Service Charges

beckstas-money

Hi,
Is there somewhere I can find the annual cost of services charges for flats in Wandsworth?
I've called but not a leaseholder (yet!) so the lady i spoke didn't know who to put me through to and then gave me a wrong number.

princeofpounds

It totally varies depending from development to development. The way you are asking the question makes me concerned that you don't have a great understanding of how service charges work. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into the slightly fuzzy request?

eddddy

Assuming you mean leaseholder service charges... the service charge is your share of the bills for a building.

The bills will be for things like maintenance, repairs, insurance, cleaning the communal areas, looking after the communal grounds etc.

The amount of those bills can vary enormously, for example:

• So a brand new block might need few repairs, so the service charge is relatively low.
• Another older block might need more maintenance and repairs, so the service charge is higher.
• Another block might have lots of communal areas that need regular cleaning and decorating, so the service charge is higher
• Another block might have lifts that need refurbishing, flammable cladding that needs replacing, a car park that needs resurfacing, etc, so the service charge will be astronomical
• Another block might have no communal areas, no communal grounds, no immediate repairs to be done - so the service charge is very low

beckstas-money

princeofpounds said:

It totally varies depending from development to development. The way you are asking the question makes me concerned that you don't have a great understanding of how service charges work. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into the slightly fuzzy request?

I think I have a good understanding of how they work and know that they vary thats why I was asking if there was something like a central website or organisation that I could contact and get the correct figures for this year maybe by putting in the postal code etc. A little more background FYI as it may make my query less 'fuzzy'... I'm currently in a council property under another borough - put in a rtb just over a year ago and found out what the service charge is for here - (£3k) anyway with that as well as some other stuff we decided to do a mutual exchange. This has been approved but just wanted to see if I could find out the service charge details before we move as essentially we would like to RTB as soon as possible. The current flat has 12 hour concierge, lift and the new place is a 2nd floor maisonette with none of that, so I know there will be a difference. I'm just being eager to find out :-)

Robin9

Is the flat or a neighboroughing one listed on Rightmove.   The service charge was quoted on one I recently looked at.

beckstas-money

eddddy said:

Assuming you mean leaseholder service charges... the service charge is your share of the bills for a building.

The bills will be for things like maintenance, repairs, insurance, cleaning the communal areas, looking after the communal grounds etc.

The amount of those bills can vary enormously, for example:

• So a brand new block might need few repairs, so the service charge is relatively low.
• Another older block might need more maintenance and repairs, so the service charge is higher.
• Another block might have lots of communal areas that need regular cleaning and decorating, so the service charge is higher
• Another block might have lifts that need refurbishing, flammable cladding that needs replacing, a car park that needs resurfacing, etc, so the service charge will be astronomical
• Another block might have no communal areas, no communal grounds, no immediate repairs to be done - so the service charge is very low

Yes, referring to leasehold charges. Wanted to see if there was a central place i could find out what a specif block pays. e.g one across the road or one I am interested in moving into. Thanks

D.L

I don't think there is a central place that you can see that. If it's council owned you can try a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the relevant council, or search previous FoI requests.

It's worth saying that the service charge changes year to year. General maintenance may be approximately the same each year but any major repairs will come with a higher bill - major repairs aren't something you should see as unlikely but inevitable.

jon81uk

beckstas-money said:

eddddy said:

Assuming you mean leaseholder service charges... the service charge is your share of the bills for a building.

The bills will be for things like maintenance, repairs, insurance, cleaning the communal areas, looking after the communal grounds etc.

The amount of those bills can vary enormously, for example:

• So a brand new block might need few repairs, so the service charge is relatively low.
• Another older block might need more maintenance and repairs, so the service charge is higher.
• Another block might have lots of communal areas that need regular cleaning and decorating, so the service charge is higher
• Another block might have lifts that need refurbishing, flammable cladding that needs replacing, a car park that needs resurfacing, etc, so the service charge will be astronomical
• Another block might have no communal areas, no communal grounds, no immediate repairs to be done - so the service charge is very low

Yes, referring to leasehold charges. Wanted to see if there was a central place i could find out what a specif block pays. e.g one across the road or one I am interested in moving into. Thanks

No there isn’t. 

But some estates list it on the listing of the property for sale. Or ask the estate agent what the service charge will be, but as above it varies a lot between developments depending what is required to be done and the size of the estate. 

eddddy

In your position, I might try contacting Wandsworth leaseholder services and asking about service charges for  similar maisonettes in the same development. For example:

• Details of their service charges for the last 3 years
• Details of maintenance plans and/or major works currently planned

But TBH, I'd be slightly surprised if they told you anything - except that you can check a list of planned Major Works here: https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/housing/council-tenants-and-leaseholders/repairs-and-maintenance/major-works-to-council-properties/major-works-contracts/

You may have already checked this out as well: https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/housing/council-tenants-and-leaseholders/council-leaseholders/

beckstas-money

Robin9 said:

Is the flat or a neighboroughing one listed on Rightmove.   The service charge was quoted on one I recently looked at.

Thanks the next door are leaseholders purchased 2007 though but this is on Rightmove. Cheers, will have a look for a few more on the block think there was a sale in 2018

Robin9

Any of those up for sale should give you the Service Charge.