A service charge is a payment you make to cover our costs of providing and maintaining services to areas you share with other people who are not part of your household.

What the service charge covers

The service charge you pay depends on the type of services provided, and whether:

• you live in a house, flat or maisonette; or
• there are shared gardens or other shared areas where you live.

If you live in a house and pay a service charge, this charge will most likely be for us to look after shared areas and gardens on the estate you live on. The headings you will see on your service charge statement may include:

• gardening;
• cleaning communal areas;
• refuse and pest control;
• outside lighting
• removing abandoned vehicles; and
• tree surgery.

If you live in a flat or maisonette, you may also pay for us for looking after the shared areas and gardens on your estate. You will also have charges which are specific to the block you live in. These could be for carrying out routine maintenance and repairs to your block and any shared areas, providing lighting and heating in these shared areas, and cleaning them. If we insure the building you live in, you may also have to pay your share of the buildings insurance. (Please note if you are an A2 Winchester tenant your rent covers your insurance).

Whatever type of property you live in, your service charge will also include a management fee (which covers our costs in providing these services to you) and an audit fee (which is your proportion of the cost of us having our accounts audited - officially inspected - before we give them to you). Under the terms of your leases, some residents must also pay ground rent, and some must pay into a reserve fund - a fund set aside to help pay for major work to the property or block in the future.

Please note that in some circumstances your service charge may also cover additional areas to those listed above. Please refer to your tenancy agreement or lease, or contact us for more details.

For more information on your service charge please see our Understanding your service charge leaflet.