Can anyone please offer help with this: I have one of six converted flats above a cafe. The owner of the cafe is the Freeholder or Lessor of the building. The Lease [dated 1981] on my flat has a clause whereby the Lessor can recover my contribution to the costs and expenses incurred by him in fulfilling his obligations under the Lease to include: the cost of external decoration and communal lighting to the stairs, the cost of building insurance, all other expenses [if any] incurred by the Lessor in and about the proper convenient management and running of the property. such sum as shall be necessary [if any] by the Lessor to establish a sinking fund for the purpose of defraying the costs of providing such services and performing such acts which are not of an annually recurrent nature. Since 1981, all the flat owners have received copies of the quarterly electric bill and are billed our share; similarly, at renewal, we are billed our share of the building insurance; when the building was redecorated [many years ago] the work was completed and we were each invoiced our share of the bill. We all paid promptly, no problem at all. Importantly, there is no reference in the lease to 'Service Charge' or to annual making up dates, accounts etc. We have simply paid our share of actual itemised bills. We have never paid any 'Management Fees' even though the bills come via a 'Managing Agent' [who happens to be the husband of the cafe owner] Now, suddenly, I receive a 'Service Charge Demand' for the year ahead, to include building insurance and sinking fund. That's all there is. Just a demand for £825 ....no notice....no information on the Landlord etc....no summary or breakdown of the 'service charge' Our average yearly expenditure would normally be around £160. The accompanying letter justifies the service charge by virtue of the clause in the Lease stating 'all other expenses [if any] incurred by the Lessor...etc' Ok, my first question is can an Annual Service Charge, in advance, on account, simply be imposed when there is no specific clause referring the Service Charge calculation, dates etc. in the Lease? Secondly, can a Lessor simply appoint a Managing Agent and pass on his fee as a legitimate expense under the 'proper convenient management and running of the property'? It seems a bit odd, that after 28 years, the Lessor is able to just suddenly pluck a figure out of the blue and demand unsubstantiated 'Service Charge' and 'Management Fees'