Service charges
Frequently asked questions
Find out how service charges work and what they're for.
Do you want an overview of service charges and how they work?
You can download our service charge guides for leaseholders and people who rent their homes here.
Service charges - frequently asked questions
If you need to get in contact with us after reading this information, please fill out the short form on the money matters page of our website or call us on 01202 312 715.
If you need to contact us about anything else, just drop us a line as you usually would.
How service charges work and are calculated
What is a service charge?
A service charge or estate charge is the amount you pay for the delivery of services in communal areas. This may include things like cleaning, lighting, secure door entry, grounds maintenance, and the cost of managing these.
For leaseholders and shared owners, the service charge also includes the cost of buildings insurance.
For example, if you live in a flat, then the cost of maintaining any shared areas, such as corridors, stairs, or a shared garden will be covered by service charges. The amount charged depends on the services provided to your home and wider scheme.
Why do service charges sometimes increase?
While many rising costs are beyond Stonewater’s control, we’re committed to getting the best value possible and ensuring our customers remain secure, warm and comfortable in their homes. However, given inflation rates and the continuing economic situation, we’re still seeing some increases in the cost of the services we provide.
We know it’s tough to hear some costs continue to go up when everything else is getting more expensive too. We’re legally not allowed to make any profit from service charges and only recover the costs of the services that we’ve provided to customers.
We’re really pleased to have secured new energy contracts from May 2026, resulting in a lower-than-market increase for electricity and a 24% reduction in gas unit costs. This reflects our continued commitment to finding ways to save you money.
Why are my service charges reviewed different to my rent?
Service charges are not governed by the same factors as rent and are set to reflect the actual cost of delivering services to customers. We do everything we can to keep increases in service charge costs in line with or below inflation, and in some cases are able to reduce service charges, but this isn’t always possible due to external market factors.
When will I hear about my service charges for this year?
If you are a rented customer your service charges may be fixed or variable. You can find out which in your rent and service charge review letter. If you are a homeowner, then your service charge will be variable.
If your service charges are fixed, you’ll have all the information you need in your Rent and Service Charge Review letter. If you pay a variable service charge this may be reviewed later in the year, separately from your rent, so your service charge estimates will remain the same until this time. If you are a leaseholder, your service charge review date will be outlined in your lease.
How can I pay my service charges?
Service charges should be paid with any rent at the start of the period for which they are due, this normally means at the start of each week or month.
The easiest way to pay your service charges is Direct Debit. If you would like to pay online, or set up a new Direct Debit, please visit myhome.stonewater.org. If you prefer to pay over the phone, please call us on 01202 319 119.
How can I tell what services I am receiving?
Your Rent and Service Charge review letter will break down your charges. You can also look at your tenancy, lease or licence agreement to explain which services you receive.
Depending on the type of agreement you have with us you may be able to see a breakdown of the charges in MyPayments on MyHome by clicking on the total weekly charge to see the individual charges.
We are working hard to give access to a breakdown of the charges on MyHome for all customers, but this may be limited by the rent type you pay or your tenure. We want to give our customers as much control of their tenancy and online account as possible to give you 24/7 access to queries, so we will continue to work towards implementing these features for everyone.
How do service and estate charges work?
All charges are based on an estimate of the cost of providing services. We use known costs of contracts, previous costs incurred in recent years and consider price inflation.
The overall cost is divided between customers who receive or have access to the service – that way each customer only pays for their share of the services they receive.
Most of our rented customers have a ‘fixed’ service charge. The rent and service charge reviews are done at the same time, and the estimated charge is final. You will not be asked to pay more if the actual costs are more than the estimate.
Other rented and homeowner customers have a ‘variable’ service charge. If you’re on a variable service charge, your service charge review is separate from the rent review. If the cost of services is different from the estimate the difference is passed on to your account.
If you currently rent your home and pay a variable service charge, you can choose to move to a fixed service charge. To find out more, or make the switch, please contact us on 01202 319119 or servicecharges@stonewater.org.
What do each of the service descriptions mean?
You can find explanations of the most common service charges in our jargon buster. We also included a copy of the service charge descriptions with your rent review letter.
Why you pay certain charges
Why do I pay for grounds maintenance?
The grounds maintenance in your service charge relates to the maintenance of the shared outdoor spaces where you live. This covers areas that are owned by Stonewater and can include grass, shrubs and paved areas. The charge is shared fairly between all Stonewater customers who live on the scheme whether they own or rent their home.
Why do my neighbours have different service charges to me?
Your service charges are set based on your agreement with us; your neighbour’s agreement might be different to yours.
If you think your charges might be wrong, please let us know by emailing rentreview@stonewater.org or calling 01202 312715 so that we can look into it for you.
Why do I have new service charges this year?
This is likely to be because we’ve introduced a new service to your scheme. From time to time, we may add or remove services to your scheme to ensure we are delivering the best possible service to you. We do this in line with the terms of your tenancy agreement with us.
We have recently consulted with some customers around the introduction of services related to pest control, refuse disposal and provisions for tree surgery. These new services are now reflected in proposed charges from April 26 onwards.
What is the management fee for?
The management fee covers the cost of administering service contracts, preparing and issuing accounts for payment. This fee may also cover the cost of a Management Company where Stonewater operates a small part of a larger scheme managed by another organisation.
Does Stonewater charge administration fees?
Under service charge guidelines, we are permitted to charge an administration fee for services provided. This fee covers the reasonable costs and overheads we incur in operating and managing services to your home and scheme, including administering service contracts, preparing and issuing accounts for payment. This is included within the charges set for rented customers.
For customers who own their home, an administration and/or management fee may be payable in line with the terms set out in your agreement with us. This is calculated specific to your scheme and agreement and itemised separately in your annual accounts.
Do I have to pay for services I may not use?
Yes, where they are described in your agreement. Although you may not feel you directly benefit from these services, they are of benefit to your community, and we split the cost evenly across all customers with access to these services.
Why are my service charges the same all year round when they change with the seasons, for example I use less energy in the summer, and you don’t do as much grounds maintenance in the winter?
To help make charges manageable for customers, we divide and apportion the total cost of all services over the course of the entire year. This helps where customers are on fixed weekly or monthly incomes and means payments are always at a consistent level. For example, it avoids having larger energy bills in the winter, when use is higher, or larger bills for grounds maintenance in the summer, when visits are more frequent.
I never use communal areas. Do I have to pay these charges?
In terms of other communal costs, it’s difficult to allocate these against individual usage. A customer may not watch TV in the lounge or sit in the garden, but they do benefit from heating and lighting in communal spaces and the availability of things like laundry facilities and on-site staff.
We’ve worked on better communication with customers when they enquire about moving to a scheme where services are delivered in this way, to make sure they fully understand the parameters before entering into a tenancy.
All customers are required to contribute to communal services irrelevant of whether they make use of them.
How has my sewerage charge been set this year?
Over the past year, the cost of providing this service has increased significantly, both for homes on mains supply and those off‑grid. To continue delivering the service safely and reliably, we’ve had to adjust the service charge to reflect these rising costs.
Stonewater is committed to ensuring that rented customers living in rural homes without mains water or sewerage are not disadvantaged compared with those on the main network. For this reason, the charge for your area is set based on the actual cost of providing the service, while also being capped so that it remains below the national average for a home of your size.
What do my ‘Retirement Living staff costs’ pay for?
Our Retirement Living schemes allow residents aged 55 plus to live independently with additional housing management support as required.
We provide a member of staff on site, 24-hour emergency help through an alarm system, communal areas such as gardens and lounges, as well as social and aging well activities for residents. We have a variety of wellbeing call patterns, with some customers receiving daily/weekly wellbeing calls, depending on personal circumstance.
How has Retirement Living Staff costs been calculated this year?
To ensure our service charge for this area is fair, transparent, and reflects the way support is offered, we have updated how we calculate staffing costs across all our retirement living schemes. Back in April 2025, we introduced a standard approach where staffing costs are shared equally across our schemes. This means every customer will pay the same fixed amount for staffing, regardless of which scheme they live in. This change ensures a simpler, fairer way of calculating service charges for everyone.
Why might Supported Living charges at my scheme have changed this year?
The Supported Living charges vary from scheme to scheme. These charges reflect the actual cost of delivery of the service to customers and cover a lot more than staff salaries.
Why have my Independent Living charges increased this year?
Your Independent Living charge covers the cost of your 24/7 emergency alarm, as well as floating support provided by your Independent Living Officer. These charges reflect the actual cost of delivery of the service to customers.
Why might the cost of fire equipment maintenance have increased?
The health and safety of our customers is our priority. Following the tragic incident at Grenfell Tower, Stonewater were pleased to see the Government shine a spotlight on ensuring that all buildings and homes are safe and secure for customers.
We have continued to comply with relevant legislation to ensure that we are fully assured of the safety of our homes, however this does come at a cost. Whilst we always do all we can to ensure that increases are kept to a minimum, due to the increased work carried out on some schemes, this cost has in some cases increased above inflation. The projections for this service charge are based upon the costs incurred at each scheme over the past three years as well as the anticipated inflationary increase.
