Service costs

Some homes on our website mention service costs. In many cases you will only see this in flats. However, we also rent out some residences where you pay these costs. Service costs are the costs you pay every month in addition to the basic rent. But what exactly do these service costs entail?

What are service costs?

Service costs are costs that are made for a number of general matters. For example, the electricity, cleaning, maintenance of the lift and washing the windows in general areas. Every tenant pays a monthly advance for these costs, which is debited together with the rent.

Settlement of service costs

Once a year, you will receive a letter with the annual statement. This contains an overview of the actual service costs incurred. Was your advance payment too high? Then you will get money back from us. Did you pay too little? Are you moving house or have you already moved? Then of course you only pay for the period that you rented from us. You do not receive the settlement statement when you move house, but at the same time as all the tenants in the building. It is therefore possible that you have already been living somewhere else for a while.

When is the advance payment adjusted?

Every year we make a calculation of the service costs. Do we expect higher or lower costs in the coming period? Then we will adjust the amount of the advance payment. The new advance payment for the coming year is stated in the service-charge final settlement.

What do the service charges consist of?

Below is a brief explanation of possible types of service charges. It depends on your property which costs apply. First you will read about the general service charges, then about the possible heating costs.

General service charge

Administration costs

We make administration costs to process the service costs carefully. For example, making the annual statement and calculating the new advance payment. You pay a standard administration fee of 5 percent of the total service costs and 3 percent of any heating costs.

Cleaning

Do you live in a building with communal areas, such as a communal entrance or stairwell? Then we provide for the cleaning of these areas.

Collective window cleaning

This includes the costs we make for cleaning the windows. In many apartment buildings we wash the windows of the common rooms as well as the windows you cannot reach yourself.

Greenery maintenance

Does your complex include communal gardens, fields, flowerbeds or hedges? If so, we take care of their maintenance.

Gas, water, electricity for communal areas

These are the costs for the use of water, gas and/or electricity in, for example, the central hall or communal storage room in your building. We divide these costs equally among all the residences in the building.

Heating costs

Usually, you pay the costs for water, gas and electricity directly to your energy supplier. Is your residence connected to a central heating system in the building? Then you pay us your heating costs every month. You will receive an annual settlement for this too, together with the general settlement of service costs.