Service charges your estimate explained Page 1. Service charges. Your estimate explained 2018/19

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1 Service charges your estimate explained Page 1 Service charges Your estimate explained 2018/19

2 Page 2 Service charges your estimate explained Service charges your estimate explained Page 3 Contents Page annual cycle Service charge annual cycle The service charge annual cycle 3 New property groupings 4 Your new statement 6 How will my share of service costs be calculated? 8 Useful terms 10 Glossary of services 11 January to March: Rent notices and service charge estimates sent out We are introducing some changes to our service charge system and processes, making them clearer and easier to understand, with more transparency around service costs. This booklet explains what has changed, how your service charge costs are calculated and what s included on your statement. For individual enquiries relating to your statement or costs, please sce@hyde-housing.co.uk or phone October to December: Estimated service charges for following year prepared April to September: Actual service charge statements for previous year prepared and sent out by end of September Throughout the year: Investigating and responding to resident queries What is a service charge? A service charge is a payment made by a tenant or homeowner towards the cost of services and repairs beyond those specifically for their house or flat. For example, if you live in a block of flats with a communal garden, the cost of maintaining that garden is covered by a service charge because it is available to all residents as a communal service and it is outside of their flats. What is changing? The way we present and then group our estates, buildings and homes is changing. The new groupings will ensure visibility of all costs, giving a consistent approach to asset and financial management across all our properties. Service charge statements will provide greater visibility on the charges and costs residents have to pay. The statements will continue to be itemised but will be separated under the new groupings, making it clearer and easier to understand. Our new Property Managers will be the eyes and ears on our estates making sure services are delivered and keeping accurate records.

3 Page 4 Service charges your estimate explained Service charges your estimate explained Page 5 New property groupings Property An individual home with a single occupancy agreement (lease, tenancy, freehold). Services include: Insurance, management charges Group A number of blocks or standalone homes that receive a shared service. Services include: Caretaking staff, grounds maintenance, play areas Sub-Block A sub-section of a building that is segregated either physically or by service from another part of the building. Services include: Responsive communal repairs, lift servicing, compliance (eg. Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) and legionella) Estate Multiple blocks in a defined area where shared services are provided to communal spaces. Services include: Ground maintenance, estate lighting, cleaning costs, CCTV Block A building that contains a number of homes across which shared services can be collectively charged. Services include: Responsive communal repairs, lift servicing, compliance (eg. Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) and legionella) Area A number of estates where a shared service is provided. Services include: CCTV You may see the same services in the different groupings; this is not a duplication as services could be assigned to a number of groups, for example, responsive communal repairs. Our Property Managers will monitor service standards in communal areas, (cleaning, gardening, communal repairs, health and safety) and will report back to our Service Charge Team. You can learn more about Property Managers by watching the short film on our website,

4 Page 6 Service charges your estimate explained Service charges your estimate explained Page 7 Your new statement Your service charge statements will now look different. The services you receive will be itemised and divided under the new groupings, with a column for the total costs and a column for your share of the costs. This simplified layout will provide greater visibility on the charges and costs that you have to pay. Mr XXXX & Mrs XXXX Correspondence address: XXXX XXXX Property address: XXXX XXXX ESTIMATED SERVICE CHARGE ACCOUNT FINANCIAL YEAR 1 APRIL 2018 TO 31 MARCH Your account details Property reference: XXXX Payment reference: XXXX Tenure type: Rented Payment frequency: 52 Weeks Personal information This includes your personal and property information. Please use your payment reference number for all correspondence with Hyde. Property groupings The new property groupings which your services fall under. This includes area, estate, group, block, sub-block and property. Not all groupings are relevant to every property. Services and repairs Examples of services and repairs provided to the new grouping. The services on your statement may be different to the example shown. Total costs This is the total cost for all services in each grouping. Total costs Your share Area costs Caretaking & Other Staff Costs 1, CCTV and Repair 1, Total area costs 3, Your share This is your share of the total costs for the services in each grouping. 2 Estate costs Grounds 75, Total estate costs 75, Group costs Total group costs Block costs Cleaning costs 49, Electric Bills 6, Fire Safety, inc servicing and inspections 1, Total block costs 57, Sub-block costs Total sub-block costs None Property costs Management charge system calculated Management fees on Hyde services 80, (Surplus)/Deficit from previous years Total property costs Total yearly estimated costs 136, Your weekly charge None Property costs These are the administration and accounting costs involved in providing services and repairs. For homeowners this will also include the cost for buildings insurance. (Surplus)/Deficit from previous years If you are a tenant you will see a figure for (Surplus)/Deficit from previous years on your statement. This is the figure brought forward from the last actual statement. A surplus is a cost lower than the estimate and a deficit is a cost greater than the estimate. If you are a tenant this will be carried forward onto your statement and if you are a homeowner this will be applied to your account. Signed Service Charge Team FREEPOST RESIDENTS MATTER customerservices@hyde-housing.co.uk 8 Your estimated cost This shows the total estimated charge for all groupings and your share of this cost. This also details the frequency of your payment (weekly or monthly) and the actual amount you need to pay. Hyde Housing Asociation Limited is part of the Hyde Group. Registered office: 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ. A Community Benefit Society No R and an exempt charity. Registered with the Homes and Communities Agency No. LH0032. Printed on 100% recycled material

