What are service charges?
Service charges pay for services, repairs, maintenance, insurance and management that your lease allows the landlord to recover. Your lease sets your share and the payment arrangements. This guide covers variable service charges: charges that vary with the relevant costs. Fixed charges and freehold estate charges need separate advice. GOV.UK explains service charges (opens in a new tab).
Check the lease before challenging a bill. Cleaning, gardening, communal utilities, management fees and reserve funds may be included, but a service is not chargeable merely because it appears on an invoice. LEASE explains what may be charged (opens in a new tab).
General information checked on 8 October 2026, not legal advice. The rules below distinguish current rights from announced reforms. Get advice about your lease before withholding payment.
Your rights as a leaseholder
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Request a cost summary
Under section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, request a summary in writing for the last accounting year, or the past 12 months where accounts are not kept by accounting years. The deadline is one month after your request or six months after the accounting period ends, whichever is later.
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Inspect the supporting documents
Under section 22, make a written request to inspect within six months of receiving the summary. The landlord must provide facilities within one month and keep them available for two months. You may inspect supporting accounts and receipts and take copies. Inspection facilities must be free; reasonable charges are allowed for copying facilities. Inspection-related management costs may still enter the service charge if recoverable under the lease and law. See section 22(5)–(6) (opens in a new tab).
These are the current request-based rights. See LEASE's information-rights guidance (opens in a new tab). If a landlord refuses, seek advice about enforcement; a tribunal application about the amount payable does not automatically enforce a request for documents.
Statutory protections
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Section 19: reasonable costs and standards
Recoverable costs must be reasonably incurred, and relevant work or services must meet a reasonable standard. Advance charges must also be reasonable. The cheapest quotation is not automatically the only reasonable choice. Read section 19 (opens in a new tab) and LEASE's explanation (opens in a new tab).
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Section 20: consultation
Consultation is normally required where qualifying works cost any leaseholder more than £250, or a qualifying agreement lasting over 12 months costs any leaseholder more than £100 in an accounting year. Different procedures and exceptions apply. A tribunal may dispense with consultation. Read our Section 20 guide and LEASE's consultation guidance (opens in a new tab).
Section 20B: the 18-month rule
Generally, costs incurred more than 18 months before a demand cannot be recovered through that demand. The exception requires written notice within those 18 months that the costs were incurred and you will have to contribute. The notice must identify those already-incurred costs and give a cost figure. A vague warning of a future bill or planned works is insufficient. A prudent estimate may be used where precision is unavailable; the exact final individual share is not required. See Westmark v Peddle [2017] UKUT 449 (LC), paragraph 77 (opens in a new tab) and the 18-month rule guidance (opens in a new tab).
How to challenge service charges
- Collect the lease, demands, budgets, accounts, invoices and consultation notices.
- List each disputed item, the amount, the lease clause and your reason for challenging it.
- Keep dated photographs of defects and copies of correspondence.
- Write to the landlord or agent with specific questions and a reasonable response deadline.
- Use the complaints process, and consider mediation before applying to the tribunal.
These are preparation suggestions, not extra statutory deadlines. If agreement is impossible, GOV.UK explains the tribunal route (opens in a new tab): the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales.
Section 27A applications to the tribunal
A landlord or leaseholder can ask the tribunal whether a variable service charge is payable, by whom, how much and when. Payment alone does not mean you have agreed the charge. Matters already agreed, admitted or decided can fall outside its jurisdiction. Read LEASE's application guidance (opens in a new tab).
In England, a service-charge liability application costs £114, with a £227 hearing fee if a hearing is needed. Help with Fees may be available. These fees were retained in the July 2026 fee changes (opens in a new tab). Wales has its own fees and waiver rules (opens in a new tab).
The tribunal gives directions for evidence and may decide on papers or at a hearing. Follow its timetable; there is no guaranteed completion date. HMCTS explains the process (opens in a new tab).
Check legal-cost exposure before applying
In England, unreasonable conduct can lead to a costs order. Separately, your lease may allow the landlord to recover litigation costs through charges. Ask about a section 20C application to restrict recovery through service charges, and advice on any administration-charge costs. Read the tribunal's costs guidance (opens in a new tab).
You do not need to pay first to seek a determination, but applying does not suspend your lease obligations or prevent debt recovery. Get advice before withholding a disputed sum.
Common service charge issues
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Management fees and insurance
Ask what the fee covers, how it is calculated and what evidence supports it. For insurance, ask for the policy information and a breakdown of premiums, fees and commissions. A percentage fee is not automatically unlawful, and an alternative quote is evidence rather than a right to replace the landlord's insurer. Check the lease and the reasonableness of the charge.
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Work quality and missing information
Compare the charged work with the specification and what was delivered. Use the information rights above to obtain supporting records. Keep a separate record of unanswered requests.
GOV.UK covers insurance, information and service-charge challenges (opens in a new tab).
What changes next?
England: changes planned from 2027
The government's 15 July 2026 response plans stronger information rights, standardised bills and accounts, annual reports and litigation-cost reforms under the 2024 Act. Changes are due to start during 2027, subject to regulations and commencement. Annual reports and standardised demands are planned with 12 months' notice for private landlords and 24 months for social landlords.
These are not today's replacement rules. Welsh Ministers will decide implementation in Wales separately. Read the government's implementation plans (opens in a new tab).
How Residents Circle helps
Use the community forum to discuss concerns with neighbours and compare questions for the landlord. Keep original demands, invoices and formal correspondence for your own records.