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. The charges can be included within any claim you make. However, charges for services to your own individual flat (like utilities) are not covered.
Q: What if I am not receiving any benefits?
A: If you already pay your charges yourself, you will keep doing so. However, if your circumstances change, you may be able to receive assistance via an eligible benefit. Please contact us as we will be able to offer you help and support, including signposting you to a relevant organization if appropriate.
Q: Which services will be included in the service charges?
A: Services may include cleaning, caretaking, grounds maintenance, communal electric, communal heating (gas), communal water, communal wastewater, electrical and mechanical safety testing, health and safety systems (fire risk assessments, legionella testing, etc. ), lift maintenance, laundry, refuse services, and the tenant service charge management fee.
Q: Why do I have to pay a service charge?
A: You pay a service charge along with your rent. The service charge pays for all of the services which are undertaken to the building and estate. These include such things as cleaning, caretaking, and utilities to communal areas.
Q: What are the charges on my service charge statement?
A: The charges on your statement show the services you benefit from in the communal parts of your building or estate.
Q: Can I have a breakdown of the charges?
A: Yes, your annual statement will show you the charges you will pay for the year ahead as well as cost of each service for your building or estate.
Q: How is my charge calculated?
A: The charges are calculated by dividing the cost of each service by the number of homes that use it.
For example, if four homes share a service, you pay a quarter of the cost.
Q: Are my charges fixed or variable service charges?
A: As a tenant you pay a fixed service charge. This means the amount stays the same for the year. You’ll get a statement at the start of the charging period in April which will show you the cost of each of the services for the following year.
Q: I am concerned about the affordability of the charges, what can I do?
A: If are concerned about the affordability of the charges then it’s very important that you contact us as soon as possible so we can help and support you. If you are worried about this, please contact our Income team on 01303 853300 or email us at housing.service@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
Key contacts
Neighbourhood officers - Tenancy issues
Independent living officers- Tenancy issues
Service charge team - Service charge calculation
Income team -To pay or set up a repayment agreement
Welfare team - For help and assistance with making a benefit claim
Phone
01303 853300
housing.service@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk