Final account guide

This guide explains your service charge final account for the financial year running from 1 April to 31 March. For more information, visit Leaseholders or see the Homeowners' Handbook

Service charge

Your service charge is your share of the costs of maintaining and providing services to your building and estate.

The areas covered are defined in your lease or transfer deed. These costs are shared between all homes in the building or estate, including council tenants, who contribute through their rent.

As your landlord, Ealing Council is responsible for maintaining the building structure and shared areas, such as hallways, stairwells and communal facilities. The services provided depend on where you live.

Final account

At the start of each financial year, we send you an estimated service charge bill. This is our best estimate of what services and repairs will cost during the year.

Actual spending can vary, so the estimate may be different from the amount eventually spent.

Each September, we send you a final account for the previous financial year. It compares the estimated costs with the actual costs.

  • If actual costs are lower than estimated, your account will be credited
  • If actual costs are higher than estimated, you will need to pay the difference
  • The difference is called your final account adjustment

We work hard to make estimates as accurate as possible by reviewing previous spending, allowing for inflation and working closely with contractors.

How your share is calculated

Your lease sets out the percentage of costs that you must pay.

This percentage is based on your property's gross value compared with the total gross value of all properties in the block.

Gross values are property values originally used by HM Revenue & Customs for tax purposes.

Do I need to pay anything?

Your final account adjustment will show one of the following:

Credit

The actual costs were lower than estimated.

  • Money has been added to your account
  • You do not need to make a payment unless your overall service charge account balance is in arrears

Debit

The actual costs were higher than estimated.

  • A debit has been applied to your account
  • You must pay the difference

Zero balance

The actual costs matched the estimate.

  • No payment is due

Understanding your statement

Your final account statement shows:

  • the estimated service charge you were billed
  • the actual service charge costs
  • the difference between the two amounts (your final account adjustment)

An example of a final account statement with a detailed explanation - this is an example only and does not relate to your property.

Description of services

You will only be charged for services provided to your building or estate.

  • CCTV - cameras used to help reduce antisocial behaviour, vandalism, fly-tipping and other environmental crime
  • Concierge - a service provided in some high-rise buildings to help keep the building secure, manage access and respond to emergencies
  • Caretaking and cleaning - The service is provided by our inhouse caretaking team and  includes:
    • cleaning halls and stairwells
    • cleaning lifts
    • reporting damage
    • dealing with blocked rubbish chutes where possible
    • removing small fly-tips
    • supporting action against antisocial behaviour
  • Tree lopping - pruning or removing branches for safety reasons or to manage tree growth
  • Street cleansing - includes litter picking, sweeping, leaf clearance, weed removal and fly-tipping removal on housing land. Housing land is treated in the same way as a private development and is not covered by council tax
  • Additional refuse collection - extra rubbish collections where the standard council tax-funded collections are not sufficient. This may be needed due to volumes or limited storage space at the building
  • Day works - urgent work or work that is required outside the normal contract, such as removing hazardous items or cleaning communal areas after incidents
  • Grounds maintenance - Looking after shared gardens and green spaces, including:
    • grass cutting
    • shrub and flower bed maintenance
    • pruning
    • weeding
  • Graffiti removal - removing graffiti and carrying out preventative visits inside buildings
  • Lifts - routine servicing and maintenance and statutory inspections
  • Communal electricity - electricity used in shared facilities such as:
    • lighting
    • door entry systems
    • lifts
    • fire alarms
    • water pumps
  • Pest control - treating pest infestations in communal areas
  • Repairs and maintenance - day-to-day repairs, maintenance and inspections to the building structure, communal areas and services, including:
    • roofs
    • shared doors
    • gutters and drains
    • lighting
    • water pipes
    • lifts
    • estate roads and pathways
    • fire and asbestos safety inspections
  • Mechanical and electrical services - regular inspections and testing of communal equipment and systems. These may include:
    • emergency lighting tests and inspections
    • inspections of lighting protection systems
    • service and gas safety check of communal boilers
    • inspection of water tanks
    • inspection and testing of smoke/fire alarms and automatic opening vents
    • door entry system, gates and barrier servicing
    • inspection of guardrail and mansafe systems
  • Management fee - a contribution towards the cost of managing housing services, including staffing and administration
    A reduced fee of £50 applies where your share of block costs are less than £50
  • Barratts Access Road - maintenance of a private access road
  • Window cleaning - cleaning communal windows and associated glass panels
  • Heating - cost of gas or electricity used by communal heating and hot water systems
  • Building insurance - insurance for the structure of the building and fixtures
    This does not cover your personal belongings, so you should arrange your own contents insurance. For more information see www.ealing.gov.uk/leaseholderinsurance

