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 had costs during the service charge year from April 2024 to March 2025. You’ll need to pay a share of these through your service charge.

By law, we must tell you about these costs within 18 months. If we don’t, we might not be able to include them in your charges later.

We’ll send you a full breakdown once the final amount is ready. You don’t need to do anything now.

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

These costs can include things like:

• Repairs to shared areas or the building
• Cleaning, gardening, and looking after outdoor spaces
• Fire safety checks or security systems
• Fees for professionals like surveyors or contractors.

Your share is worked out based on your lease or tenancy agreement. It explains how much of the total costs you’re responsible for, depending on your home and the estate or block you live in.

We can’t give an exact figure yet. We’ve shared an estimate of the total costs for your estate or block. Your share will be based on your lease or tenancy agreement and confirmed once the final accounts are ready.

Yes. Once the final accounts are ready, you’ll get a summary showing the total costs and your share. This is usually sent with your annual service charge statement or as a separate invoice.

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.

If you’ve already made payments, they may go towards these costs. If you need to pay anything extra, we’ll let you know once the final accounts are ready.

Yes. If the final accounts show you’ve paid more than your share, we’ll arrange a refund to your rent account.

If the final accounts show that more is needed to cover the costs, we’ll let you know how much and explain how you can pay.

We’re reviewing the accounts now. Once that’s done, we’ll let you know the total costs and your share. We’ll do this as soon as we can, but we don’t have a set date yet.

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.

Not yet. The costs in this notice aren’t part of the final account, so we don’t need to provide invoices or documents at this stage. Once the final service charge accounts are ready, you’ll be able to see the relevant paperwork, as set out in your lease and your legal rights.

We’re still finalising the accounts, which is why we’re sending this notice now. It’s a legal requirement to let you know about costs from the service charge year, even if the final amount isn’t ready yet.

Your lease or tenancy agreement sets out how much of the total costs you’re responsible for. It’s based on your home and the estate or block you live in.

We’re working on the final accounts for all years where a Section 20B notice has already been sent. We don’t have an exact date yet, but you’ll get those booklets before we send your statement for 2023/24.

You don’t need to do anything right now. If more payment is needed, we'll send you a formal request with the amount, due date, and how to pay.