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What is service charge and why do I have to pay it?

Tenants sometimes wonder why there is an additional cost they have to pay for apart from the rent amount. Sometimes, others may feel duped if they have to fork out an extra amount monthly or yearly to pay service charge. Failure to pay service charge has in some cases resulted to extreme shows of tenants being kicked out of the houses even if they have paid rent or had their water supply cut off. Here we will seek to debunk the mystery of service charge payment. Service charge is a fee that each household in an estate or within an apartment block contributes.

The fee amount comes from an estimate or budget prepared every year by property managers for all running costs relating to the communal areas. The more services offered the higher the service charge fee. The fee is important and key for maintenance of the community area, cleaning, water and electricity for the common hallways, security, salaries for onsite staff, garbage collection, maintaining communal gardens or pool, servicing of lifts among others.

Paying for service charge is crucial for the above reasons. It improves the quality of stay of the tenant and helps to maintain the property in good condition. To make it fair for tenants, property managers should be very transparent on how the service charge is spent, the key is to be accountable. The service charge payment must also be stipulated in the tenancy agreement.

As a landlord, does your property give you a lot of headache in terms of late payments or are you finding it difficult to collect service charge? Worry no more, Enkavilla properties ensures your commercial or residential property is professionally managed to enhance our client’s investment value and returns. We offer bespoke services and cover the end to end  management needs such as service charge collection, rent collection, tenancy management, regular inspections etc.

For more information, kindly contact us on 0788303030 or 0788808080

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