About your leaseholder service charges

Your invoice shows the total of the quarterly service charges for the property services you receive.  The individual services that make up the total charge are outlined below.

Your service charges may have changed this year. The estimated service charges 2011/12 have been calculated to take account of the cost of services to your flat block during last year.

The total charge does not include the cost of major works or improvements to your block. If such works are needed you will be consulted and given details of the costs in advance of work starting, and only charged for work after it has been completed.

We will recalculate the costs for the year April 2010 to March 2011 based on the actual cost of providing the services to blocks of flats and expect to write to leaseholders by October 2011 giving details.  Any adjustments found necessary will then be made to service charge accounts.

For more information take a look at this summary of service charges: Service Charge Leaflet

If you have any questions about your Service Charges Invoice, please contact the Customer Service Centre on 01438 242666 which will be able to give assistance.

About your Service Charges

Caretaking & Cleaning Service Charge

Stevenage Homes provides two types of caretaking service, a responsive service and a regular service. Charges for these services vary from block to block.

• The responsive service:
  This is a call-out service and all leaseholders are charged for it. The service entitles you to call out a caretaker to come and deal with situations that could affect the health and safety of residents. Your caretaker will do emergency cleaning, for example, or remove items that are causing an obstruction. Please note: this is not a 24-hour service.

• The regular service:
  Residents living in larger flat blocks with features such as lifts, large shared areas and large bin stores are also charged for a regular caretaking and cleaning service.  

If you get the responsive and the regular service, the Schedule of Estimated Service Charges will show the combined charge.

For enquires about caretaking, please phone the customer service centre.

Electricity Service Charge

The electricity service charge covers the cost of lighting in the shared areas of flat blocks.  In some blocks it also includes the cost of running lifts or laundry rooms. The charge varies from block to block depending on the services provided.   

Grounds Maintenance Service Charge

The grounds maintenance service charge covers the cost of looking after shared landscaped areas around blocks of flats.  Grass is cut at least eight times a year and shrub beds are cultivated twice a year. The charge varies from block to block depending on the level of service provided. For enquiries about grass cutting and grounds maintenance, please telephone 01438 242666.
For more details on our grounds maintenance service standard, please take a look here: Ground Maintenance Service Standards

Window Cleaning Service Charge

The window cleaning service charge covers the cost of cleaning windows in the shared areas of flat blocks four times a year. It also covers the cost of cleaning plastic sills and panels in shared areas twice a year. The charge varies from block to block. The window cleaning service will not clean the windows belonging to your flat.

For enquires about the window cleaning service please call the customer service centre on 01438 242666.

Heating Service Charge

We make this charge to blocks of flats that have a shared heating or hot water supply.This charge covers the cost of  fuel needed to run the system. The amount charged varies from block to block, where applicable.

Insurance Service Charge

This charge is for the Buildings Insurance of the structure of the block of flats. The charge to you for this service will be £18.75 per quarter.

You must still arrange your own insurance for the contents of your home. The Buildings Insurance, which you pay for through your Service Charges, only covers the structure and communal parts of the block of flats. Home Contents Insurance for Tenants and Leaseholders is available from a number of insurance providers.

Find out more about arranging Home Contents Insurance.

Painting Service Charge

We are no longer including a painting charge in the annual service charges as this work is now subject to Section 20 consultation and the cost of the work will be billed once the painting has been carried out.

Repairs Service Charge

The repairs service charge covers the cost of making day-to-day repairs to the structure and communal areas of the flat blocks. The amount charged varies from block to block.

To report repairs for your block of flats, please click here or telephone the repairs line on  01438 211011.  Please remember to say you are a leaseholder asking for a communal repair.

Management Charge

The management charge covers the cost of administering the service for leaseholders.  The estimated management charge for 2011/12 is £185.40 per flat