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Our service charges explained
This guide explains what our service charges cover, how fees are calculated and the value they provide, so you can make an informed decision with confidence.
Your guide to our service charges
If you're considering retirement living, it is important you understand the service charges involved. This guide explains why we have them, what they cover and how they play an essential role in providing the easier lifestyle homeowners enjoy.
Our service charges help ensure your development remains safe, welcoming and well looked after, while giving you the freedom to spend less time worrying about chores and maintenance and more time enjoying retirement.
We work hard to keep our service charges as low as possible while delivering excellent value. Around 99% of the services we provide are charged at the same price it costs us to procure – we don’t add any mark-up. And, for many homeowners, the services provided remove the hassle, cost, chores and administration associated with their previous homes, while providing access to fantastic amenities, support and a close-knit and vibrant community.
Why do we have service charges?
Our service charges ensure retirement is easier, safer and more enjoyable for everyone who lives in our developments. While all residential developments with shared spaces have service charges, in retirement communities they cover much more than usual, including dedicated management teams, emergency call systems, shared amenities.
Our retirement communities and the services they provide allow people to stay independent for longer in safe, well-maintained surroundings, with the added benefits of a sociable and vibrant community on the doorstep.
Is McCarthy & Stone’s service charge good value for money?
We work hard to ensure the service charge is great value for money – it means every development has a manager, plus gardeners to keep the garden looking beautiful, cleaners to keep things spotless, the lounge is always warm in winter, the lifts work properly and much, much more.
Depending on the development, there are two service charge options available: one with a higher monthly contribution, and one where part of the cost is deferred and paid later when the apartment is sold or let. You can find details of service charge costs on individual development pages.
What do service charges cover?
Your service charge covers the services and support that help keep your development running smoothly, safely and comfortably.
Retirement Living
If you live in a Retirement Living development, your service charge includes:
- The employment of an on-site House Manager who oversees the development, helps bring the community together and acts as a point of contact for homeowners and their families
- Heating and lighting in communal areas
- Maintenance of the building and grounds, including gardening, window cleaning and upkeep of communal spaces
- A 24-hour emergency call system
- Monitored fire alarms and door-entry security systems
- Buildings insurance, water and sewerage rates
- Lift maintenance and servicing
Retirement Living Plus
If you live in a Retirement Living Plus development, your service charge includes:
- An on-site CQC-Registered Estate Manager and team who oversee the development, deliver services and support homeowners and their families
- The running costs of the on-site bistro or restaurant (meals and drinks are charged separately)
- One hour of light domestic assistance each week
- Heating and lighting in communal areas
- Staff on-site 24 hours a day
- Maintenance of the building and grounds, including gardening, window cleaning and upkeep of communal spaces
- A 24-hour emergency call system
- Monitored fire alarms and door-entry security systems
- Buildings insurance, water and sewerage rates
- Lift maintenance and servicing
What else is covered by the service charge?
As well as the services listed above, which make up the bulk of the fees, the service charge also pays towards the contingency fund and for the management fee.
The contingency fund
Just as you might set money aside for rainy days, retirement developments also maintain a contingency fund for unexpected repairs and maintenance including:
- Roof repairs or replacement
- Lift upgrades or replacement
- Alarm and security systems
- Internal and external redecoration
- Window frame replacement
Different developments operate slightly different funding models. In general, homeowners either:
- Contribute more through their monthly service charge and less when they later sell
- Contribute less through their monthly service charge and more when they later sell
In both cases, the money collected is held in trust for the benefit of homeowners at the development and does not belong to McCarthy & Stone.
The management fee
The management fee helps cover the wider support services required to run each development efficiently.
This includes our operations teams and specialist procurement teams, who negotiate competitive prices for utilities and services on behalf of developments across the country. We make a small profit from this fee, equivalent on average to 1% of the service charge. This works out at about £1 per property per week.
Can Retirement Living save you money?
The service charge is calculated annually and paid in monthly instalments. We make every effort to keep any annual increase in line with inflation. Many people find they spend less on household running costs after moving from a larger, older property into a retirement living apartment.
With fewer maintenance responsibilities, improved energy efficiency and many costs shared across the development, the typical saving can be up to £3,000 a year* compared with running a traditional family home.
Can Retirement Living Plus save money on care?
The average person in a residential care home pays £67,496 a year. In comparison, someone in a McCarthy & Stone Retirement Living Plus apartment, paying for an additional care package of six support visits a day, will pay less than half that amount, even with the service charge on top.
How can I find out more?
The best way to understand retirement living is to experience it for yourself. Visiting a development offers a real sense of the lifestyle, the community and the feeling of being at home.
Browse our retirement communities near you, contact us or call our lovely team on 0800 201 4811.
*Typical savings between £213 - £3,107 on your household costs: Calculated by comparing the annual costs of energy (gas and electricity), window cleaning, garden maintenance, and building and contents insurance with McCarthy & Stone’s average annual charges for the same household services for a one-bed and two-bed Retirement Living apartment in Wisteria Place.
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