5 Page 8 Service charges your estimate explained Service charges your estimate explained Page 9 How will my share of service costs be calculated? Your service charge is made up of all the services you will receive under the new groupings. In some cases the new groupings may result in a change to the way we present costs to residents. Below are two examples that show the changes we have made. Example 1: Bill for block cleaning for 10,000 OLD METHOD 4 leaseholders Costs = 4,000 Charge = 1,000 each NEW METHOD Example 2: New groupings for grounds maintenance OLD GROUPINGS Block 1 5 properties Total = 5,000 Charge = 1,000 Block 2 5 properties Total = 5,000 Charge = 1,000 Block 3 5 properties Total = 5,000 Charge = 1,000 NEW GROUPINGS Estate 15 properties Total = 15,000 Charge = 1,000 6 tenants Costs = 6,000 Charge = 1,000 each 10 residents Costs = 10,000 Charge = 1,000 each In the example above the previous block costs have been added together (leaseholders and tenants) but the individual charge remains the same. Costs that were previously grouped at a block level may now be grouped at an estate level, resulting in a resident being charged a lower % of costs but from a higher total. We launched comprehensive and consistent cleaning and gardening contracts across our properties over the last 18 months which has led to increases in charges for some residents. These contracts will be quality checked by our Property Managers. If you have a concern with a service delivery on your estate, please contact us in the usual way, using our online forms for non-urgent repairs or telephone our Customer Services team on As a landlord, resident safety is of paramount importance, so this year we have further invested in more proactive fire compliance procedures. For some buildings this has included upgrading fire alarms or installing smoke or heat detection systems. These measures will increase the costs for our fire safety services, which you will see in your estimate statement.

6 Page 10 Service charges your estimate explained Service charges your estimate explained Page 11 Useful terms Am I tenant or a homeowner? Tenants are residents who rent their homes from Hyde under a tenancy agreement. Types of tenure include secure and assured tenancies, starter tenancies, market rent and affordable rent tenures. Homeowners are residents who wholly or partly own their own homes, under a lease. These can include leaseholders, freeholders and shared owners as well as residents who have bought under the Right to Buy, Right to Acquire and Shared Ownership schemes. What is a landlord? This is an individual or company that owns a property or building. This is normally the Hyde Group but could be another party e.g. the developer of the building. What is a tenancy agreement? This is a legal contract between the landlord and tenant that sets out the obligations of both parties. What is a leaseholder? This is a resident that owns a property, normally a flat, for a fixed period of time e.g. 125 years. What is a lease? This is a legal contract between the landlord and leaseholder that sets out the obligations of both parties. What is a freeholder? This is an individual or a company that owns a house or a property. Unlike a leaseholder, there is no limit to how long they will own the property. What is a shared owner? This is a resident who partly owns a flat, or house, for a fixed period of time e.g. 125 years. The resident will own a percentage of the property and rent the remaining portion from the association, for which they pay rent. Glossary of services You will find below, current information about the services we provide which you may see on your estimate statement. To find out more about these services, please contact Customer Services to get in touch with your Property Manager. Service type Asbestos Audit Fees & Other Professional Fees Buildings Insurance Care Call & Monitoring Systems Caretaking & Other Staff Costs Description Asbestos surveys or inspections and any necessary works. The cost of carrying out an external audit of your statement. The cost to insure your building. Servicing, monitoring and works where there is a dedicated alarm system to protect elderly or vulnerable residents. Employment costs for caretaking staff and scheme officers. This includes salary and vehicle costs and the cost of employing any required temporary staff. CCTV and Repair Cleaning Costs Servicing, monitoring and repairs of the communal CCTV monitoring systems. Services include: window cleaning, internal and external cleaning of communal areas, cleaning equipment and materials, bin hire and rubbish collection.

