You will be aware that buying your home on a leasehold basis means that we continue to provide work and services to the structure and common areas of your block or estate. As an owner you are expected to pay a service charge to meet your share of the cost of these items. The level and type of services and work carried out will vary depending on where you live and the type of property you live in.
The services described below will only apply to you if they are referred to in your lease.
If you disagree with an invoice
If you are not happy about any item we have charged you for, please contact our Customer Services team on Freephone 0800 195 5552 or from your mobile on 020 8915 2000 (call charges may vary depending on your network). We will ask you to pay for those items which you do not disagree with while we investigate the problems. We may ask you to put your questions/complaint in writing.
If you are having difficulty paying the service charges please contact us. We may include the following items in your yearly service-charge estimates.
Day-to-day repairs
These are small repairs on your block or estate that arise during the year. They do not include most repairs inside your property, which are likely to be your responsibility. If you are not certain whether a repair is your responsibility or ours, please ask customer services.
To report a repair, call our Customer Care Team on Freephone 0800 195 5552 or from your mobile on 020 8915 2000 (call charges may vary according to your network).
Your estimate for day-to-day repairs is based on the previous year’s estimated costs. However, you should be aware that your actual charge may be different from the estimate.
You will issue you with a draft breakdown of all the day-to-day repairs before we complete the service charge actuals. We will investigate any feedback we receive and adjust the repairs listing where necessary before we issue the service charge actuals.
You can access the repairs contractor if you want repairs undertaken in your property. Please note this will be an arrangement between you and the contractor and they will invoice you directly. Please contact KNK Building Services on Freephone 0800 0322 450.
District heating and bulk gas supply
If you receive either district heating or bulk gas supply, we will charge you your percentage of the costs unless a meter has been installed. It is very difficult to estimate fuel costs and your ‘actual’ charge may be very different from the estimates given in April each year. This may be due to changes in the weather or changes in fuel prices.
You will receive district heating if you live in Chaucer Gardens, Collingwood or Regal Crescent. As well as your fuel costs, we will also charge you for any repairs to your radiators, warm-air heating unit, valves and hot water storage tank. If repairs are needed to shared heating systems (including combined heat and power plants), we will charge you a percentage of the cost worked out in the normal way. We class these as either a day-to-day repair or major contract work, depending on the value of the work.
You will receive bulk gas supply if you live in Benhill Estate, Corbet Close, Durand Close or Shanklin Village. We buy the gas in bulk and then charge leaseholders and tenants for the percentage in their lease. Buying in bulk may reduce the cost each person has to pay.
You are responsible for arranging the maintenance and repair of your heating, hot-water system and boiler, which should be serviced every year. You now have the choice to access the gas servicing provided by the contractor we use for our tenanted properties. For more information please call Smith & Byford on freephone 0800 389 0867. Please note they will charge you separately for any work they do for you.
Block and estate external services
Following a thorough review of External Services involving staff, residents and comparisons with other service providers, we have replaced our system of residential caretakers and mobile cleaners with a new Estatecare Service on our communal blocks.
The service combines cleaning and caretaking activities to provide a more consistent and comprehensive service across our blocks delivered by teams of mobile or neighbourhood caretakers. On our smaller blocks, the service runs on a mobile basis while on our larger estates, our caretakers will work in Neighbourhood Estatecare Teams. The changes will bring about greater flexibility across our teams making our service more efficient and effective.
If you live in a communal block, you will be informed directly about the changes through our Enviro-Watch circular and will have the opportunity to feedback your views on the current standards of service being provided.
Maintaining grounds
We maintain certain areas by cutting grass, cutting hedges and maintaining trees. We will charge you for this as necessary.
Cutting grass – we will cut grass up to 15 times a year. It does not include picking up the cut grass.
Cutting hedges – we will cut hedges once or twice a year, depending on the site.
Tree work – we will maintain trees on a planned basis, although we may do other work if we need to.
Shared electricity – this will include lighting for stairs, hallways and paths, estate roads, lifts, ventilation equipment and shared TV aerials.
Insurance
In general, insurance covers you against damage to the structure of your home and the landlord’s fittings to the block in which you live. It does not cover wear and tear. There is a summary of cover on at the back of the handbook.
You may have to pay the first part (‘excess’) of any claim you make. If you need to make a claim at any time, please contact the insurance team on 020 8770 5352 or 020 8770 5353.
The cover we provide does not include the contents of your home and you will need to arrange separate cover for this.
Only take out contents insurance though, as the building insurance is included in the service-charge payment. Mortgage lenders may encourage you to take out insurance cover when taking out a mortgage, but it may be illegal to have two lots of insurance on the structure of your property.
If you have bought a garage or shed which is not attached to your flat or part of your block, you will need to arrange separate insurance cover for the contents and structure.
Management and administration
We must get back all the costs involved in managing your home. This includes items such as renting office space and staffing costs. The costs of services such as sending out service-charge bills or dealing with enquiries should be paid by leaseholders and some freeholders. Services for both tenants and leaseholders will be shared. You do not pay for services such as lettings, repairs to the inside of tenants’ flats or providing Housing Benefit.
We will consult the Sutton Leaseholders’ Association about how we should work these costs out and charge them to you. We then publish information about how we work out the leasehold management fee.
If you are out of work, or disabled , please call the Department of Works and Pensions on 0800 882 200 for advice and assistance on paying your service charge.
If you are receiving pension credit please call The Pension Service on 0845 6060265 for assistance paying service charges.