Service Charge FAQs

 This is the premium for insurance cover at your block.  This is paid by Leaseholders and Shared Owners only.  It’s worth noting what the policy covers for the block and for you internally in your apartment.  See the insurance policy Summary of Cover 

The cost of removing large items of refuse left in communal areas. Either items that the local authority will not pick up or items residents have dumped without organising collection by the local authority.

Servicing and maintenance of CCTV on the estate or in a block.  Estate and Block charges are listed separately.

This is the cost of cleaning the communal areas of apartment blocks.  

This is the cost of maintaining the grounds on the estate.  This pays for three (plus) gardener/caretakers. Also included is the emptying of bins, litter picking, maintenance of flower beds including planting and weeding, watering, non specialist maintenance of trees, weed spraying of paved areas, power washing of hard services and street furniture when required.

This seems like it is for block cleaning but it is not.  This charge is for window cleaning for each block.  This occurs every 6 months.

The cost of providing electricity in communal areas.  If shown on estate charges this is for street and garden lighting.  If shown on block charges this is for communal lighting, power lifts etc.  Power to DH plant rooms are not part of estate or block charges and charged to EQUANS.

The maintenance of mechanical gates to undercrofts/courtyards.

Ad hoc repairs that are undertaken as required.  Examples might include repairs to doors or vandalism to estate benches.

Maintenance of door and door entry systems on apartment blocks.

A dry riser is a system of pipe work and valves that runs up through a building. The system allows fire fighters to easily access water from each individual floor of the building.  This is for the statutory checks required to ensure they work.

Annual inspection of the eco roof every year.

Statutory testing of electrical intake points in apartment blocks.  

Statutory checks of emergency lighting systems that illuminate exit paths during an emergency.

The statutory checks and servicing of fire protection equipment.

This is an organised look at what, in your common areas of apartment blocks could cause harm to people from fire. It will help determine the chances of a fire occurring and the dangers from fire that the workplace poses for the people who use it.  This would typically include the checking of communal fire doors every quarter and apartment doors annually.

Not really insurance.  This is a charge for the annual inspection of lifts, this is required to validate the insurance of the lifts.  For the avoidance of doubt lift insurance is covered through building insurance.

The cost of servicing, maintaining and repairing lifts in communal areas.

Materials used for a lightning protection system can corrode and cease to be effective over a period of time.  This cost is for the annual inspection of building lightning conductors.

The charge by L&Q to provide their services.  This is charged at 15% (as per our Lease) but is not charged on the Sinking Fund.

L&Q maintenance engineers/technicians can be used to fix a wide range of items.  They are cheaper and often better than sub contractors, as they take a greater ownership in our estate.  These charges are for ad hoc work or repairs through out the year.  It may arise under Estate Services or Block Services.

The cost of communal/shared water supply.  Yes this is used to water trees

A statutory requirement to test the water supply in each block to detect and eliminate issues such as Legionella.  This seems to be a flat rate per apartment.  The same rate per property seems to be charged across all L&Q estates.

Pest control on the estate (e.g. wasp nests) or within a block (e.g. ants).

A long-term savings fund where homeowners contributions build up a reserve for major works in the future such as cyclical decorations, lift replacement or roof replacement.  

This is in support of the 330 trees on our estate.  This includes an annual inspection of the trees and the pruning or specialised care of trees.  It might include the removal of dead trees and their replacement.  At the moment is does not include watering.