Leasehold Service Charge Check

Use this checklist when the quoted service charge needs testing against the actual pack: accounts, budget, reserve fund, demands and explanations for major movements.

Built for England & Wales leasehold transactions.

Legal caution

This page is informational only, not legal advice. It does not tell you whether to exchange, proceed, renegotiate, or withdraw. Verify the issue against source documents and obtain professional advice before relying on it for legal, financial, or transactional decisions.

Checklist

Collect at least two to three years of accounts plus the current budget and demand.
Compare budgeted costs against actual spend and mark repeated overspends or balancing charges.
Check whether the lease permits the types of cost being recovered through the service charge.
Review insurance, repairs, management fees, utilities and reserve contributions as separate lines.
Ask for supporting documents where the pack gives only a summary figure.

Warning signals

Large year-on-year movements with no narrative explanation.
Current budget materially below recent actual spend.
Reserve contribution weak or absent despite known cyclical works.
Service charge figures conflict between LPE1, accounts, budget and demand.

Questions to ask

What explains the largest service charge movements in the last three years?
Is the current budget final and does it include all known works and insurance changes?
Were any balancing charges or credits issued after the latest accounts?
What supporting documents are available for unusual or new cost lines?

Official context to cross-check

These external LEASE pages are useful public context for the issue category. LeaseLens is independent, does not copy official guidance, and does not replace legal advice.

Apply this to a live pack

This page is generic guidance. Use LeaseLens when you want pack-specific Quick Findings and the option to unlock the Full Report.

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