Checking a management-fee increase: budget, shares and accounts

Identify the scope and records

HAD's financial-budget guidance describes an annual management budget covering expected receipts and expenditure. Typical headings include staffing, cleaning, common utilities, maintenance and insurance. Read a new demand by separating ongoing operating costs, reserve contributions and a one-off works levy. Each needs its own period and calculation. Comparing only the grand total can hide a change in what the payment actually covers, even when the arithmetic on the demand is correct.

Your allocation needs the deed of mutual covenant and the applicable building arrangements; another block or flat type does not establish the right charge for yours. HAD's accounts guidance also points to income-and-expenditure summaries and financial statements. An owner's request for corporation records and a tenant's tenancy-payment question need separate handling. A clause requiring a tenant to pay the fee does not automatically confer every record-access right available to an owner.

Practical steps to follow

1. List the old and new monthly amounts, effective date, covered period and every additional item, then reconcile receipts. If a payment has not been credited, record its banking date and receipt separately so a posting problem is not mistaken for an increase.
2. Ask management in writing which budget headings changed, which record authorized the charge and how shares were applied. Specify the relevant period and documents rather than starting with an indiscriminate demand for residents' personal information unrelated to the fee.
3. Compare the budget with the previous year's actual accounts and examine staffing, maintenance or insurance changes. Ask whether an annual cost is collected monthly. When an annual figure appears on a monthly statement, check the divisor and accounting period before drawing a conclusion.
4. If the explanation remains unclear, ask the District Office's building-management liaison team about the relevant guidance and support. Obtain appropriate advice on payment, meeting procedure or a claim as separate issues, keeping the original request and every response together.

A worked example and wording to adapt

A useful message says: 'My unit's regular charge changed from amount A to amount B, with a separate repair levy. Please identify the applicable annual budget, authorization record and my unit's shares and calculation. Last month's receipt is attached; please confirm that it was credited.' If the reply explains that insurance is contracted annually and collected monthly, reconcile the annual premium with the collection schedule. That provides a specific follow-up question without assuming monthly collection itself is duplicate billing.

Follow-up and completion checks

Maintain five columns: item, basis, period, calculation and unresolved point. A budget is an estimate while accounts record actual receipts and costs. Ask for the reason for a material difference instead of expecting every budget figure to match the eventual expenditure exactly.

Before withholding all fees or deducting a disputed amount, check the DMC, legislation and your tenancy and seek case-specific advice. An ordinary enquiry does not itself cancel a payment obligation or replace a formal dispute process. Use the documented discrepancy to obtain a targeted explanation or remedy.