Shared ownership Independent Living

Rental charges are based on your lease. Shared ownership rent is charged monthly. Your rent is reviewed on 1 April each year in line with the provisions detailed within your lease. 

The rent you pay is based on the share of the property bpha owns. 

If you own 75% of your home, you do not pay rent for the remaining 25%. 

The money we raise through rent collection goes back into providing services.

Your lease sets the formula for reviewing shared ownership rent.  

Service charges are charged separately and are based on the cost of providing these services. 

Your rent and service charges letter will give you an exact figure. 

A service charge is a payment towards the cost of providing and maintaining communal areas and services.  

If you live in a block of flats or scheme with a communal garden, for example, the cost of maintaining that garden is covered by a service charge because it is available to all residents and is outside of your home.  

Any services you receive are shown individually in your annual rent and service charge review letter.  

We work hard to provide a good quality service at an affordable price, but please contact us with any concerns.  

If you're a homeowner, you pay a variable service charge and you’ll receive a year-end statement. This statement shows the actual costs for your home and any communal areas over the last financial year, which ends on 31 March. Once the year ends, we collect all the invoices and work out the final amount spent. By law, we must review these costs and share the outcome with you. This process is called a reconciliation. 

Below are some examples of services provided by bpha. Not all of these apply to each home. Please check your annual rent and service charge review letter to see which services you pay for and how much these cost.

These are some examples of services provided by bpha. Not all of these apply to each property.

Please check your annual rent and service charge review letter to see which services you pay for and how much these cost.

Air conditioning

The maintenance and replacement of air conditioning systems that are installed in communal areas.

Administration fee

An administration fee of 15% is charged on the total cost of communal services which covers the costs of obtaining and managing the service.

Bin chute smoke shutter testing

The smoke shutter testing of bin chutes.

Building Safety

These costs cover all activities required to ensure that your building remains safe, compliant, and well‑managed under legislation. This includes statutory inspections, detailed safety reports, fire risk assessments, structural surveys, building fabric inspections, compliance monitoring, and documentation required under the Building Safety Act 2022.

Building insurance

Under the terms of your lease (where it applies), we have an obligation to insure the building on behalf of customers against risks such as fire and flood. Leaseholders and shared owners are recharged for the cost of this insurance.

Bulky waste

The clearance of large items that are not appropriate for household bins, plus household rubbish that has been illegally or inappropriately disposed of.

CCTV

The maintenance and replacement of CCTV and, where applicable, a 24/7 monitoring service.

Car park barrier

The maintenance and replacement of car park barriers, where applicable.

Caretaking service

The provision of a caretaking service, including salary costs, equipment and supervision.

Communal cleaning

The cleaning of communal areas, including the cost of cleaning staff and materials.

Communal electricity

Providing lighting and/or power to internal areas of common use (hallways, corridors, stairs and rooms), including the provision of lighting, power points

and emergency lighting, power to laundry facilities, lifts and other similar equipment.

Communal flooring

The cost of communal floor replacement, when needed.

Communal furniture

The cost for communal furniture replacement, including communal curtains/ blinds, when needed.

Communal laundries

The maintenance and replacement of laundry equipment.

Communal TV licence

The cost of a communal TV licence (and MPLC licence where films are screened where applicable) where a scheme has a TV in a communal area.

Communal water

The water supply to communal facilities such as laundries, kitchens, caretaking and cleaning services, and toilets.

Communal window cleaning

The contract cleaning of communal windows.

Cookers in flats

The maintenance and replacement of cookers in flats, where applicable.

Door entry

Maintaining the communal door entry system.

Electrical safety testing

Checking electrical sockets in communal areas.

External managing agent

For some managed areas, where bpha does not own the land, we work with a managing agent to manage your estate. The managing agent bills bpha for the services it carries out, which may include, cleaning, grounds maintenance and other estate services.

From April 2026, your rent review breakdown includes the management charge from the managing agent. This is a separate charge from the bpha services. We have called this service charge ‘External managing agent’. We trust this clarification of the will provide transparency and better understanding of who manages the area in which you live.

If you would like more information about the services charged for, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be able to provide a copy of the managing agent’s accounts to you.

Fire safety

Fire risk assessments and associated remedial work (such as replacing smoke strips on doors or fitting extra detectors in communal areas). Maintaining communal equipment including fire-fighting, smoke detection and smoke dispersal, where applicable.

Gas communal areas

Where there is a communal boiler, the cost of heat in communal areas.

Grounds Maintenance

Maintaining communal areas, grass cutting and general grounds work.

