Under Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, a landlord has 18 months within which to notify you of service charge costs being incurred or demand payment from you.
If your accounts have not yet been finalised, you will have received a Section 20B letter informing you of the total draft service charges for your block or estate, please be aware that this notice is not the final account and is not a demand for payment.
This is a legal notice under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 as amended.
We are required to issue this notice if we are unable to produce the actual accounts within 18 months of incurring service chargeable costs.
A S20B Notice is a legal requirement notifying you that we require additional time to finalise the actual cost expenditure and notify you of the outcome.
The amount shown on the Section 20B letter is costs that have so far been associated to your home, however this expenditure is still subject to a validation process and may change as a result.
This is at present the best guide we can share with you.
This letter is NOT a demand for payment and does not include the estimates which you will have been paying towards in the year.
There are several reasons that have prevented the accounts being validated on time.
We have had staff changes which has slowed down the process.
Also, we are working with Third Party Managing Agents and other suppliers to gather the information we need.
We are working hard to try and resolve both these scenarios.
Year-end service charge accounts list the actual costs incurred in providing home and the difference between actual spend and what was estimated.
Year-end service charge accounts are calculated by comparing the actual costs of providing the services to your home, compared to what we estimated the charges would be for the same period.
If the actual costs are higher than the estimated costs, there will be an additional charge known as a deficit.
However, if actual costs are lower then you will receive a credit, which may result in a refund.
Service charges are costs for services such as but not limited to: cleaning, grounds maintenance and utilities that PA Housing provide to your home.
Depending on the type of property you live in, you may need to pay a service charge.
Service charges are payments made by you to cover the costs of providing communal services where you live.
If you rent your home, the service charge includes the cost of things like:
- grounds maintenance
- cleaning of communal areas
- cleaning of communal windows
- maintenance of lifts, door entry systems, fire alarm systems, and emergency lighting
- communal electricity, gas, and water
- other services that will be listed on your service charge estimate.
In some cases, there may also be staff costs, such as a caretaker.
The full list of services you receive will be included on the information we send you each year.
If you are a homeowner, you will also pay for day-to-day repairs to the building and communal areas.
