The New Deal Valuing leaseholders Delivering value for money Leasehold Services Riverview House Beavor Lane W6 9AR YOUR INTERIM SERVICE CHARGES EXPLAINED 2009/2010 5
What are service charges? If you are a council leaseholder, or in some cases a freeholder, you will be liable to pay service charges. Service charges are the costs rechargeable to you by the council for the supply of services to your block and/or your estate, e.g. lighting, caretaking, repairs. They will also include charges for ground rent and insurance. You may also be required to contribute to major repair works or improvements undertaken by the council, for example, painting communal areas or roof renewal. We will send you a separate bill for these as and when they take place. Each year in March we send you an interim invoice which lists the costs we estimate we will incur during the financial year ahead (April to March) in providing you with services to your building and/or estate. At the end of the financial year we calculate the actual costs of providing these services and you will receive an actual bill in September. Enclosed with this booklet is a summary of your interim service charge costs for the financial year 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. This invoice will be payable in 10 monthly instalments, from April to January inclusive. If you prefer to pay in 2 half yearly instalments please let a member of the team know. Please note any close of year invoice you receive in September will NOT form part of any payment plan/direct debit that you may have in place. Your service charge summary bill does not show a balance brought forward. If you want to find out the balance of your account please contact leasehold services. 2
How can you find out more about your service charges? Your Leaseholder s Handbook contains a leaflet which sets out the details of the various services the council provides to its leaseholders and explains how it calculates the service charges. Each time you are sent an invoice and summary of charges you will also receive a leaflet Service Charges Summary of Tenants rights and obligations. You can also find out more information by visiting H&FHomes website at http://www.hfhomes.org.uk click on: About your Leasehold. How are your charges worked out? Your service charge summary shows the charges for various services to the block (B) in which your home is situated and for the estate (E) where the block is positioned. You may also have a charge for an area known as pseudo boundary (P) this relates to specific services covering an area different to your block and estate, e.g. district heating. You pay a percentage of the total block, estate charges and pseudo boundary as set out in your lease. The summary will show the percentage proportion that you have been estimated for each service (head of charge). Not all charges are calculated in the same way. This may be because they are affected by an additional factor like the rateable value allocated to your property (e.g. heating and insurance). Or because they have a fixed percentage or cost, such as ground rent, management and administration 3
What are your service charges for? The most common service charge descriptions are explained in the table below and over the next few pages. The services relevant to your property will be listed on your annual service charge summary. Service Block electric/estate electric What your charge covers This charge is for electricity used in lighting the shared areas of the block and/or estate and for other services such as operating lifts, water pumps, controlled access systems and any other equipment that uses electricity. EDF supplies the electricity. (VAT is not charged). Block maintenance/ Estate maintenance This is for day to day repairs and maintenance of the communal shared areas of both the block and/or estate in which you live. The work is carried out either by our chosen contractor or our direct services organisation. We do not include repairs carried out within individual residential flats. If you need to report a repair, and you feel that the cause could be due to vandalism, please bring this to the attention of the repairs officer. 4
Caretaking This is for the provision of the caretaking service on your estate or block. The service is provided on a group working system by residential and mobile teams and you are charged for the hours spent delivering caretaking duties on your block or estate. This includes cleaning of shared areas and lifts. The caretakers also provide a vital link between the residents and HFHomes officers by reporting extra repair orders. There There may be additional costs raised under this charge for works carried out to your block/estate by our specialist services team. This team deals with graffiti removal, unblocking of chutes, window cleaning and heavy duty cleaning of the common parts of blocks. Concierge This is for providing the receptionists for the scheme from 8 am to 1am, 7 days a week, 52 weeks per year. It also includes any associated running costs. Please note: if your block does not always have a receptionist, cover is still provided from another block via the CCTV system. Horticulture This reflects the cost of maintaining the grassed and/or planted areas attached to the blocks or estates. The work is carried out by our gardeners under a contract that was competitively tendered. 5
