If you do not pay your service charge

If you do not agree that you should have to pay a service charge, it’s best to pay the charge under protest, and then challenge it.

If you do not pay, your landlord is likely to treat this as a breach of your lease, even if you intend to rely on one of your legal rights.

Find out more about:

• when service charges are payable
• challenging your service charge
• paying under protest

Some leases allow your landlord to charge you extra costs (administration charges) if you do not pay your service charge on time. These might include:

• an administration charge for late payment or non-payment
• charges made by a debt collection agency that the landlord or the managing agent uses
• their legal costs that arise from pursuing you for the unpaid service charges

These charges must be reasonable and must be allowed under the terms of your lease.

The landlord must also provide a summary of your rights and responsibilities relating to administration charges with the demand for payment. If the summary is not included, you do not have to pay until the landlord corrects this.

You can challenge these charges if you do not think they are reasonable, by applying to a tribunal for a decision.

Find out more about administration charges and how to challenge them

If you do not pay service charges that you owe, your landlord can take action including:

• applying for a county court judgment (a court order that requires you to pay the debt)
• asking your mortgage company to pay the arrears and add the amount to your mortgage
• starting a process to end your lease and repossess the property (forfeiture)

Your landlord can start a process to take back possession of your home if you breach the terms of your lease, such as by not paying service charges.

They must start this process by serving a notice of possession under Section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (a Section 146 notice).

Before they can serve a Section 146 notice:

• you must have admitted in writing that you broke (breached) the terms of the lease and that you owe the amount, or
• your landlord must have got a final determination (which can be from a default judgement if you do not respond) from court, an arbitrator or the tribunal, confirming that you owe the amount and that it is reasonable

Your landlord cannot serve a valid Section 146 notice unless the total amount you owe (including service charges, administration charges or ground rent) either:

• is more than £350
• includes an amount that has been outstanding for more than 3 years

Find out more: forfeiture of a lease including the process and advice

You can get free independent advice if you’re dealing with debt problems.

Find out more:

• GOV.UK: get free debt advice
• Citizens Advice: debt and money
• Citizens Advice: if you’re being taken to court for debt
• Money Helper: dealing with debt