Service charges

Electrical testing

In order to comply with health and safety legislation, we're obliged to carry out testing of all electrical intake points into your building.

You would have always been liable to pay for the service, but in previous years we've chosen not to charge you. We'll now charge a fixed rate to all residents for this service.

Please note that the electrical testing is charged to your building regardless of whether there is a separate landlord's supply.

Water testing

Like electrical testing, this is a fixed rate service charge to cover our cost of statutory testing of shared water supplies and storage tanks.

Water testing is another health and safety requirement that we carry out to detect and eliminate issues such as legionella.

Building monitoring

We've recently installed building monitoring equipment into many of our blocks.

This equipment will enable proactive, early, detection of faults with facilities, including fire alarms and communal heating systems.

This will benefit our residents as the system aims to identify faults as soon as they occur and notify us, with the aim of making the process more efficient. 

As a result, there is a small servicing cost included in your service charges.

Please note that we carried out the installation of the equipment at no cost to you.

Mobile caretaking

We have several teams of multi-skilled operatives who provide a mobile service across L&Q’s estates.

They don't work to a rota, but will visit sites as requested by the Property Manager, usually following estate inspections.

The mobile teams carry out general caretaking duties. This may include carrying out minor repairs in communal areas or undertaking supplementary communal cleaning or grounds maintenance when needed.

We levy a small annual charge for the mobile service. All residents on our managed estates pay this charge.

Even if you live in a house, you may pay for mobile caretaking if we provide external services to the communal areas of the street or estate where you live.

You can request a visit from the mobile team via your Property Manager.

Fire risk assessment

If your building is subject to periodic assessment for fire risk, we've included a small charge as a contribution towards the cost of this statutory service.

The cost to residents is £1 per month or 23 pence per week.

Equipment telephone lines

This heading is for the cost of telephone lines connected to equipment in your building or on your estate.

Equipment may include items such as lifts, door entry systems, or CCTV systems.

In previous years, the line charges were included under the main headings for these services on your statement.

Dry riser servicing/maintenance

As part of building compliance, we need to service and maintain dry riser systems that serve our properties.

If your block benefits from a dry riser system, you'll see a service charge for this facility.

In previous years we included these costs within the headings of 'Fire Protection Equipment Servicing' and 'Maintenance'.

Wet risers and sprinklers servicing/maintenance

As part of building compliance, we need to service and maintain sprinkler and wet riser systems that serve our properties.

If your block benefits from one of these systems, you'll see a service charge for this facility.

In previous years we included these costs within the headings of 'Fire Protection Equipment Servicing' and 'Maintenance'.

Fire extinguishers and blankets servicing/maintenance

As part of building compliance, we need to service and maintain fire extinguishers and fire blankets located in the communal areas of our buildings.

If your block benefits from extinguishers or blankets, you'll see a service charge for them.

In previous years we included these costs within the headings of 'Fire Protection Equipment Servicing' and 'Maintenance'.

Fire protection equipment servicing/maintenance

We've created new service charge headings for various elements related to fire protection as above, with the aim of making your statements clearer and more transparent.

You may still have headings under Fire Protection Equipment: these relate to the servicing and maintenance of fire alarms, smoke and heat detectors, and automatic opening ventilation systems.

Energy Costs – Communal Electricity / External Electricity / Communal Gas Consumption

The rates of communal electricity and gas consumption in our residents’ service charges will increase on average by 50% from April 2023.

If we provide communal energy to the building where you live, or to external areas around your home, you're likely to see a rise in these headings on your next service charge breakdown.

The rate of increase is high, but it is lower than the current trend in energy cost rises across the UK.

We employ energy consultants to obtain preferential tariffs from our suppliers, and this helps to protect you from the full impact of prices on the open market.

Managing Agent Costs

You may live in an L&Q property where some or all services are provided by a third-party management company rather than directly by our own staff, contractors, and suppliers.

When a separate management company provides services, you'll see a heading of Managing Agent Costs on your service charge statement, along with the expected cost of their services for the year.

If you're a homeowner, you may see two lines on your statement – one for Managing Agent Costs and the other for Managing Agent Costs.

The latter heading represents costs within the managing agent’s budget that are ineligible to be recharged to non-homeowners, such as buildings insurance premiums or communal heating system maintenance costs. The tenants’ share of these charges is covered by us – we do not pass on additional amounts to our homeowners.

Please note that we're anticipating some significant increases in managing agent costs in some of our properties from April 2023, reflecting the high national rates of inflation we are currently facing.

We've been liaising with managing agents to make sure the level of your service charge is as accurate as possible, but please note some increases in managing agent costs will be inevitable.

Building Insurance

If you're a leaseholder or shared owner of an L&Q-owned property, your home is likely to be covered by L&Q’s group insurance policy.

From April 2023, the annual building insurance premium for your home under this policy is rising to £260.00.

This is an increase of £40.00 compared with the premium for the 2022/23 year.

The increase is in line with the national House Rebuilding Cost index and is higher than the increases we have seen in recent years.

However, by insuring our properties collectively under a single policy, we're still able to deliver lower premiums than we would otherwise be able to obtain by insuring each building individually.

Therefore, there is a cost-benefit to our homeowners by continuing to be insured under L&Q’s policy.

Caretaking Costs

If your home benefits from the services of a scheduled caretaking service, you may see two lines for this on your service charge breakdown from April 2023.

There may be a Caretaking (External) charge, set at ‘Scheme’ or ‘Estate’ level on your statement, to represent the cost of exterior works provided by your caretaking team. If you live in a flat or maisonette, you may also see a charge at ‘Block’ level on your statement for the services to the internal areas of your building.

In previous years’ statements, you would've seen a separate line for Caretakers’ Cleaning Supplies. Please note that this cost has now been absorbed into the main Caretaking headings within your service charge.