About service charges
What are service charges?
Service charges are payments a leaseholder makes to the freeholder (landlord), for the leaseholder’s share of the costs of providing services to manage the building, such as maintenance and insurance.
When you own a leasehold property, your landlord is responsible for providing these services, and you’re responsible for contributing to the costs.
Your lease will set out the details of what your landlord can charge for, and how and when you need to pay service charges.
Generally, the landlord can only recover costs through service charges if:
- the charges are reasonable
- the work is done to a reasonable standard
- the services are included in your lease
You have the right to challenge service charges that you think are unreasonable.
You have the right to see information about your service charges. For example, you can ask your landlord to account for their spending by providing a summary of the costs.
Service charge contributions must be held on trust by the landlord, for the leaseholders. This means the money can be held in one or more accounts to be used for the purposes set out in the lease. If the landlord becomes insolvent, the money is protected for the leaseholders.
- Last updated:
- 19 December 2025
- Next review:
- 19 December 2027
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Topic - Building management