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Service Charges and Leaseholds

anon_private
anon_private Posts: 171 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
I am thinking of buying a flat

Are service charges around £1000/yr reasonable? Would would be considered excessive?

Evidently leases often place restrictions on what owners (leaseholders) can do. Can you give the main restrictions, including restrictions on what can be done in parking bays

Thanks
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Comments

  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    anon_private wrote: »
    Are service charges around £1000/yr reasonable? Would would be considered excessive?

    Evidently leases often place restrictions on what owners (leaseholders) can do. Can you give the main restrictions, including restrictions on what can be done in parking bays

    Thanks
    Depends entirely what services are provided!

    No. Read the lease in question.
  • BrassicWoman
    BrassicWoman Posts: 3,202 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
    Depends what you get for the money! Mine is around that and covers buildings insurance, window cleaning, gardening, and this year new carpets in communal areas and all exterior paintwork freshened up - a percentage goes into a sinking fund for that.

    I consider it a bargain not to have to organise any of that stuff, but I know others think differently.

    For restrictions you need to read the lease, they all vary. What on earth do you want to do in a parking bay except park a vehicle???
    2021 GC £1365.71/ £2400
  • Cheeky_Monkey
    Cheeky_Monkey Posts: 2,072 Forumite
    The mind boggles but maybe they just want to put a skip in it
  • anon_private
    anon_private Posts: 171 Forumite
    BrassicWoman wrote: »
    Depends what you get for the money! Mine is around that and covers buildings insurance, window cleaning, gardening, and this year new carpets in communal areas and all exterior paintwork freshened up - a percentage goes into a sinking fund for that.

    I consider it a bargain not to have to organise any of that stuff, but I know others think differently.

    For restrictions you need to read the lease, they all vary. What on earth do you want to do in a parking bay except park a vehicle???

    Wash the car
    Service it
    Repair it
  • anon_private
    anon_private Posts: 171 Forumite
    edited 18 June 2017 at 11:54PM
    Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »
    The mind boggles but maybe they just want to put a skip in it

    Read my response above
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,412 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    anon_private wrote: »
    Wash the car
    Service it
    Repair it

    As others say, you need to read the lease.

    If the lease just says it is for "parking", I doubt that "repairing a car" falls within a reasonable definition of "parking".

    But, most freeholders wouldn't inspect a parking area to see what people are doing. So it would probably only become an issue if somebody complained to the freeholder.
  • BrassicWoman
    BrassicWoman Posts: 3,202 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
    anon_private wrote: »
    Wash the car
    Service it
    Repair it

    My lease precludes those. It'd be a right PITA if everyone was taing their cars to bits and getting oil on the tarmac and revving engines - not really an activity suited to flats. If tinkering with cars is your thing, best get a garage?
    2021 GC £1365.71/ £2400
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    anon_private wrote: »
    Wash the car
    Service it
    Repair it
    Some leases will specifically exclude those, others won't. What you need to know is what your lease says.

    Worth bearing in mind though that not all (indeed, probably most) of lease covenants are strictly enforced, so unless someone thinks you're actually causing a nuisance it's unlikely to be a problem. And even if they do, there are limits to what they can do about it unless your car maintenance is long-running e.g. if they spot you tinkering with the car on Saturday, by the time they've spoken to their lawyers on Monday you'll probably already have finished the job.
  • bouicca21
    bouicca21 Posts: 6,512 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    When buying a flat you need to get sight of the lease sooner rather than later to find out just what is and is not permitted. I could repair and service my car, if I actually knew anything about engines, but I can't hang out washing or use the place for immoral purposes.
  • anon_private
    anon_private Posts: 171 Forumite
    bouicca21 wrote: »
    When buying a flat you need to get sight of the lease sooner rather than later to find out just what is and is not permitted. I could repair and service my car, if I actually knew anything about engines, but I can't hang out washing or use the place for immoral purposes.

    I would be happy with those conditions.

    Best wishes.
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