Service Charges Charter
The original Shared Ownership Charter for Service Charges was developed in 2017 under the 2016-23 Affordable Homes Programme. In launching the new Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26, the GLA committed to working with industry to update the Charter.
The new Service Charges Charter has been developed through close collaboration between City Hall, leaseholders and housing providers. Like its predecessor, the new Charter aims to improve satisfaction among leaseholders, particularly those in Shared Ownership, by providing a set of best-practice principles for housing providers to adopt when managing service charges. The key updates include additional detail on the principles of ensuring transparency on service charges, and a new section outlining expectations on challenge and redress.
Overarching themes of the Charter
- Transparency – ensuring leaseholders are provided with the information they need to understand their service charges.
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Affordability – ensuring that the affordability of service charges is a key consideration when setting or reviewing service charges.
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Design – encouraging design approaches for new build developments that minimise service charges while ensuring high quality design.
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Challenge and redress – ensuring that leaseholders are aware of how to challenge their service charges and the routes to redress that are available to them.
How can organisations sign up?
All housing providers receiving funding through the new Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 are expected to sign up to new Charter as this will replace the previous one. Key Information Documents now require partners to disclose to potential shared owners whether they have signed up to the Service Charges Charter.
The Mayor also encourages all Registered Providers directly involved in the development and management of Shared Ownership homes in London as well as private developers of leasehold homes to sign up and apply the Charter’s principles across their properties.
Investment Partners can sign up to the Charter by completing the signatory letter at the bottom of this section and returning to their Area Manager. Other organisations should email [email protected]
See the organisations that signed up to the 2021 Charter. This list will be updated shortly.
Download Charter Signatory Letter
Use the checklist to evaluate your current practices and identify areas for improvement.
Download Charter Checklist
How can leaseholders benefit from this?
The Charter seeks to standardise Housing Providers’ approach to service charges and is endorsed by the Mayor as an important standard for consumer protection. Key benefits include:
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Prior to purchase, new buyers will receive explanatory information in a format which is clear, concise and easy to understand.
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Housing providers will set service charges at a realistic level and review them on a regular basis to ensure that ongoing costs to leaseholders are minimised and where appropriate are reduced. They will also have published policy on repayment options for leaseholders experiencing financial hardship.
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Housing providers will consult leaseholders if changes to operation and management of buildings result in changes to service charges.
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Developers and housing providers will prioritise design decisions that lead to efficient buildings with long-lasting and high-quality components that minimise ongoing costs to leaseholders.
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Housing providers will supply clear information about the process that leaseholders should follow to formally challenge or complain about their service charges. Errors should be rectified swiftly.
Additional resources on seeking redress
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