Estate Charges

You should have recently received a letter which contained information about the estate charge for the forthcoming year (April 2021 to March 2022).

The amount payable is £275, which does represent an increase on the amount you are currently paying. A full breakdown of these costs can be found on the Estate Charges page. 

We know that a price rise is never welcome, but the estate charge is a reflection of the costs incurred to provide services to Loftus Garden Village.

The gardening team have been on site throughout the whole of the year to help maintain the beautiful surroundings at Loftus, even working weekends, and ensuring that all Covid19 rules are followed. Above all else, we are here to ensure that you live in a well-maintained and safe environment. We look after your money and budget and spend it carefully to ensure that you get value for money but also help to avoid surprise costs down the line. This maintenance includes, but is not limited to:

General routine maintenance:

  • Grass cutting
  • Maintenance of the non-adopted areas
  • Repairs
  • Litter picking
  • Weeding and pruning
  • Daily and Weekly Inspections

Non-routine maintenance:

  • Replanting as and when required
  • Repairs to managed areas

The estate charge was previously capped during the development stage which finished in 2019, but it is no longer possible for us to maintain the charge at this rate.

We recognise that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on many people’s finances, and that this is a difficult time to receive news of an increase to your estate charge. If you are experiencing any financial difficulties, you can contact our Financial Support Team on 01633 212375. 

Ways to pay

To help manage the cost of the estate charge, we have introduced a direct debit payment option, which will allow you to split the charge over 12 equal payments.

If you do not wish to pay by direct debit, then you can still choose to pay in accordance with the lease, in full or by two instalments.

If you choose to pay in any of these ways, and ensure your account is not in arrears, then you will be helping us to reduce our administration costs. As a thank you, we will credit your account with £25 at the end of the year, meaning that you will only have to pay £250.

Loftus Lottery

As an added thank you to residents who pay their estate charge on time, we have introduced the Loftus Lottery. In 2020/2021 we gave out 4 prizes of £100.00.

 

Estate Charge FAQs

Why has my estate charge increased?

Pobl made a commitment to limit the estate charge during the development or building stages of Loftus, with the last property being handed over in 2019.

Pobl has made a large investment for the gardening apprenticeship over almost £20,000 each year with a commitment of two-year program since 2020. It also contributed over £9,000 in 2020/2021 relating to the additional painting.

The estate charge does not currently cover all of the costs, and is subsided by Pobl. Estate charge are not subject to inflationary rises and reflect costs incurred in providing services.

Next year financial year is no different, however we want a commitment from residents to pay in accordance with the transfer agreement and help keep administration time and costs to a minimum

One of the main management issues is the collection of the estate charge, so to help residents we have introduce payments by direct debit over 12 months, this will help us ensure that they make payments in accordance with the transfer agreement with an overall aim of keeping costs as low as possible.

I have had my new charges of £275.00, what payments do I need to make?

 If you choose to pay in the one of the following ways then you will help to reduce our administration costs, and we will add a credit of £25 to your account at the end of the year to clear your balance (meaning that you will only pay £250 yourself).

  • Payment in Full 1st April 2021:

    £250.00 (£25 will be credited back to your account if the payment is in full and on time.)

  • Payment by two instalments 1st April and 1st September:

    £125.00 x 2 = £250.00 (£25 will be credited back to your account if payments are in full and on time.)

  • 12 monthly payments by direct debit:

    £20.83 x 11 + £20. 87 x 1 = £250.00 (£25 will be credited back to your account if payments are in full and on time.)

Payments over 10 months has been replaced by 12 monthly instalments by direct debit.

What is an estate charge?

An estate charge usually relates to the communal facilities of new build freehold housing estates. It can also relate to the communal grounds of leasehold blocks of flats. Either way, the estate charge contributes to making your community feel like a great place to live.

When your home was built it included communal facilities such as parks, playgrounds, community gardens and car parks. The estate charge pays for the upkeep of these through general maintenance and gardening, ensuring they are free of litter and safe to use.

If you are a homeowner, the estate charge is included on your TP1 form when buying your property and should be highlighted to homeowners by their solicitor. If this wasn’t the case, please contact us and we can explain the estate charge in more detail.

Why isn’t this included in council tax?

The local council need to “adopt” the communal facilities of the estate in order for this to happen. This really varies from council to council. In some areas, new build housing estates are fully adopted by the council, but they may also remain as managed estates.

In the case of Loftus Garden Village, Pobl is responsible for the communal facilities.

How do you use the money?

Above all else, we are here to ensure that you live in a well-maintained and safe environment. We look after your money and budget and spend it carefully to ensure that you get value for money but also help to avoid surprise costs down the line. This maintenance includes, but is not limited to:

General routine maintenance:

  • Grass cutting
  • Maintenance of the non-adopted areas
  • Repairs
  • Litter picking
  • Weeding and pruning
  • Daily and Weekly Inspections

Non-routine maintenance:

  • Replanting as and when required
  • Repairs to managed areas
What are management fees?

A management fee is part of the service charge payable to the agent in return for managing the communal areas. This fee is the only part of the estate charge that goes directly to the manager and the remaining income received is for the cost of services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance or set aside as a reserve fund.

Unlike other companies no additional charges are made to residents that make individual request for the following;

  • Remortgage
  • Alterations to properties
  • Subletting
  • Certificate of Compliance for sales
  • Queries from solicitors relating to resales of homes
Who decides the estate charge budget?

Each year, Pobl will prepare a budget to cover what we think will be spent over the next financial year. We do this by reviewing the previous year and by planning what repairs and maintenance will be needed.

What happens at the end of the estate charge year?

It can take a number of months before we know what has been spent and the financial year is marked as “closed”.

This is because many suppliers invoice after work has been completed, or at set times throughout the year. So it can take 2-3 months to get the final invoices for the financial year and ensure these are correct and paid.

Once we have all the invoices and costs, we will check the actual costs against the budget to get a final picture of what was spent. This is audited by an independent accountant, who prepares the year end accounts. We aim to send the year end accounts to residents six months after the end of the year.

What if I need to pay more? Or if I’ve overpaid?

This will be set out in your TP1 or lease, so please check this and let us know if you need help with this. Generally, the options are:

  1. A surplus (which means there is money left over) could be credited back to homeowners
  2. A surplus might also go into the reserve funds
  3. A surplus could be rolled over to the next year’s budget
  4. A deficit (which means there isn’t enough money to cover the year) is usually billed to homeowners

 


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