Customers are responsible for paying service charges, as well as other fees to Plumlife Homes. You can use our online Portal to check your account, view your statement and see what charges are associated with your property.
As advised in previous years we’ve been able to secure a competitive rate, with individual leaseholders and shared owners paying relatively low buildings insurance premiums through their service charge. However, the buildings insurance market, alongside all other insurance products in general, has seen significant increases in recent years.
In previous years we have capped the insurance premiums for some of our shared owner and leasehold and absorbed the surplus internally. This is no longer sustainable, and the full cost of the insurance premium is now being passed on.
Buildings insurance premiums are based on how much it would cost to completely rebuild a property; this is known as the reinstatement cost. It includes every aspect – from demolishing a severely damaged building and clearing the site, to the material and labour costs of rebuilding it. All of these costs have increased as a result of high inflation rates and a shortage of materials.
We have used this reinstatement cost to apportion each customer’s contribution to the overall insurance policy. We are now starting to see some stabilisation within the insurance market, and we have communicated recently with all relevant customers to advise that we have procured a new insurance premium which will commence from 1st October 2024. This has produced a reduction in the overall cost, which is obviously positive, and will be used to calculate the budgets for the next financial year from 1st April 2025.
Please be reassured that Great Places or Plumlife do not make any profit on insurance premiums, and we do all we can to secure the best rates for our customers.
Your home includes a service charge for the cost of services within shared, communal areas. Service charges cover services such as window cleaning, communal gardening, maintenance of lifts and other shared services.
We review your service charges in line with our contracts and service costs and are based on the actual amount we expect services to cost each year. So, we charge you less when prices go down, but you will see a higher charge when they increase.
If you are struggling to pay your charges, contact our friendly team on 0161 447 5050 or email directory@plumlife.co.uk. We know that rising costs will be a significant challenge for many of our customers and we will be able to provide some helpful advice.
You don’t need to complete a brand-new claim with the Department for Work and Pensions. Once we write to inform you of the new rent, Universal Credit will prompt you in your journal via the Universal Credit Portal after Monday 7 April. You can press the prompt on the journal then tell them of your new rent and service charge – this is the only time you need to respond about the new rent.
Once your journal is updated with your new entitlement, if you pay by direct debit you need to inform Great Places of the new applicable payment so we can amend this to cover your rent.
If we are not informed your direct debit may not be adjusted so you could fall into arrears.
Get in touch with your local council to advise them of your new charges from 7 April 2025.
Do not worry, your Direct Debit will be adjusted automatically. After we write to you at the end of February notifying you of your service charge increase, we will adjust your Direct Debit and you will receive information from Allpay to confirm your new monthly payments. If you have a repayment plan for any arrears, we will add the additional amount onto your monthly Direct Debit total. We will amend your new payments in line with the new charge. If your account has an outstanding balance of £25 or less, we will collect this in your first Direct Debit payment in April.
If you pay by Standing Order, contact your bank to change the amount to your new charge starting from 7 April 2025.
We are here to help. Contact your Income Officer if you have any arrears on your account and want to discuss increasing your payments or Direct Debit to cover this debt.
You will receive information about your service charge increase in February 2025. The new charges will then apply from the beginning of April 2025.
