Service charges in rented flats

RDR_2

Who normally pays them, the landlord or the tenant?

theartfullodger

Depends on what it says in the tenancy agreement.

However I'd normally expect LL to pay.

If LL pays he's going (effectively ) to add the service charges to the rent so, ultimately tenant always pays - except where he's on HB/LHA in which case we the taxpayers pay

PasturesNew

Normally it's the LL. Service charges can include items that've taken 20 years to deteriorate, or can even include some upgrading/gentrification of the block, so it's not a tenant's responsibility for these type of costs.

e.g. imagine if a block of 100 flats were 50 years old and every 50 years the railings needed to be repainted in gold leaf at a cost of £100k. That's £2k/month, or £20/month for each flat for the 50 years... and it'd be wrong/unfair that the tenant unlucky enough to be in a 6 month AST that month to be hit with a £100k bill divided by 100 flats.

Another scenario might be that the management committee decided that it was time to resurface the entire car park and to fit electronic security gates, at a cost of £100k. Again, tenant shouldn't be paying for this type of stuff, it's the LL's bill.

RDR_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

Normally it's the LL. Service charges can include items that've taken 20 years to deteriorate, or can even include some upgrading/gentrification of the block, so it's not a tenant's responsibility for these type of costs.

e.g. imagine if a block of 100 flats were 50 years old and every 50 years the railings needed to be repainted in gold leaf at a cost of £100k. That's £2k/month, or £20/month for each flat for the 50 years... and it'd be wrong/unfair that the tenant unlucky enough to be in a 6 month AST that month to be hit with a £100k bill divided by 100 flats.

Another scenario might be that the management committee decided that it was time to resurface the entire car park and to fit electronic security gates, at a cost of £100k. Again, tenant shouldn't be paying for this type of stuff, it's the LL's bill.

It's more the £50/month for cleaning and gardening etc I was asking about - big ticket items obviously need to stay with the landlord.

prudryden

Should be the LL, but you may have agreed to pay for those items in your contract. Have a close look. I assume the cleaning is for communal areas, not your own abode.