My flat is smaller than my neighbour’s, so why am I paying the same service charge?

Q. My flat is about half the size of the flat above but we pay the same percentage of the service charges. Can I get these figures changed?

A. The percentage contribution to a landlord’s costs is often described as a service charge apportionment. And whether it can be changed depends very much on the terms of the leases of the flats involved.

In many cases, leases will specify the service charge apportionment as a simple fixed percentage of the costs involved in maintaining and insuring the block or estate. Here, there is little scope for amending apportionments. Landlords could agree to deeds of variation changing the leases of all the flats, but that would need unanimous consent. There is also a limited power to