7 Page 12 Service charges your estimate explained Service charges your estimate explained Page 13 Service type Description Service type Description Electric Bills Gas Bills inc communal heating Signs Telephone Costs Water Charges electricity charges such as internal and external lighting in your block/estate/group. Servicing, monitoring, repairs and maintenance of communal gas, including supply. Cost for communal signs such as No smoking or No ball games to your block or estate. The cost of providing and servicing communal phones. Charges for the supply of water to your block or estate as well as the removal of any waste water. Depreciation Electrical inc Bulbs & inspections Fire Safety, inc servicing and inspections Furniture, Furnishings, White Goods & Decoration In some cases residents will pay for equipment that has already been replaced. To avoid paying the cost all at once, the charges are spread across a number of years. This will cover the cost of providing statutory electrical inspections. The statutory servicing and inspection of communal fire alarm systems, emergency lighting, smoke detectors and fire equipment. This includes furniture and flooring in communal areas and the replacement of communal driers and washing machines. Concierge Service Controlled Door Entry The provision of staff at your block to carry out activities such as monitoring CCTV, alarms and access to your building. The costs for repairing and maintaining the door entry system. Grounds Legionella - The cost of a grounds maintenance contract including the upkeep of private roads, footpaths, parking areas, the removal of abandoned vehicles and the cost of gardening equipment. The cost of providing assessments and associated works for legionella and water hygiene. Lift maintenance and repairs All lift contract costs, including servicing, maintenance and insurance costs.

8 Page 14 Service charges your estimate explained Service charges your estimate explained Page 15 Service type Description If you would like this document in another language or format, such as large print, Braille, CD or audio tape, please contact us. Management Company Costs Management Fees on Hyde Services Management Fees on Management Co Services Pest Control Costs for services and repairs provided to the block or estate by a third party management company. The management cost of providing these services to your property, including service charge estimates and statements, and all associated overheads. A 5% administration fee on the management company costs to cover our administrative costs in processing and billing. The removal of pests from communal areas. ARABIC: BENGALI: FRENCH: Si vous souhaitez obtenir ce document dans une autre langue ou sous un autre format ou si vous avez besoin des services d un interprète, veuillez nous contacter. MANDARIN: POLISH: Jeżeli chcieliby Państwo otrzymać ten dokument w innym języku lub w innym formacie albo jeżeli potrzebna jest pomoc tłumacza, to prosimy o kontakt z nami. PORTUGUESE: Se gostaria de ter este documento em outro idioma ou formato, ou se necessita de um intérprete, contacte-nos. SOMALI: Haddii aad dokomantigan ku rabtid luqad ama hab kale, ama haddii aad u baahantahay tarjubaan, fadlan nala soo xiriir. SPANISH: Póngase en contacto con nosotros si desea obtener este documento en otro idioma o formato, o si necesita los servicios de un intérprete. TURKISH: Bu belgenin Türkçe sini veya Türkçe bilen birisinin size yardιmcι olmasιnι istiyorsanιz bize başvurabilirsiniz. VIETNAMESE: Nếu quí vị muốn tài liệu này được ấn hành bằng ngôn ngữ khác hay định dạng khác hoặc nếu quí vị cần người phiên dịch, xin quí vị vui lòng liên hệ với chúng tôi. Play Area Inspection and Provisions Repairs and This covers the inspection and maintenance of the play areas and equipment. These are regular amounts collected as part of the service charge to cover the future cost of items that need to be replaced from time to time, such as door entry systems and lifts. In addition, homeowners provisions may be collected to cover external redecorations and repairs to the structure of the building. The cost of the repair and maintenance of your block and estate as well as any communal or shared areas. For tenants the cost of external structural repairs is covered by your rent. For text relay from a text phone add before the number you want to call or to use Text phone dial

9 Page 16 Service charges your estimate explained The Hyde Group, 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ customerservices@hyde-housing.co.uk facebook.com/hydegroup twitter.com/myhydehome