Intensive Housing Management

The provision of an intensive housing management service to residents in our Supported and Independent Living schemes. This includes the management of scheme facilities, providing additional onsite guidance, and arranging for activities, such as repairs, to be carried out. The charge is applied for services that are required in a scheme setting but would not be required in someone’s family home.

Kitchen equipment

The maintenance and replacement of catering equipment in communal or commercial kitchens in Independent Living with Care schemes.

Laundry

Maintenance and replacement of laundry equipment in communal laundries.

Legionella

Legionella testing, including risk assessment, for communal water supplies as required by law.

Lift maintenance

The maintenance, insurance and replacement of lifts.

Lightning conductors

The maintenance of lightning conductors, where installed.

Management fee (homeowners only)

The bpha management fee covers our costs of managing the relationship with you as set out in your lease or freehold transfer. It covers our costs of managing the lease obligations, collecting rent and service charges and carrying out consultations with leaseholders.

Mechanical baths

The maintenance and replacement or renewal of Independent Living scheme mechanical baths and hoists (medi baths).

Monitoring charge

These are the running costs of providing the central alarm control to provide 24/7 cover at schemes. The cost is calculated based on the number of connections to the central control system for each Independent Living schemes.

Other charges

This is the cost for personal service charges such as gas, electricity, and water, for personal use in your home.

PAT testing

Checking electrical equipment used in communal areas, for example, bpha-owned electrical items such as vacuum cleaners.

Pest control

Any costs incurred in clearing pests from communal areas, or where there is a risk of infestation from an individual home to communal areas, including pesticides and pest control contracts.

Phone lines

Cost of the line rental for telephones used in schemes. The phone lines are used in the office to support the lift alarm, and as part of the emergency alarm Tunstall equipment.

Pull cord maintenance

The maintenance of the Tunstall alarm system.

Responder call out

The service supports residents in the event of a resident activating their pendant, speech module or pull cord. The call will be actioned by Tunstall Response in the first instance and passed to the bpha 24/7 support team if a call out is deemed necessary. This was previously know as ‘emergency call out’.

Roof top safety

The servicing and maintenance of fall arrest equipment used for roof maintenance and window cleaning.

Scheme management fee (Independent Living schemes only)

This charge helps to fund colleagues’ time dedicated to on-site support, inspections, managing the service delivery, such as cleaning, grounds maintenance, and communal repairs, and liaising with customers. This is over and above the basic management support covered by rent

Sewer/surface pump servicing (only applicable if you are not connected to a main sewerage system paid for to a water authority).

The maintenance and servicing of the wastewater/sewerage plant and system serving your home This includes any repairs that may be required.

Sinking funds (only applicable to homeowners)

In many leases there is a provision for bpha to collect payments in advance to create a ‘sinking fund’ - sometimes known as a reserve fund). The purpose is to build funds to contribute to the cost of any work that may be needed but does not happen regularly. This would primarily be ‘major works’, such as structural work or a lift replacement, or planned maintenance such as redecorations to a block.

Sinking funds help make the cost of major work more manageable. The level of contributions is assessed with reference to the age and condition of the building and likely future cost estimates.

Sinking funds earn interest and will be held in a separate bank account. Any contributions to the sinking fund are not repayable when a home is sold. Following the completion of works the total costs will be calculated and you will be charged for your individual proportion, based on the terms of your lease. The fund is only accessed at the point works are charged to you. You will be informed when your Sinking Fund will be used and kept advised of how much is in the fund on an annual basis.

Stairlift

The maintenance and servicing of stairlifts.

TV aerials

Repairing or replacing communal TV aerials. This will be charged even if a tenant does not have a TV.

White goods

The maintenance and replacement of electrical goods for example, a washer/dryer or fridge, in communal areas of schemes or blocks owned by bpha.

There are lots of ways to pay your rent and service charge, so that making any payment to bpha can be as convenient and flexible for you as possible.

A frequently asked question to our Customer Communications Centre is what the options are to pay rent or service charges, click the button below for a quick guide.

If you are on a low income, you could be entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to help pay your rent.

If you are of pensionable age or living in supported housing, then you could qualify for assistance from your local authority with some Housing Benefit.

If you are of working age you may be entitled to claim some Universal Credit to assist with your rent.

How much you receive will depend on your circumstances and current income.

You can apply for Housing Benefit/Universal Credit whether you are working or unemployed.

If your benefits are paid directly to you, you are responsible for paying your rent to us.

If your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit is cut, it is your responsibility to cover any shortfall. Please be aware that you are in danger of losing your home if your account is in arrears.

If you need any information about benefits, or help applying, please contact our Money Advice Team who will be able to help.

Find more frequently asked questions by clicking the button below.