Understanding your repairs breakdown

If repairs were carried out, you will receive a detailed list showing:

  • Job Number – unique reference number for the repair
  • Logged date – when the repair was reported
  • Completed date – when the work was completed
  • Description – summary of the work carried out
  • Estate cost – total cost of repairs to the estate
  • Block cost – cost charged to your block, including labour and materials

Questions about repairs or charges

If you have questions about repairs or costs: please contact the home ownership services

Major works

Major works costs are not included in your service charge.

If major works are planned, we will consult you beforehand and send a separate invoice after the work is completed.

Your service charge covers regular services and day-to-day repairs only.

If planned works are expected to cost you more than £250, the council will carry out a separate consultation and provide an estimate before the work starts.

You will receive a separate invoice once the works are completed.

Ground rent 

Ground rent is a separate annual charge that may apply under the terms of your lease.

If your ground rent is due on 1 April, it will be included in your service charge estimate. Otherwise, you will receive a separate invoice.

How to request a refund

If your account is in credit, you can request a refund by emailing Home Ownership Services. Refunds are paid by BACS. You will need to provide proof of your bank account showing:

  • name
  • address
  • account number
  • sort code

Please attach a copy or a photo of your bank statement when requesting a refund. All transactions and balances on the statement can be blanked out.

You cannot receive a refund if you owe money for your service charge or major works and do not have a payment arrangement in place. In these cases, the credit may be transferred to your major works account instead.  

If you owe money (a debit balance)

You must pay the amount due within 28 days, in line with your lease.

If you are struggling to pay, contact home ownership services as soon as possible.

Failure to pay could lead to:

  • reminder notices
  • recovery action
  • legal proceedings

Persistent non-payment could be treated as a breach of your lease.

How to pay

  • By telephone (automated line): 020 8825 8346 available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • Online - use the council's online payment service
  • By bank transfer - our details are as follows:
    • account name: London Borough of Ealing
    • account number: 02390175
    • sort code: 30-00-00
    • reference: Your service charge account number
    • bank: Lloyds Bank Plc
  • Direct Debits only collect regular monthly service charges and cannot be used for final account adjustments

Need help paying?

If you are having financial difficulties, contact home ownership services immediately.

You may also be eligible for support through:

If you get Universal Credit, Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance, tell Jobcentre Plus about your service charges. This may increase the amount of benefits you get. You may need to provide copies of your bills, including your estimated service charge, final account and details of any planned works.

Tell Jobcentre Plus about any change to your service charge within 4 weeks of getting your bill.

Pension Credit can top up your retirement income and help with costs such as housing, heating, council tax and a TV licence. It’s worth checking if you qualify.

Free debt advice is available from National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.

If you disagree with a charge

You should continue paying your service charges while your dispute is being considered. If you believe a charge is incorrect:

  1. Contact Home Ownership Services
  2. Follow the council's complaints process if the issue is not resolved
  3. Apply to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) if necessary

The FTT can decide whether service charges are reasonable. Fees may apply.

Useful contacts

Home ownership services

Other useful contacts 

For further information, see the Homeowners' Handbook and Leaseholders pages.