Leaseholders often use "management charge", "service charge" and "admin charge" interchangeably. The law does not. The category a charge falls into determines which statutory regime protects you.
Definitions
- Service charge — s.18 LTA 1985. Amount payable as part of or in addition to rent, payable directly or indirectly for services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance or landlord's costs of management, and varying according to relevant costs.
- Administration charge — Sch 11 CLRA 2002. Amount payable for or in connection with grant of approvals, provision of information/documents, alleged breaches of covenant, or otherwise as required by the lease.
- Ground rent — the rent proper. Different regime again (mostly Rentcharges Act 1977, LRA 1922, and the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022).
Management fee inside a service charge
The management fee paid to a managing agent is a cost within the service charge — protected by s.19 reasonableness. It is not itself an administration charge.
When it matters
- s.20C order applies to service charges only. Legal costs recovered as administration charges require the para 5A Sch 11 CLRA analogue.
- s.20 consultation applies to service charges only. Administration charge overspends are not consultable.
- Notice of Assignment fees are administration charges — protected by reasonableness in Sch 11 para 2 CLRA.
Related
- [Section 20C costs order guide](/guides/section-20c-costs-order-explained-recover-landlord-legal-costs)
- [Paragraph 5A Schedule 11 CLRA](/guides/paragraph-5a-schedule-11-clra-costs-order-explained)
Frequently asked questions
Is a late payment fee an admin charge?＋
Usually yes — challengeable for reasonableness under Sch 11 CLRA.
Are ground rent recovery costs service charge?＋
No — they are usually administration charges recoverable only if the lease so provides.
Ready to prepare your case?
Run the intake, get structured AI analysis with citations, and export a full tribunal-ready bundle as PDF.