Apartment service charges

[Doobigetta]

Trying to figure out whether we're getting what we're paying for, and how our experience compares to others. We're paying £150pcm service charge for maintenance of shared areas- hallways, stairs, parking garage- in our block of flats. It's supposed to be a "luxury block" and it's definitely in an expensive area (outside London). So I'm assuming that is a fairly hefty charge, but is it? Or quite average? And what we're getting for this doesn't really seem that great. The communal stairs and landing are currently pretty scruffy- walls are marked, there are bits of crap all over the carpet etc. We're not supposed to use the underground garage for anything except parking, but 3 or 4 flats have loads of stuff stashed in their spaces, so are parking on the road instead, and therefore taking up space other people need. Lights are constantly out in the garage, making parking in the tiny spaces even harder. But I don't want to be the arsehole who never stops moaning, and I also feel that constantly getting onto the building manager (who lives in one of the other flats) will just piss him off and make him less inclined to respond to us- it's not as if he has a manager we can go to. So I'd really like to know, what's normal? How much do other flat-dwellers pay, and what do they get in return?

If you own the apt you should be a member of the management company that owns the common areas. Essentially you are the building managers boss, or one of them. Have you attended management company meetings? Voted on maintenance issues?

It's not just that stuff though. There's external stuff too. I live in a complex of 30 houses. We self manage. We need a contingency fund for future extensive works - replacing the roof, windows etc

I know there are the big things like roof maintenance as well- that's partly why I'd like to know what other people pay. We have a share in the management company, but there haven't been any meetings, and we haven't been asked to vote on anything. I don't think the management company owns any of it though- there's an unseen freeholder lurking somewhere in Spain who owns the building and land.

We pay the same for a modern apartment block in London. Seems to be typical charges for this type of building . It covers hallway, stairs, lift maintenance, door security, general buildings maintenance. We don't have garages but we have cleaners once a week for the communal areas, and other things are well maintained regularly (e.g. external window cleaning a few times a year, changing carpets every few years, painting of hallways). It doesn't really get scruffy, they tend to keep on top of things like painting and lights and they're very strict if anything gets left in the hall. We're pretty happy with it as we don't have to nag about anything, although there isn't anything like meetings or votes on issues.

Document your concerns with photos and send to whomever is supposed to be in charge.
If you rent, cc the landlord.

I pay $300 CAD, which is about 164 sterling

I'm in London and it seems a bit high for me. Especially if u don't have a lift. But it's not crazy high either.

Ours covers cleaning and maintenance of communal areas (hallways, car parks, gardens, bin stores etc) and is roughly the same.

Who are your resident directors? They should be the ones who effectively employ the managing agent and should represent residents. Do they hold residents' meetings? Is there an AGM every year? If you want more of a say on getting stuff done, see if you can get yourself elected as a director. It will mean you have more visibility over what the managing agent are doing for their money and you can guide them if there are recurring issues. There should be a reserve fund for any unexpected work.

Ideally, the MA should be doing regular inspections which they report back on to the directors and ask for permission to fix stuff or address things which need doing. The problem with this kind of thing IME (and this is in no way directed at the OP but a general moan) is that people are quick to complain but less willing to step up and help make sure things get done. You should make a list of everything that needs addressing and raise it to your directors and the MA.

That's a fair point, FuckingLiability. The guy we bought the flat from was a director and mentioned we might want to do the same, so maybe we need to sort that out. I know the neighbour who runs the mgt co is also one. I don't know if there are any others. Maybe that's the best way forward so we can be more involved, I have no problem with that.

I'd definitely recommend it. You'll have an element of control over what's spent on the development and how it's spent. You do need to be voted in, but unless the existing directors are total control freaks, they're likely to be pleased to have someone else involved, particularly if you have any knowledge of facilities management, accounting or basic common sense!

But yeah, that would be my first port of call, speak to your neighbour who's a director, say that you're interested in being one too so that you can pitch in and help take the burden etc etc. The MA should send you a form and you put yourself forward, you'll get voted in (or not) and that's it. If you do go down this route, make sure they list your name as a director at Companies House using the MA's address/phone no. to avoid people bothering you directly. My recommendation would be to set up an email account which only directors have access to for residents to put forward any complaints or queries. You could also do a Facebook group though if your development is large you might not want to do this as it can end up with petty sniping and score-settling.

Good luck!

DH and I pay double that, but our flat is a touch over 1000sqft, and on a studio flat our service charge would be significantly less as how much you pay is charged per square foot. One thing that was big for us was that that fee included a sink-in fund for essential works, as our building is listed. We were given 2 years worth of spending reports for our building on request before we bought, and we could see where the money goes. We can also go to residents meetings to raise issues and have a residents intranet and direct email to our management company.

Mine is 70 quid a month but for very much non-luxury flats with minimal maintenance (and there's no garage, lift, security etc) - It also doesn't include building up reserves for major expenses (which I would much prefer) so owners have to contribute on top of that when any big work needs doing.

There are AGMs and we do get sent an annual report on the finances so we can see what things have been spent on.

One thing you didn't mention in your post was the building insurance - that is likely to take a sizeable chunk out of the service charge money.