My landlord demands that I pay part of the service costs of € 3,600: is this normal in a rental agreement?

I’m currently renting a spare room in a three-bedroom flat in London, which costs £900 a month.

My landlord lives in the building with his partner and made me sign a rental agreement when he accepted my offer on the rental platform Spareroom.

That was all fine, except my landlord recently sent me a bill for my share of the heating costs, municipal tax, water bill, WiFi, TV subscription and service costs.

I was prepared to pay for most of these, but including the service charge really confused me as this is by far the largest expense and I didn’t realize I had to pay it.

When I queried it by text, my landlord replied with a clause in the lease stating that it includes a service charge. He also sent me a spreadsheet with all the costs. This showed that the service costs cost £3,600 per year, divided by three, equaling £1,200 each.

The clause from the rental agreement states:

Utilities and expenses: The tenant owes a reasonable and proportionate contribution (according to use) for all costs for gas, electricity, oil, water, sewerage, telephone (including line rental), municipal tax (or any similar property tax that may be charged in addition to the IT), any television licenses or other services used in the Accommodation.

Does including ‘other services’ really mean I have to pay a third of their service fees? What would you advise me to do in this situation?

Ed Magnus from This is Money answers: This is a rather niche request from your landlord. Service charges are generally not paid by a tenant.

Your landlord is likely to be a leaseholder or own part of the property with a management company.

Most tenants, especially those in purpose-built apartment complexes, will have to pay a service charge, which goes towards the maintenance of the building and any communal areas.

This may include the costs of building insurance, cleaning, garden maintenance, repairs to communal areas, surveyors’ fees, fire risk assessments and management agent fees.

For example, for some purpose-built apartments it can sometimes include things like a gym, concierge and parking.

The landlord may try to argue that reference to ‘other services’ in the contract would suggest that you must also pay your share of the service charge.

But this seems rather harsh and even a bit absurd.

First of all, they should have specifically stated that this was a service charge and made that clear in the rental agreement.

It seems a rather vague connection to say that ‘other services’ refer to services for which the service charge is paid.

Secondly, the landlord should have outlined from the outset how the service costs are arranged and what costs are involved. After all, this is what the owner or management company should have done for them.

The request for service charges seems even more unfair and unreasonable considering that this is the largest expense lumped into your account besides the rent itself.

The best thing you can do is discuss this diplomatically with your landlord. Explain that this was not something you expected to pay for and not something a landlord has ever asked you to pay for in the past.

However, if your landlord refuses to budge, this may mean you have to look for a way to end the lease early.

This can of course cause further complications, especially if you have paid a deposit or entered into a fixed-term rental agreement.

We spoke to for expert advice Caroline Preist, partner and head of property litigation at RWK Goodman and Al McClenahanfounder of the non-profit organization Justice for Tenants.

Do they have to pay part of the service costs?

Caroline Preist, partner and head of property litigation at RWK Goodman, says that while it is normal to share the costs of heating and council tax. Paying for service charges is not normal

Caroline Preist answers: What you have to pay for your accommodation depends on the agreement you have with your landlord.

I assume that in your agreement ‘property’ means the flat. It is common for you to share the costs of heating, council tax and matters relating to your occupancy of the flat.

Service charges are amounts that the landlord must pay to the owner or manager of the block in which the flat is located. This includes a contribution for repairs and maintenance, insurance, management costs for garden maintenance, etc. of the block.

These are not services used at the property and therefore should not be charged to you.

Al Mcclenahan replies: The article does not state that a contribution must be paid towards the service costs of the building. It is clear to me that there is no obligation to pay the service charges.

Service charges are generally intended to maintain property values ​​by making improvements to the entire block; a tenant is rarely expected to pay for it.

If a tenant is expected to pay service costs, this should be clearly stated in the rental agreement. That is not the case here.

Al Mcclenahan, founder of Justice for Tenants, says the tenant is not liable for service charges

What should they do?

Caroline Preist answers: Your position, as you share a property with your landlord, is an ‘excluded occupier’, better known as a tenant, and as such you have very few rights, certainly fewer than a tenant would have. You may be asked to leave at relatively short notice, so keep that in mind.

My position would be that you explain this to your landlord and only pay the costs that relate to the property.

However, as I said, as a tenant you have very little protection and it would be easy for the landlord to tell you to leave if he doesn’t agree.

The landlord doesn’t need a court order and if you don’t leave, he can change the locks to lock you out. So a difficult choice for you.