Service charge descriptions
This page details descriptions of costs we charge for through service charges. We’ve listed them in alphabetical order. You won’t pay all of these charges as we may not be providing all these services to your building or development.
We’ve separated out those which may be recoverable from everyone, from just our sheltered homes (sometimes called OPAL) and those which only home owners pay.
Rented, Sheltered and Home Owners
Service |
Description |
|
Accountancy Fee |
This is the cost for an independent accountancy firm to certify the service charge account. They review income and expenditure and provide a certificate confirming the information in the accounts is correct following checks of invoices and transactions. |
| AOV Maintenance | AOV is short for Automatic Opening Vent. These are used to control ventilation of smoke during a fire. AOVs are a legally required safety measure for buildings with multiple floors/storeys. This covers the cost of annual testing and 6-monthly inspections to ensure they are working correctly. |
| Bin Emptying/Hire |
This is the cost for hire of large communal bins or the cost for the local Council to empty them. Not every Council will empty all the bins we provide to our buildings. Sometimes we have to pay for these to be emptied. Where we have hired large communal bins for one of our buildings we collect the cost through a service charge. |
| Cesspools (including Water Treatment Plants) | Some properties aren’t connected to mains drainage so are served by a cesspool or water treatment plant. This covers the cost of emptying and maintaining this facility. |
| Chute Cleaning | This covers the cost of cleaning and maintaining the rubbish chute. |
| Cleaning Service | We undertake cleaning of internal communal areas within our blocks and estates. For developments where there are no external grounds this cost may also include cleaning paths and litter picking as well as graffiti removal, cleaning of communal windows and bin stores. This covers our labour and the cost of cleaning materials and equipment. |
| Communal Electricity | This covers the cost of providing lighting to the communal areas of the building and/or power to equipment installed in the communal areas such as a door entry system or a lift. It may also include the cost of replacing lightbulbs and Portable Appliance Testing (PAT testing). |
| Communal Furniture | This is saving to the cost of future replacement as well as day to day maintenance of furniture we provide to day centres and communal lounges. |
| Communal TV Aerial | This covers the cost of providing power to the communal TV aerial and/or amplifier. It may also include the cost of servicing and maintaining the TV aerial and communal media. |
| Communal Water | This covers the cost of water supplied from a tap (either internally or externally) in the shared parts of your block, and also wastewater. Certain blocks also recieve mains water directly. |
| Door Entry System Maintenance | This covers the specific repair and maintenance costs relating to the door entry system. This could be because the door isn’t releasing or you aren’t able to hear the person at the door. |
| Dry Riser Maintenance | Dry risers are a key piece of firefighting and fire protection equipment for tall buildings. They’re designed to deliver considerable quantities of water, quickly, high up into the building so are an efficient means for firefighters to get water to all areas of the building. This covers the cost of regularly maintaining and servicing them. |
| Electric Gate Servicing | This covers the cost of servicing electric vehicle gates because the law requires us to ensure they are safe to use. We service gates twice per year |
| Emergency Lighting Testing | This covers the cost of annual servicing and monthly testing of the emergency lighting within the communal areas. We are required by law to have emergency lighting in communal areas to ensure people can escape safely should there be a fire or other emergency. We are also required to complete monthly testing and a more detailed annual test. |
| EV Charging Point Maintenance | EV is short for Electric Vehicle, and this covers the cost of maintaining the charging points for this type of vehicle. It also includes the cost of the annual inspection we complete to ensure it’s working properly and safe to use. |
| Fire Risk Assessment |
This covers the cost of undertaking periodic fire risk assessments of the block. We are required by law to ensure our buildings are safe from fire which includes regularly assessing the risk which we do by way of a fire risk assessment. |
| Fire Safety | This covers the cost of all fire safety requirements, such as communal fire alarm systems and communal fire extinguishers. It also includes the cost of annual servicing, weekly testing and maintenance of the system and equipment. Maintenance of fire safety equipment and assessment of fire risk are required by law. |
| Fly Tipping |
This is the cost for us to remove non-household waste left in our communal areas. We previously included these costs in with our Grounds Maintenance charges but have separated them out to give greater clarity to customers. Non-household waste includes things like unwanted or broken furniture, electrical equipment such as old TVs or fridges, excess rubbish bags, and old bedding and towels. The Council’s bin emptying service won’t remove non-household waste. If we don’t remove it, they may not empty the bins as it can block their access. Also the rubbish can attract vermin or cause a potential risk to health and safety or constitute a fire risk. Local Council’s sometimes offer a bulky waste removal service for a small charge. Speak with your local Council about this if you have non-household waste you need to get rid of. Leaving items for us to remove increases service charges as well as creates a potential risk to you and other customers. |
| Grounds Maintenance |
This covers the cost of maintaining land owned by Golding Homes, both at your block and within its vicinity. It includes the costs of cutting grass and shrubs, maintaining flower beds and hedges, weeding, litter picking, cleaning paths etc. If we have trees in the communal grounds the cost to maintain the trees will also be included. |
| Lift Maintenance |
This covers the cost of servicing, testing, and repairing communal lifts. There are a number of laws which require us to make sure the lifts in our buildings are safe to use which includes regular testing. |
| Lightning Conductor Servicing |
This covers the cost of the annual testing, inspecting and servicing of the lightning conductor system. Where these are installed we have to ensure they are serviced, tested and inspected regularly. |
| Management Fee |
This covers a proportion of our costs and overheads to provide services, such as staff, electricity, and business rates. If you have ineligible charges such as personal electricity or personal water we will show the management fee for those separately. |
| Managing Agent Service Charge |
Newer properties are often located on estates where some services are not undertaken by the local authority or us. An external managing agent will provide these services instead, and this covers your contribution towards their costs. We pay the managing agent’s invoices and pass the costs to you via a charge. |
| Mansafe System Servicing |
The Mansafe System is a fall protection system used on high rise blocks for people to work safely at height. The law says we have to inspect and service the system annually. This includes the cost to do. |
| Oil Separator |
This equipment separates oil residue from surface water, removing contaminants before the water is returned to the water course. The law requires us to separate the oil residue from surface water to avoid pollution. |
| Pest Control |
This is the cost to deal with and attend to any report of pests in communal areas such as wasps nests, mice or rats. This may include costs to remove pest from one flat in a building where we believe the problem has spread or could spread and affect more than one home. |
| Photovoltaic Maintenance |
Photovoltaic cells are more commonly known as solar panels. This covers the maintenance of these cells to ensure optimum performance and to comply with the laws around electrical safety. |
| Pump Maintenance |
Maintaining the pump(s) for the supply of water to the property or the removal of sewage. These have to be regularly maintained to comply with water and environmental regulations. |
| Vent Maintenance |
This covers the cost of annual testing, six monthly inspections, maintenance, and cleaning to ensure they are working correctly. These relate to communal heating systems. |
| Water Testing |
Analysing the constituents and/or microbial content of the water to ensure it’s to a high standard and safe to drink. This is a legal requirement. |
Customers in shetlered housing (also known as OPAL — Older People Active lives) and Home Owners have additional service charges.
OPAL — Sheltered Housing: more information available here.
Home Owners: more information avaliable here.