Why do I pay communal council tax through my service charges?
Depending on the set up of each scheme, we may be required to recover part of the overall charge for council tax. This is apportioned back through service charges to all of the households affected.
Am I paying for future improvement works?
When calculating charges, we can’t take into account any improvements which have not yet happened. This is because it would not be accurate and wouldn’t meet the legal and compliance guidance we are required to follow. You may pay a ‘provision’ which is a contribution towards maintaining an area in the future, for example ‘provision for furniture’ or ‘provision for tree surgery’.
What to do if you’re unhappy with your service charges or services
What should I do if I feel I’m being charged for a service I don’t receive?
We know we don’t always get things right and if, at any time, you feel we aren’t delivering the services we should be, please let us know. You can report an issue on MyHome, by emailing us on customers@stonewater.org or by calling us. If you wish to make a formal complaint about the services you receive, you can find information on all the ways you can do this on our website.
If you think your charges might be wrong, please let us know by emailing rentreview@stonewater.org or calling 01202 312715 so that we can look into it for you.
Can I complain about rent & service charges?
Our Complaints policy sets out what you can make a complaint about. We follow the direction of the Housing Ombudsman and examples of the types of cases we may investigate include:
- Complaints regarding poor communication about service charges
- Complaints that you are not receiving the service they are paying for, or the service provided has been of a poor standard
- Complaints that Stonewater has not followed the correct process when allocating service charges.
Why are you increasing my Grounds Maintenance charge when you have not been delivering the service?
We know that in previous years, some of our estate services haven’t always been consistent. We’re working hard to fix that and make sure you can rely on the services we provide. To make things easier, we’ve added a tool call Estate Services on MyHome. It lets you check your grounds maintenance schedule and report any issues without needing to contact us.
We’ve worked to ensure that the projections made in these areas reflect the up-to-date costs that we have incurred, using contract information and billing received. We are undergoing a remapping exercise of all our schemes to ensure that our contractors and customers are clear on what will be delivered under these services and have provided clear guidance on the standard to which customers can hold us to account and to help maintain happy, healthy communities.
How does Stonewater procure services that are value for money?
We’re constantly looking for the best value through our procurement process. An example of this would be our energy contracts, which are procured each year.
We take all appropriate steps to keep the costs of services as low as possible and appoint suppliers we believe offer the best value for money, but this may not always be the lowest price.
Legal rights around service charges and your agreements with us
Why are fixed service charges not mentioned in my tenancy agreement?
Since 2016 we have only offered tenancies with a fixed service charge. This decision was based on customer feedback on variable service charges which gave customers less assurance and more fluctuation in costs, making it harder for them to budget.
Many of our rented customers who were previously on variable service charges have chosen to switch to fixed service charges since 2016.
We have improved how we communicate with customers when they start a tenancy to make sure they’re fully aware of how service charges are set and what this means for them.
What is a Section 22 request and do all customers have a right to this?
Leaseholders and variable service charge customers have the right to inspect documents relating to the service charge, to provide more detail on the summary. They are able to make this request for a period of 6 months after receiving the summary and we will provide this within 1 month of the request. This is referred to as a Section 22 request as the request is made under Section 22 of the relevant legislation.
As fixed service charges are final and do not vary during the accounting period, customers who pay fixed service charges do not have the same rights.
We want to do all we can to help you understand your charges and are happy to discuss this with customers on a scheme-by-scheme basis. We cannot provide copies of invoices for a given period as this will not have a direct correlation with the fixed charge applied during that time and would be hard to understand. Our fixed service charges are set using several factors including known costs, contract costs, expected expenditure and inflation.
You can find more information in the tenant rights and obligations included with your rents and service charge review letter.
What does it mean if I’m on an ‘Affordable Rent’?
This means that your rent is set at 80% of the market value and you don’t pay a separate service charge. Your rent is inclusive of any services provided to your scheme or property, however these services may sometimes show separately in notifications. You will not receive a service charge review as any increase will only be on your rent, and you will not be able to see a breakdown of charges on MyHome.
Where a customer has requested Stonewater to maintain personal services such as lifting equipment in their home, there will be a service charge on top of the Affordable Rent charged.
Are my service charges covered by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit?
If you receive Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, some service charges will be covered, whilst others are classed as ineligible and not covered, meaning you are responsible for paying these charges. Eligible charges are usually those which relate to services carried out in communal areas of the property, such as communal cleaning. Personal charges/services, such as individual heating, water and electricity would be classed as ineligible and wouldn’t be covered.
If you would like further information on eligible and ineligible service charges, please contact us or your benefit provider.