Service charge

Understanding your service charge

Your rent is one of the most important payments you make, it helps keep a roof over your head and supports the services we provide to you and your neighbours. If you’re struggling to pay, please don’t wait, our friendly team is here to help with advice and support.

In some cases, you may pay extra for services linked to your tenancy, such as cleaning of communal areas or grounds maintenance on estates.

These charges are based on the actual cost of providing the service and may change each year. 

What Makes Up Your Rent

Your rent charge includes:

  • Base Rent – the standard charge for your home
  • Service Charges – if applicable, these may include:  
  • Grounds Maintenance 
  • Housing Support Charge (Intensive Housing Management) 
  • Caretaker or Cleaner (for communal areas) 
  • Community Alarm 

You can view a full breakdown of your charges by logging into your Tenant Portal.

Pay your service charge online

It’s easy to pay your service charge online via the Shropshire Council website.

Pay your service charge online
  • Have your rent account number ready. You’ll be asked to enter this as your reference. Have your invoice number handy to in case you need it.
  • Follow the link to Pay Online.
  • Select Council Housing Rent from the dropdown menu.
  • Click ‘Pay Online’ to continue to the secure payment page. 
  • paying online at Shropshire council page
  • paying online at Shropshire council page
  • paying online at Shropshire council page

Here is some further information about how rents are set that you may find helpful: 

Social Rent is based on a national formula introduced by the Government in 2002. This formula takes into account: 

  • Number of bedrooms
  • Average local earnings
  • Property value (as of 1999)

From 2002 to 2015, rents were reviewed and increased each April, following Government guidance. These increases were largely influenced by the national inflation rate from the previous September.

Although there were some small changes to the formula over the years, this approach remained in place until April 2016, when a new law — the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 — changed things.

Under this law, the Government required housing providers to reduce rents by 1% each April for four years, starting in 2016. 

In addition to your rent, you may also be charged for specific services linked to your tenancy. These are called Service Charges, and they cover things like:

  • Cleaning of communal areas in flats
  • Grounds maintenance in shared outdoor spaces

Service Charges are based on the actual cost of providing these services and may change each year.

Some homes — such as new builds or higher-value properties, are let under a different system called Affordable Rent.

Affordable Rent is set at the beginning of a new tenancy and is based on up to 80% of the market rent for a similar property in the local area.

Other pages you might find helpful…