Service charge and ground rent debt recovery
Helping managing agents to recover arrears
Service charge arrears and ground rent arrears can harm cash flow and take up valuable time, distracting you from what you do best – managing your property portfolio. When your internal processes do not lead to payment, it is important they are backed up by an effective debt recovery solution.
Our experienced debt recovery team are experts in recovering service charge and ground rent arrears for residential managing agents. We also have an outstanding record of resolving long-standing service charge disputes both before and after court proceedings have been issued and, as part of a large, national law firm, we are able to draw on the resources of our property litigation team if needed.
Our track record is proven. We regularly achieve a recovery rate of over 100% of debts, client administration charges, fees and interest (Over 100% is possible due to the additional recovery of interest).
We regularly advise on the recovery of:
- Ground rent arrears
- Service charge arrears
- Maintenance charge arrears
- Rent arrears
- Maintenance fees
- Relevant insurance charges and utilities charges
- Relevant administration costs and professional expenses
Our approach to debt recovery
We appreciate that every client’s needs are different and we will work with you to agree a tailored approach aligned with your internal processes and requirements. We also understand the importance of protecting your reputation and work ethically and compliantly throughout the recovery process to ensure this is never compromised.
Our experience means that our Debt Recovery team is often able to swiftly and effectively recover your service charge and ground rent arrears without the need for formal legal action. However, when this is necessary, we will issue court proceedings, advise you on the most appropriate action and keep you updated at each step.
Recommendations
‘The team as a whole handle our conflict work and do so well. They are quick to respond, eager to help and just generally a friendly and personable bunch that one enjoys doing business with.’ – Legal 500 2025
“We have used Clarke Willmott for collection of service charge arrears for c. 5 years. I have always found the team to be friendly, approachable and professional. They are very knowledgeable and have assisted us successfully in a number of difficult matters.” – Client
“Clarke Willmott is friendly, responsive and efficient. Communication is a huge thing when discussing the complexities of our cases and being able to discuss this in a friendly, effective way makes for a very productive working relationship.” – Client
Our recent work includes
- Agreeing a payment plan to recover over eight years of service charge arrears
- Successful recovery of service charge arrears and disputed costs
- Resolving a case of repeated service charge arrears
- A case of an unsupported debtor defence
Contact a debt recovery lawyer
To learn more about how we can help you recover unpaid debts, please contact a member of our team directly or send us an email.
Clarke Willmott has offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton. We are members of the Civil Court Users Association (CCUA) and provide service charge and ground rent arrears recovery to managing agents, management companies and landlords across the UK.
