Does anyone know how these work? I'm looking at flats in the UK with service charges in the thousands of pounds and I've read online that you can get some of the money back... But if you sign an agreement to pay x amount of service charge per year doesn't that mean you have to pay that much per year and not expect any back? Also, I've read the service charge can be increased "reasonably". Surely there has to be a concrete numerical limit say 5% per year? Because so far I've read nothing that says the landlord can't increase the service charge by 10% every year indefinitely which would be eventually be way too high. To be honest I don't know how places justify a service charge over a thousand pounds to begin with. It seems like a rip off and makes me want to buy a really cheap terraced house so I won't be constantly anxious about a service charge increase. I mean the service charge is so high for some of these places there'd cost more than a house after 5 or 10 years anyway. Does anyone know the cost of upkeep on a small house anyway? It can't be much more than a £1000 every 5 years

Make friends irl, anon. Don’t ask 4chan.

>>33294599 (OP)
First off, are you renting or buying? You don't usually pay anything other than rent + deposit on a flat.

>>33294599 (OP)
In addition to renting and buying, Britain has a unique system of ultra-long leases. The nearest thing to it is the US "condo" system. You "buy" (for many many thousands of pounds" a 100 or 1000 year lease on your flat, but do not actually own it. The owner (usually a developer or corporation) charges you for service - electricity in the lobby, upkeep of the lifts, etc.

The service charge is estimated and billed a year in advance. Somewhere near year's end, they recalculate and say either "Oops, it cost us more than we thought to run the building so you owe us a little more" or "It cost us less so here's a psrt refund." It is rarely more than a few hundred pounds in either direction

>>33294599 (OP)
They work by putting you off and encouraging you to buy a house

If you don't do that, you're a retard who gives money to greedy cunts for no reason