Service Charges

We maintain shared areas which you use or are entitled to use.  In addition, by law, we must complete additional checks and servicing to make sure that you are safe along with the public, contractors, and staff, and, to prevent any fire risk.  

Service charges cover the costs we’ve incurred, either directly or indirectly, to provide these services.  They also cover the cost of repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance and our costs of management.

You won’t necessarily contribute to all costs.  Tenancy agreements, leases and freehold titles explain what services you are required to contribute to.  

Some charges don't have to be paid by people living in rented homes because their rent covers the maintenance of the structure and exterior of their home and the fittings within their home related to the supply of water, gas and electricity.  Their rent also covers sanitation fittings (basins, sinks, baths and toilets), and the boilers or equipment provided for heating and hot water.  Service charges are used to recover the cost of services we provide which are not included in the rent.  

For leaseholders and shared owners, the service charge includes the cost to provide services to maintain communal areas, the structure and any external communal grounds as well as insure the building.

For some sites we provide services to freeholders.  This is where someone owns their home but they have access to or use of Golding Homes land or equipment such as a large open space or a car park, or they are connected to our private sewage system.

Services include but are not limited to cleaning communal areas, grounds maintenance for land owned by Golding Homes, servicing lifts, and maintaining and servicing fire equipment.  They can also include services provided by others.  This is where Golding Homes don’t own the land or the communal areas of the building.  The owner (or superior landlord) employs an external managing agent to provide these services and they then bill us our share of the costs.  We recover those costs via the service charges.

Service charges can either be fixed or variable.  Tenancy agreements, leases or freehold transfer explain if the charges are fixed or variable and also explain what you contribute to.  At Golding Homes we charge variable service charges.

The information on this page's not a comprehensive guide to everything related to service charges so there may be information not included or you may have further questions.  You can contact the Rents and Service Charge team direct by email to help@goldinghomes.org.uk