The services you pay for depend on the type of home you live in and what’s provided where you live.
Not sure what a charge on your service charge statement means? Expand the sections below to see what each service charge covers and how the costs are used.
Please note that not all services apply to every home.
Charges for shared electricity, water, heating and other utility services in communal areas.
This charge covers the electricity used in shared areas, as well as the cost of maintaining, testing and repairing shared lighting and related equipment.
Depending on where you live, this may include lighting in hallways and stairwells, outdoor lighting around blocks, and lighting on private roads where Southway is responsible for the lighting.
It may also include equipment that uses communal electricity, such as lifts, CCTV, alarms and emergency lighting.
This charge covers the cost of water and sewerage for shared areas and facilities, including standing charges. It may include water used for cleaning communal areas, bin stores, and watering communal gardens.
This charge covers the cost of checking, cleaning, maintaining and repairing shared drains and drainage systems, including gullies, surface water drains and wastewater drains in shared areas.
This charge covers the cost of running, servicing, maintaining and repairing shared ground source heat pump systems that provide heating or energy to communal areas and facilities.
A booster set helps maintain water pressure in a building. This charge covers its servicing, maintenance, repair and replacement.
This charge covers the work needed to safely look after shared solar panels, including scaffolding, access equipment, cleaning and clearing plants or overgrown areas around the system.
This charge covers the maintenance, repair, management and replacement of shared electric vehicle charging points.
Because this is a shared facility that’s available for all residents to use, the cost is spread across all the homes that benefit from it, even if you don’t use the charging points yourself.
Servicing, maintenance and repair of electronic gates and barrier systems used for vehicle and pedestrian access.
Charges that help keep residents and buildings safe and meet legal safety requirements.
A dry riser is a network of pipes in taller buildings that allows firefighters to quickly pump water to upper floors during a fire. The pipes are normally empty and are only used during an emergency.
This charge covers the inspection, testing, servicing and repair of the dry riser system to make sure it works properly when it’s needed.
This charge covers the testing, maintenance and repair of emergency lighting in shared areas. These lights help people leave the building safely during a power cut.
This charge covers the testing, monitoring, maintenance and repair of communal fire alarm systems to make sure they work properly.
Smoke vents and Automatic Opening Vents (AOVs) help remove smoke from escape routes during a fire. They automatically open windows, vents and doors to allow smoke to escape from hallways, stairwells and other shared areas.
This charge covers testing, maintenance and repairs to these systems, making sure they work properly and help keep residents safe.
Regular fire risk assessments help identify fire safety issues. This charge covers the assessments and any work we need to do to address problems found, such as repairs to fire doors, smoke control systems or safety signs.
These are a legal safety requirement to help keep residents safe.
Fire doors help slow the spread of fire and smoke. This charge covers the inspection, maintenance, repair and replacement of the doors and their components where needed.
This charge covers the testing, servicing and repair of the building's lightning protection system.
This charge covers inspections, testing and monitoring of communal water systems to help prevent Legionella bacteria and keep water systems safe.
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is a safety check for electrical items provided in communal areas, such as kettles, vacuum cleaners and televisions. This charge covers those safety inspections.
Sprinkler and fire suppression systems help prevent fires from spreading and reduce the risk of damage to the building. This charge covers the testing, servicing, maintenance and repair of those systems to help protect residents and buildings in the event of a fire.
A defibrillator is a device used to provide emergency treatment for someone experiencing a cardiac arrest. This charge covers the maintenance, servicing and replacement of communal defibrillators.
This charge covers preventing, monitoring and treating pest problems in communal areas, such as mice, rats and insects.
Charges that help keep residents and buildings safe and secure, including emergency assistance systems.
This charge covers the upkeep, repairs and monitoring of the building's CCTV system. CCTV helps improve security and can help prevent crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB).
This charge covers maintaining and repairing communal door entry and intercom systems. These systems help keep the building secure by controlling access for residents and visitors.
This charge covers the safe storage of keys so approved contractors can access the building in an emergency or when urgent repairs are needed.
Charges that support the day-to-day running of the scheme.
This charge covers cleaning on-site offices and the cost of essential supplies that are used to provide services to residents, such as cleaning products, paper, stationery and other everyday items.
This charge covers the cost of small items and equipment needed to support services for residents and maintain communal facilities.
Examples include cleaning equipment, tools, replacement appliances, and health and safety equipment.
This charge covers small day-to-day costs that help us deliver our services and help keep the scheme running smoothly.
Examples include postage, batteries, replacement keys, first aid supplies, and other minor items that don’t fit into another service charge category.
This charge covers staff who provide housing support, wellbeing services, scheme management and resident support.
This charge covers temporary staff who provide services when regular staff are absent due to leave, training or illness.
This charge covers any uniforms and safety equipment needed for staff to carry out their work safely.
Charges for managing and administering services.
This charge covers the cost of arranging, managing and monitoring the services provided where you live. This includes obtaining quotes and appointing contractors, managing service contracts, checking service quality, processing invoices and payments, preparing service charge budgets and accounts, and responding to resident enquiries about service charges. This helps make sure our services are delivered effectively, costs are monitored, and residents are charged correctly.
These charges are not recoverable by Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.
Items that are treated as ineligible for Housing Benefit aren’t classed as standard service charges.
This charge covers internet services provided in communal areas.
This charge covers maintaining and repairing emergency alarm systems and pullcords that residents can use to call for assistance.
This charge covers monitoring emergency alarm systems and responding when they’re activated.
This charge covers systems that allow residents to contact support staff or emergency help when needed.
This charge covers communal telephone lines and call costs. This can cover the emergency phone line in the lift, which allows people to call for help if the lift breaks down.
These are costs linked to communal facilities or activities that cannot legally be recovered through a service charge.
This charge covers heating and hot water supplied directly to individual homes through a ground source heat pump system.
Charges that specifically support residents' wellbeing, assisted living, and care-related services.
This charge covers servicing, maintenance, repair and replacement of specialist assisted bathing equipment provided for residents.
This charge covers enhanced cleaning and hygiene services in assisted bathing and communal bathroom facilities.
This charge helps fund housing-related support services that help residents live independently and get the most from living in their home.
The support provided may include wellbeing checks, help accessing other services, assistance with tenancy-related matters, and support to maintain independence and wellbeing.
Where grant funding does not cover the full cost of providing these services, a contribution is made through the service charge.
A sinking fund is a savings pot built up over time to help pay for major future repairs and replacements, such as lifts, roofs, doors and other communal facilities. Building up the fund gradually helps avoid large one-off charges when major work is needed.
If you're struggling with money or worried about paying your rent or service charges, our friendly Advice team is on hand to support you with free and confidential advice on bills, debt, borrowing and more.
Visit our online Cost-of-Living Support Hub to see what support’s available to you. You can also contact us and we'll be happy to help.
