Service Charges: The Section 20B Notice explained

A Section 20B notice is a legal requirement under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. It informs you that costs have been incurred during the service charge period, and you will need to contribute to them through your service charge. It ensures you are notified even if the final amount hasn’t been calculated yet.

This notice is to let you know that we have incurred costs during the service charge period from April 2023 to March 2024. These are costs you will need to contribute to through your service charge, but the final amount is not yet available.

No, this notice is for information only. You are not being asked to pay anything at this stage. Once the final accounts are completed, we will let you know if any additional payment is required and how to pay.

Incurred costs refer to the expenses we have paid for services or works related to the estate/block where you live. These could include maintenance, repairs, cleaning, or other services covered by your service charge.

At this stage, we cannot provide an exact figure. We have given an estimate of the maximum amount the entire estate/block may need to pay. Your individual contribution will be based on your share of those costs, which will be confirmed once the final accounts are prepared.

The final accounts are still being reviewed, so we don’t yet know the exact total costs or your individual share. Once the review is complete, we’ll let you know the final amount.

Part of these costs has already been covered by your regular service charge payments. Once the final accounts are ready, we will calculate whether you owe any additional amount or if a refund is due.

Yes, if the final accounts show that you’ve overpaid based on the service charge contributions you’ve already made, we will arrange a refund to your rent account.

If the final accounts show that more money is needed to cover the costs, we will inform you of the amount and how you can pay.

We are currently reviewing the accounts, and once the review is complete, we will notify you of the final costs and your individual share. We expect to do this as soon as possible, but no specific date is available yet.

The costs may include a variety of services such as general maintenance, repairs, cleaning, and other services provided to the estate/block. A breakdown will be included in the final account, which we will send to you.

Once you receive the final account, you have the right to review the costs. If you believe there is an error or have concerns, you can contact us to discuss it further.

Once you receive the final account, you have the right to make a formal request under Section 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Upon receipt of your request, we can share any invoices we paid which support the costs recharged to you. This request can only be made after the final accounts have been received.

We are notifying you now because we are still finalising the accounts. This legal notice ensures you are aware of the costs that were incurred during the service charge year, even though the exact amount is not available yet.

Your contribution will be based on the terms of your lease or tenancy agreement, which outlines your responsibility for a proportionate share of the total costs incurred for the estate/block.

We have been preparing the final accounts for all years we have already served a section 20B notice for. We cannot give you an exact date you will be receiving these statements, but you will receive the final booklets for those years before receiving your statement for 2023/24.