C/access / C/access upper This is the charge for servicing and repairing the system that controls access to the building. There is no standing charge for providing the service. Booster pumps These pumps are installed mainly in tower blocks to make sure each flat receives fresh water. The charge includes regular servicing and minor repairs. Lift servicing All lifts are serviced and checked regularly. This is necessary for safety reasons and is carried out monthly by our appointed contractor and includes minor lift repair work. Lift repairs This is for any additional works we carry out which are outside of the comprehensive contract detailed above. Lift safety These works consist of various health and safety items such as danger notices, new shaft lighting or adding a safety access ladder, and are required from time to time under health and safety legislation. Lift pit pumps This is for any repairs and the regular servicing we carry out to the water pump in the lift shaft. 6
Heating servicing This is for regularly servicing the boilers that supply the district heating and hot water which is supplied as part of a comprehensive contract and includes any minor repair works. Heating repairs This covers any additional repairs or maintenance work connected with a shared heating and hot water system, which may be required outside the comprehensive contract detailed above. T.V. aerials If there is a shared T.V. aerial serving your block or estate a specialist contractor carries out servicing of these aerials. There is no standing charge for the aerial. Fire pump maint. Fire pumps are fitted in some blocks to ensure that there is enough pressure behind the supply of water available for fire brigade use in the event of an emergency. This charge is for the servicing of the pumps and any repairs. Extractor fans This is for maintaining and servicing the shared parts of the extractor fan system installed mainly in tower blocks. Some lifts/lift shafts are also fitted with extractor fans. 7
Intruder alarms This is for servicing and repair works to this system which provides additional out of hours security for the concierge offices and equipment. There is no standing charge for the service. Emergency lighting This is for the regular inspecting and testing of emergency lighting in shared areas, any maintenance or repair works and is also a Health and Safety requirement. Lightning protection This is for the annual testing of the lightning protection system fitted to some blocks and any maintenance or repair works. This is a safety requirement. Submersible pumps These pumps are fitted on some estates to ensure that any surface water is adequately drained away. Typically they will be sited in basements and underground areas. Ground rent This is charged in accordance with the amount set out in your lease Ground rent loft /roof/ garage etc This is an additional rent for those who have purchased additional space. 8
Insurance cost We arrange buildings insurance in line with the requirements of your lease. This is currently with Aspen insurance under policy N07462707. The "Cost of Insurance" is the sum of the buildings insurance premium and any insurance premium tax. In combining these costs a rate of 1.46 per 1,000 of the sum insured has been used to calculate the cost of insurance. Premiums run in line with the financial year, 1st April - 31st March. We arrange buildings insurance only. We strongly recommend that you arrange your own contents insurance policy. Should you need to make a claim please call 08705 21 22 23 and an Aspen advisor will assist you. Please note: if you rent out a property it is strongly recommended that you also arrange your own loss of rental/income insurance. 9
Water charges If a block or estate is fitted with a water meter, this charge covers the cost of supplying fresh water and removal of waste/sewerage. You should not be paying any extra to Thames Water plc. Some blocks, where there are shared meters, will still be charged at rateable value, based on the standing charge and costs provided each year by the service provider. 10
Administration This is made up of the two previous separate charges Administration & Support and Housing Management Fees and covers the cost of the leasehold services team in administering service charges and a proportion of the area housing office costs in providing a housing management services to all residents. The first element of this charge is calculated at 18% of your total service charge invoice excluding ground rent, and insurance. The maximum charge of this element is 125 and the minimum 35 per leaseholder. The second element is a flat rate charge calculated according to the size of the building/estate your property is situated in and the service it receives. The flat rate charges have decreased by 20% compared to last years estimates. Mgt Tier reductions 2008/09 Estimates 2009/10 Estimates Street 40 32 Properties Gap Sites 80 64 Larger Estates 130 104 11
H&F Homes provides a housing management service to all residents, both tenants and leaseholders (and in many cases freeholders). This service includes the management of repairs and maintenance, estates management, consultation and other day to day services carried out by the local area housing offices. Leaseholders are only charged for an apportionment of the cost incurred in providing services to leaseholders. Do you need more information on your charges? If you feel you need additional information please email or write to your co-ordinator. If you wish to come to our leasehold services office to speak to someone about your service charge bill we would ask that you please arrange an appointment. This will ensure that you do not have a long wait until someone is free to speak to you and that your query can be efficiently dealt with. Service Quality and Value for Money If you wish to discuss issues relating to the housing management or repairs services provided to your block or estate please directly contact your local area housing office. The contact numbers are set out on page 14 of this document. Payment methods 12
