Leasehold – Service Charges and Fees

As a leaseholder, you are responsible for paying a service charge. Your service charge is collected, on behalf of Manchester City Council, by S4B.

Service charges
Service charges are calculated annually and shared equally between customers living in the same building who benefit from the services, so you only pay for the services you get.

The service charges you pay can include:

• Buildings insurance
• Repairs to communal and external areas
• Grounds maintenance, cleaning and window cleaning services
• Management fees

S4B leaseholders pay a variable service charge, which means that we will provide an annual estimate of the fee you will pay at the beginning of each financial year which runs from April to March. This estimate will usually be issued to you by the end of February and will detail which services you will receive and the costs to provide them.

In September after each financial year ends, we will provide a set of accounts detailing the exact cost against your estimated fees. If you have overpaid, we will apply a credit to your service charge accounts. If you have underpaid, we will bill you for the remaining amount.  Please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions which have been prepared to answer any questions you might have about the changes to services charges (service charge FAQ to follow). You will also find a guide to service charges and a service charge timetable (to follow).

If you are worried about your finances or the cost of living, we are here to help. Please contact us at info@s4bmanchester.co.uk

Sinking Fund

Sinking funds are collected to contribute toward the cost of large communal items that have a relatively long lifespan, such as roofs, lifts, and structures like bin stores. The fund can also be used to cover the cost of cyclical items, such as decorating.

Rather than receiving a large bill when an item is replaced, which you may struggle to pay, leaseholders pay into the fund each month. Where your lease allows the collection of a sinking fund contribution then this will be clearly shown on your budget and year end account statements. If your lease does not allow us to collect a sinking fund, we will invoice you for any large expenditure and we will confirm the payment terms.

Ground rent

If your lease or transfer documents (TP1 to follow) allow S4B to charge a Ground Rent we will invoice you for payment annually. Ground rent is a fee for having a property that is on land and/or premises that you do not own. Your lease or TP1 sets out the amount of ground rent that is to be paid each year and is a separate fee to your service charges.

Some customers will pay both a ground rent and service charges, but other customers may only pay one or the other. If you are not sure what you are required to pay, please speak to us. Where ground rent is payable, this will be demanded in line with the terms of the lease or TP1. You may also see this referred to as an “Annual Sum”

Management Fees

Your lease allows us to recover costs associated with managing, maintaining, repairing, insuring and providing services to your block and estate. The types of things covered by the management fee are the production and issuing of:

• Annual service charge estimates.
• Quarterly statements
• Annual service charge statements/year end accounts

The fee is a fixed 10% of the total costs incurred and is in line with the fees charged by other similar organisations. We do not make a profit from this or any other service charge costs.

Administration Fees

Administration fees are charged for ad-hoc services that are not covered by the Management Fee. We will always confirm whether a fee applies when leaseholders enquire about a service. A full list of our administration fees is available on request.

How to pay your Service Charge

We expect leaseholders to pay service charges by direct debit as this is a quick and easy way to ensure your charges are paid on time. Your lease specifies that service charge payments are due quarterly on 24 June, 24 September, 24 December and 24 March. If you would prefer to pay monthly, then we can set up your Direct Debit payment to be made on 1st of every month.

Please call 0300 555 0128 and we can set this up over the telephone or you can request a direct debit form to be sent to you. In exceptional circumstances we may offer alternative payment options, please discuss alternative payment options with us.

Some leases contain a clause that allows us to charge interest on late payments or apply admin fees for the extra work involved in managing missed payments. To avoid extra charges being built up, please do not ignore any letters or phone calls from S4B. If you fall behind on your payments, you must contact us at 0300 555 0128 or via email at info@s4bmanchester.co.uk as soon as possible to discuss your account.

Your home may be at risk of a repossession if you don’t work with us to resolve any missed payments.

You can read our guide to service charges here. If you have any questions about how we set service charges or how to pay your service charges, please contact us.

If you are worried about your finances or the cost of living, we are here to help. Please contact our Customer Accounts and Money Advice Team at info@S4Bmanchester.co.uk

Summary of Rights & Obligations.

We will issue a Summary of Rights and Obligations with all demands for payment, and you can see the current version (to follow HERE).