Like most housing associations, we collect charges which cover the cost of additional services within your tenancy. These are called service charges and are fixed at the start of the year based on estimated costs. These charges usually remain at the fixed cost until they are reviewed the following year.
Service charges are for additional services that are provided above the standard rental of your home. By providing these services, we ensure that your home, and any communal areas if applicable, remain clean, tidy, safe and compliant with regulations, such as fire alarm testing, fire equipment maintenance and electrical testing.
They can include (but are not limited to) the cost of grounds maintenance and gardening, communal cleaning and lighting for the areas you share with your neighbours.
For social rented customers, service charges are those services or costs which are listed within your tenancy agreement and not covered by your rent payment.
At the start of the year, we estimate the service charges of where you live as we won’t know how much the maintenance costs will be for the coming year. We try our best to make our estimates as accurate as possible.
Our service charges are fixed which means the amount is set for the year and the amount will not change until it is reviewed again the following year.
We will provide you with a service charge breakdown in your rent notification letter which you will receive in February each year. The service charges you will need to pay will start from April each year.
Some of our homes with services don’t have a separate service charge. This applies if you have an affordable rent for example where the charge of rent includes the cost of any services you receive.
We provide a wide range of services which are additional to the standard rental amount of your home. Depending on where you live, a service charge will be included as an additional charge and examples include but not limited to:
Communal cleaning
Grounds maintenance and gardening
Lift and door entry maintenance
Fire alarm testing and equipment maintenance
Electrical testing
Lighting
CCTV and security
Refuse collection
Management charge
If you receive help towards your housing costs through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, any eligible service charge costs may be met by your benefits provider. Whether you do receive help towards your housing costs or not, you will be responsible for the payment of any service charges.
There are some services that may be personal to you that are not covered by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, examples include:
Personal energy costs, such as electricity and gas
Personal water costs
Emergency link line services
The service charges you pay will depend on where you live and the services you receive. Your tenancy agreement states which services you receive. Your total service charge payable is detailed in your rent notice which you will receive in February each year.
A management charge is part of the service charge payable to Magenta Living. It can be a fixed fee or a percentage of costs, depending on your agreement. You will be notified what the management charge will be in your rent notice you will receive in February each year.
There are a range of factors that contribute to the management charge which may include but is not limited to:
Financial processing including the collection service charges, setting up direct debit mandates and arranging payment of invoices for any works carried out where you live.
Administration – communicating to customers and responding to customer queries, ensuring that records are updated and we are compliant with all statutory legislation.
Scheme visits – inspecting buildings and surrounding areas and recording repairs as necessary and dealing with any queries that arise from the scheme visits.
Contractors – arranging works and managing contractor relationships, coordinating service and maintenance contracts, ensuring all contractors comply with health and safety legislation and monitoring works that are carried out.
Health and safety – ensuring the building complies with the latest Health and Safety regulations, for example ensuring legal signage is displayed, arranging fire alarm maintenance and testing.
Your feedback is very important to us, it helps us learn and improve the services we provide and how we provide them.
If you do have any feedback about your service charges or if you’re not satisfied with the services you receive please get in touch with us here.