James Driscoll follows the battle to make service charges more accountable
Service charges are a constant source of friction between leaseholders and landlords. There is some evidence that not only are these costs increasing, but that more and more leaseholders are questioning the charges and challenging them. A new contribution to the general debate over charges has just been published by the Greater London Authority (GLA). In their report Highly Charged: Residential leasehold service charges in London (GLA, March 2012) the impact of service charges is considered along with a number of recommendations to create what it calls a “re-balance” of the leaseholder/freeholder relationship (see www.london.gov.uk/publication/service-charges-london).
Flat ownership is widespread and many new housing developments are, or include, blocks of flats sold on long leases. In other cases, former tenants of social landlords own flats having exercised the right to buy. Typically, the owner of the freehold is responsible for the insurance, the repair and maintenance of the building and the upkeep of the common parts. Between them, the leaseholders contribute to the landlord’s costs through service charges. As it is now 10
