Service Charge Guide
Stage1of 5

Check the charge

Check what you have been charged, what your lease allows and which records you need before deciding whether to challenge it.

Start with these three checks

  1. Gather the demand, lease, accounts and records you already have.
  2. Record what was demanded, paid and actually provided.
  3. Identify the service-charge year, each disputed item and the lease clause relied on.

Guidance for this stage

Start with the first topic for an introduction, or choose the guidance for the task you are returning to.

Identify the charges you want to challengeIdentify each charge you question, the reason you question it and the records needed to check it.8 min Organise neighbours without losing the detailShare the work with neighbours while keeping a separate record of each person’s lease, payments and requested outcome.7 min

Examples to help you prepare

These fictional examples show how to organise the work. Use them to start a document or check one you already have. Replace the example facts and figures before using any wording in your case.

Example: one disputed charge in an issue schedule

An issue schedule is a table of disputed charges. This completed row connects one charge to the question, evidence and amount the landlord or tribunal needs to consider.

Read: Identify the charges you want to challenge

Item and yearCommunal cleaning · 2025/26

Demanded and paid£420 · £420

Lease basisClause 4.3 permits reasonable costs of cleaning the common parts.

What is disputedSix monthly visits were charged. The contractor's visit record lists four.

EvidenceDemand, invoice, visit record, dated photographs and the request for missing attendance records.

Amount said payable£280, if the visits were equally priced: £420 × 4 ÷ 6.

Check your own document

  • State the exact charge year, item and amount, whether you are starting a complaint or revising one.
  • Replace folder names with stable document or page references.
  • Show how your proposed amount follows from the evidence instead of stating only that the bill is too high.

A focused request for the missing evidence

This wording identifies the charge, the documents needed and the gap they are meant to answer.

Read: Identify the charges you want to challenge

Please provide by [date] the invoice, contract or specification, service dates and evidence of payment for the £420 communal-cleaning charge in the 2025/26 account.

Please also identify the lease clause relied upon and explain whether a credit is due if fewer than six visits took place.

Check your own document

  • Refer to any earlier request and list only the documents still missing.
  • Keep the reply, attachments and proof of when they arrived.
  • Ask for records connected to a defined charge rather than the managing agent's entire archive.

Templates and checklists

Choose a download, then adapt it