What are Service or Estate Charges

Service charges, sometimes known as Estate charges are fees payable to a management company who look after the common areas around your property. If you own an apartment or flat for example, this would pay for upkeep of the lobbies and stairwells as well as any communal gardens and other common areas around your building. Some housing estates also have service charges (sometimes called estate charges) for things like maintenance of unadopted roads and pavements (where the local authority is not responsible for looking after them), play or recreation areas, grass mowing and hedge trimming on common open areas on housing estates.

Service charges are often, but not always associated with leasehold properties, where they may also be charged alongside ground rent, but this is not always the case. Many housing estates with estate or services charges are made up of freehold properties, and as a result do not benefit from the same rights and protections as for leasehold properties, so estate charges can potentially be or become expensive.