What you get.
Planning officers ask how the open space, play areas and drainage will be paid for over the life of the scheme. Sales teams get asked what the estate charge will be. This gives you a credible answer to both, on two pages, in about a minute.
- 1The charge per home. A year and a month, including VAT, because a residents' company cannot recover it.
- 2Every line of the budget. Grounds, play areas, SuDS, pumping station, private roads and lighting, block costs, insurance, accounts and a reserve.
- 3Every assumption. The rate behind each line, typical for Essex in 2026, so you can see what moves when a number changes.
- 4The management fee, printed. £100 a home for the first hundred homes and £40 after that, plus VAT. No percentage, no insurance commission.
Why it is free.
We are an Essex firm and we would rather estates here started with a budget that adds up. Use it with whoever ends up managing the site. If you want it firmed up from your landscape and drainage plans, we will do that too.
What it is not.
It is a draft built from indicative rates and the figures you enter, not a quotation from contractors, and it leaves out buildings insurance for any blocks, which is priced on the rebuild value. Treat it as the starting point for a conversation with your technical team.
It is on its way.
Check your inbox, and your junk folder if it is not there in a few minutes. It comes from info@essexblockmanagement.co.uk with the PDF attached.
Our free estate budget gives a developer a credible estate charge for a new scheme in about a minute: the charge per home a year and a month including VAT, every line of the budget from grounds and play areas to SuDS, pumping stations and private roads, and a reserve.
Questions
How much should an estate charge be on a new development?
It depends on what the homeowners must maintain. Open space and grounds alone may be around £100 a home a year; add play areas, SuDS, a pumping station or private roads and it rises. Our free budget works it out line by line for your scheme.