Leaseholders will have received their Estimated Service Charges for 2016/17 recently. These are the charges for 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. If you are a leaseholder who has a direct debit for your annual charges, then it will be automatically adjusted to cover the new charge. If you pay the amount in the charge in full by the end of April 2016, then we will credit your account with a £10.00 full payment incentive.
Paying your service charges is just as important as paying your mortgage. If we don’t receive payment from you or if your account falls into arrears, and you do not contact us to arrange payment, we will send you a reminder. If you do not make an arrangement or do not keep to a payment agreement, we may need to take legal action to recover the money.
Non-payment of service charges – annual maintenance charges and major works costs – means that the conditions of your lease are broken and you could lose your property if the lease is forfeited.
So if you are struggling to pay your charges you need to get in touch so that we can support and advise you. Our Leasehold Housing Officers are always happy to work with you to identify solutions to any problems you may be having.
If you are out of work, disabled or retired (and on benefits) you may be able to get help with paying your service charges from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Barnet Homes works with two independent debt advice services to get you the assistance you need. The help DWP can give is time limited and needs to be applied for as soon as you receive the bill. So please contact Leaseholder Services without delay to arrange a referral.
Alternatively, you should contact your local DWP office. They may be able to increase your allowance.
For free independent and confidential advice you can also call the National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 or visit nationaldebtline.co.uk.
Don’t delay; contact your Leasehold Housing Officer on 020 8359 6020 or by email on TalkToUs@barnethomes.org.