Payment can be made at a bank, at the cashiers' office at Hammersmith town hall, by cheque in the post (with your account and invoice number written on the reverse) or by telephoning the automated telephone system which now allows you to pay by credit or debit card 24 hours a day. The number is 020 8753 1930. You can also pay 'online' via a computer. This could be from council offices on our intranet service, or from a home computer via the internet. Just logon to www.lbhf.gov.uk and click on pay it,/rents/select service charges from drop-down menu/use only your 5 digit account number as the reference then follow the instructions. Are you on income support? If you are on income support you will need to contact the appropriate benefits office and give them a copy of your invoice. This will make it easier for them to get your benefit reassessed. You may be entitled to an increase in what you receive. Please tell our income/recovery section if you are getting income support as normally interest will not be charged on your account. Moving on? If you are thinking of selling your property you will need to provide the purchaser with details about your home and your service charges. We now provide a comprehensive package that includes three years accounts and details of the building insurance. It also includes an estimate of works that may be carried out to the property in the next couple of years. 13
The charge is currently 75 excl VAT and the pack should be provided within 10 working days. Useful contacts Council Contacts Council Tax 020 8600 7777 Emergencies (out of hours) 020 8748 8588 Interim Home Buy service manager Mr Alastair Murran 020 8753 1742 For information/application forms for landlords consent for private works e.g. loft conversions, light well conversions etc. and lease extensions please contact: Mr Raj Phlora 020 8753 1743 Ms Helen Esenwa 020 8753 4013 Leasehold Services For queries regarding service charge and major works bills, calculations of costs and payment options email: service.charges@hfhomes.org.uk telephone: 0800 840 4501 option 2 Head of Leasehold Services Mr Ben Cox Service charges manager Mrs W Nofal 14
Service Charges North of the Borough Hammersmith north Josh Barnes South Hammersmith & Edward Woods estate Ms M Cave Senior service charges co-ordinator Ms M Cave Income recovery officer Mr J Fernandes Service Charges South of the Borough Fulham north Ms K Moxam South Fulham Ms M Walker Income recovery officer Ms E Tanriverdi Area Housing Offices For queries regarding the housing services supplied to the block and estate in which you live: South Hammersmith: 020 8753 4427 Email: southhammersmith@hfhomes.org.uk Hammersmith North: 020 8753 4400 15
Email: hammersmithnorth@hfhomes.org.uk Fulham North: 020 7385 3355 Email: fulhamnorth@hfhomes.org.uk South Fulham: 020 7386 6000 Email: southfulham@hfhomes.org.uk Repairs reporting numbers South of the Borough: 0800 131 3423 North of the Borough: 0800 093 3132 INDEPENDENT ADVICE CONTACTS The leasehold advisory service (LEASE) www.lease-advice.org.uk An independent agency funded by government grant. Information available includes downloadable leaflets and guidance on LVT decisions. 0845 345 1993 Residential property tribunal service (RPTS) www.rpts.gov.uk Is an independent body which gives an accessible service to landlords, tenants and leaseholders either to Rent Assessment Committees or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. A variety of information and booklets can be downloaded. Having difficulty paying your bills? There are a number of agencies providing free advice and/or counselling: 16
Advice & Employment Shepherds Bush: part funded by, but independent to, the council. Offers a drop in service and workshops by pre-arrangement. Services available include help with debt management, mortgage arrears, welfare benefits & council tax arrears. 020 8753 5913 or visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/aesb Citizens' Advice Bureaux: the largest provider of free impartial and holistic debt and money advice in the UK. For your nearest bureau see your local phone book or visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk National Debtline: a free phone-based information and advice service. Call 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.co.uk Consumer Credit Counselling Service: a charity funded by the financial services industry specializing in debt management plans. Call 0800 138 1111 or visit www.cccs.co.uk Payplan: recommended by some Trade Unions. Call 0800 085 4298 The Money Advice Association: gives details of your nearest advisor on 0141 572 0237 or visit www.m-aa.org.uk Advice UK: the network of the Federation of Information & Advice Centres can be contacted on 020 7407 4070 Bishop Creighton House 378 Lillie Road, London SW6 Age Concern 105 Greyhound Road, London, W6 8NJ 17
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