How utilities might be included in the service charge?

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The cost of utilities for the communal areas of your development is covered within the yearly service charge. There may also be the apartment’s utilities included within the service charge where there is not a sub-meter for each individual apartment. Utilities that serve an apartment but are paid for through the service charge could include, Wi-Fi, hot water, heating, the water supply entirely or the electricity supply or gas.

Horizon work with a dedicated procurement team who work hard to obtain competitive prices and negotiate cost savings for insurance cover, utility providers and maintenance contracts through access to specialist suppliers and a bulk purchasing power.

Electricity

Ordinarily the Block Manager will arrange for the electricity for the communal areas of your development which is covered by your service charge, this would serve the lift, lighting, intercom and fire alarm for example. It may also serve booster pumps, sump pumps and other items that are not visible to residents or owners. In some blocks there may only be one main incoming electric supply

Telephone systems and Wi-Fi

A telephone point is usually provided in each property. Every customer would normally have their own connection, however we manage a block of studio apartments where there is no phone line connection and so there is a communal Wi-Fi network for all residents to connect to.

Television

Each flat would usually have socket ports connected to a block communal aerial to allow a TV connect. Each flat would still will need to have their own TV licence unless the resident was exempt.

Water

Water is usually calculated from individual apartment sub-meters as well as sewage charges would usually be collected from each apartment from the local water authority. Any water used for the communal areas of the development such as in landscaping, should be on its own supply and so the costs of this supply would be charged back to leaseholders via the service charge.

Pumps

Most large developments will reply on communal water pumps to take water from the incoming supply and get the water up to higher level apartments. There may even be a waste water pump station for taking the waste water from the development back into the main sewer usually located under the road outside..

If a development has waste water pump station, the likelihood is that the development does not connect directly to the main sewer system, instead the waste flows to a storage chamber fitted with submersible pump(s) which discharge automatically to the main sewer system when the chamber is filled to a certain level.

The power for such pumps would all come from the block’s communal electric supply and the servicing, repairs and maintenance would be a service charge expense, charged through the service charge.