Go to navigation

Paying your service charge and ground rent

Making a payment

Your ground rent and variable service charges are payable as stipulated in the lease. You must pay on time. We offer you several ways of paying your service charge and ground rent. You can choose the one that best suits you.

Service charge and ground rent statements

We will automatically send you a statement of your service charges and ground rent account twice a year. The statement will show all the charges made to your account and all the payments we received. If you need to check the balance on your account at any other time phone your home ownership officer.

Your rights and responsibilities

Non-payment of ground rent or service charges is a breach of the lease and the landlord is entitled to take action against the leaseholder.

There are two main options available:

  • A money judgement to secure the debt.
  • Forfeiture to recover the property.

Forfeiture is the ending of the lease and the repossession of the property by the landlord. No payment is made to the leaseholder on the repossession. The leaseholder loses any equity remaining even after any debt has been repaid. The process depends on whether the breach is for non-payment of ground rent, non-payment of service charges or another form of breach. Forfeiture will only be taken as a last resort.

The council may also approach your mortgage lender for payment of any arrears.

 

For more information contact Housing Services by telephone: 01634 333219 or by email: housing@medway.gov.uk / leaseholders@medway.gov.uk

Write to: Housing Services, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TR

Rate this page: 
Send this page to a friend: Send

Send a link to the Paying your service charge and ground rent page to a friend

  1. Please answer the question below to ensure your form gets through safely to Medway Council. It is to verify that you are a real person and not an automated internet spam programme.