Your Questions, Answered

As with any leasehold apartment, service charges need to be paid regardless of whether or not the property is being lived in. For transparency, the service charges cover various costs, which include but are not limited to, security systems, call monitoring, external maintenance of the building and grounds, heating and lighting of all communal areas and building insurance. The charge is split across all the apartments within each development; therefore, the charge continues to apply.  However, mindful to assist owners as much as we can, we do offer the option to defer payment of service charges for up to a year if their property is unoccupied, providing it is listed for sale with our in-house estate agency, Churchill Sales & Lettings, as a sole agent.

Churchill developments launched from April 2022 do not charge ground rent. However, older developments, launched before April 2022, may have a ground rent in place where permitted under the legislation at the time they were built.

Retirement housing does differ from mainstream housing in the scale and complexity of the communal areas, which form an essential part of the lifestyle and community our developments offer.  These areas are shared by all Residents rather than owned exclusively by individuals, as a result, the ground rent is the established way of helping to fund them. Some operators fund the communal areas by an exit fee or event fee, and others historically used a ground rent.  We do not charge exit fees, and we strive to keep costs as low as possible for our Residents.  

For all developments released for sale prior to March 2020, the lease provides for a ground rent review after seven years and a review every seven years thereafter. Ground rent reviews are calculated in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI).

For all developments released for sale from March 2020 onwards, the lease provides for a ground rent review after every 10 years. Ground rent reviews on these developments are also calculated with reference to the Retail Prices Index (RPI), with the annual increase being no less than 2% and no more than 5% per year.  We believe that having a period where the rent costs remain unchanged struck the right balance between giving people certainty for budgeting purposes but sufficiently frequent that large variations were less likely.

Where it applies, the ground rent is collected twice a year, at the same time as the service charge.

Apartment developers do not normally provide Residents’ Lounges, Guest Suites, Wellbeing Suites, or the range of other facilities on offer at Churchill Living developments. Some operators fund the communal areas by an exit fee or event fee, and others historically used a ground rent.  We do not charge exit fees.

Service charges are reissued yearly by Churchill Estates Management  who provide a full budget breakdown for all our Residents to consider, we always aim to keep the service charge cost as low as possible.

No, we abolished all exit fees on Churchill properties in summer 2025 so that Residents no longer pay an exit fee (also known as an event fee) when selling or subletting their Churchill property.

For many people, downsizing to a retirement apartment can help reduce day-to-day household expenses and the costs associated with maintaining a larger property. While everyone's circumstances are different, moving to a purpose-built retirement apartment may reduce the need for ongoing maintenance, repairs, gardening and exterior upkeep.

Many Residents are pleasantly surprised to find that the service charge can compare favourably with the costs of running their previous property. This is because the service charge combines a wide range of services and property-related expenses into one predictable payment. Residents find they benefit from a more manageable and easier-to-budget lifestyle, without having to worry about unexpected maintenance bills.

The average annual service charge for a one bedroom apartment is £3,140 per annum and £4,700 per annum for a two bedroom. The specific service charge applicable to each individual property are made clear to anyone who is considering a purchase, and Churchill Estates Management work diligently to deliver quality, value for money services, striving to keep the service charges as low as possible, whilst ensuring all obligations are met in full.