Communal Stair Cleaning? Is it optional?

Chris94

I'm looking to buy a flat. There is one I viewed today that I really liked. It's bizarre though, I just had another look at the home report and in the owner's survey it says under "Is there a responsibility to contribute to repair, maintenance of the roof, common stairwell, or other common areas" an £8 charge for stair cleaning... every 15 days!!!

In my current flat I pay £8.55 every 3 months (for a monthly clean)! How on earth did they get a £8 every 15 days figure? Seems extortionate, and would total to over £190 a year. The number of flats in the stairwell are roughly equal too.

Is there any legal obligation to contribute to such charges? I would be more than happy to do so for something similar to my current rate, but £4 week seems absurd. Maybe that's normal and I just have it cheap just now? Certainly seems like a rip-off to me.

glasgowdan

How many flats are there? Does the fee include the garden, electricity for lights in the stairway, window cleaning, management fees, door security,?

worried_jim

Wow! My service charge is £122 per month! Are you sure you have this price correct?

moneyistooshorttomention

I read it as = £8 for just the stair-cleaning element of this. That the other things would be charged separately.

I guess the way to work out whether it's reasonable or no is to be around when the cleaner does the cleaning and time them (inconspicuously - ie so that they go at the same speed and thoroughness-level as normal) and figure out what that comes to as an hourly rate - ie by multiplying £8 x the number of flats and taking it from there.

Say it's 10 flats and the stair-cleaning takes 2 hours.

10 flats x £8 = £80
That would mean that the hourly rate is an exorbitant £40 per hour. So the cleaner would be getting their £7.20 per hour (presumably) and the management company would be creaming off £32.80 per hour.

That's just one example - but you get my drift as to how to work it out.

I think £7.20 per hour is the current legal minimum wage?? and that's probably what the cleaner concerned gets paid.

glasgowdan

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That would mean that the hourly rate is an exorbitant £40 per hour. So the cleaner would be getting their £7.20 per hour (presumably) and the management company would be creaming off £32.80 per hour.

That's just one example - but you get my drift as to how to work it out.

I think £7.20 per hour is the current legal minimum wage?? and that's probably what the cleaner concerned gets paid.

It's obvious you don't run a business if you think a business can run on £7.20 an hour. A 1 hour contract visit at under £40 is not going to do any company any favours.

Rosemary7391

Our stair cleaning is £14 a time, between 8 flats. Is yours done weekly? I can't imagine the state ours would be in if it was only done once a month! Also, is it a different surface that might be harder to clean than your previous one?

moneyistooshorttomention

Depends entirely on how the "business" is organised I would say.

It could well amount to someone put an advert up somewhere once and "Elsie (for sake of argument)" applied. Elsie got it...was told "do block x every 15 days" and then just left to get on with it from there on in and there wouldnt be a vast amount of ongoing running things - stock up a cleaning supplies cupboard for her at intervals/pay her her money (which may not be done in an "official" way anyway - ie all properly declared/tax paid/etc) and a replacement for Elsie herself found at intervals if she resigned.

Big difference between that small amount of admin. and doing things in Black Economy sort of way on the one hand or, on the other hand, a big official business with loads of cleaners/an office as HQ etc.

GwylimT

We are ground floor and have our own entrance, I do however know that all communal floors are vacuumed and steamed twice a week to keep them clean. It looks like this costs £40 per session, but the solar panels on the roof cover most peoples service charge.

davidmcn

Chris94 wrote: »

I'm looking to buy a flat. There is one I viewed today that I really liked. It's bizarre though, I just had another look at the home report and in the owner's survey it says under "Is there a responsibility to contribute to repair, maintenance of the roof, common stairwell, or other common areas" an £8 charge for stair cleaning... every 15 days!!!

In my current flat I pay £8.55 every 3 months (for a monthly clean)! How on earth did they get a £8 every 15 days figure?

Well, we don't know. Did you not ask them anything about communal charges while you were there? Maybe they do it more frequently than once a month. Maybe they do it more thoroughly. Maybe the price was negotiated more recently.

Is there any legal obligation to contribute to such charges? I would be more than happy to do so for something similar to my current rate, but £4 week seems absurd.

It's up to the majority of owners to decide what happens. You can always suggest they switch to your current contractor.

Davesnave

Back in the days when I cleaned stairwells and other communal parts of properties, the minimum my employers would involve themselves with was half a day. That meant I would work for maybe an hour or so, but I'd be paid for 4 hours. I liked that job!

It was supply and demand. No doubt if customers had gone elsewhere, the practices would have been different, but cleaners were in short supply. Equally, if the employing agency had been less generous, I'd have switched agencies.

Perhaps that sort of situation pertains in your area, which sounds as if it's in Scotland.

bouicca21

The communal areas in my block are cleaned once a fortnight.

But how often and how long it takes are pretty minor issues. What about charges for the garden, communal lighting, window cleaning, gutter clearing, repairs and buildings insurance?

My service charge is slightly more than Worried Jim's. If it were only £8 I'd be poised between being pleased it was so cheap and worried that other things were not being covered.