That little bit extra
"Service charges are a strange payment introduced to Poland a few years ago, when foreign companies started investing here," said one representative of a paying tenant, Eurobuild talked to on the subject
Paying for what you use
What service charges cover does in fact vary from building to building and
according to the property manager responsible for their well being. In general
however, utilities, (electricity, water and so on), cleaning inside and outside
the building, small repairs, security, reception and heating can all be included
in that 'little extra' that companies will have to pay for the roof over their
heads. Some tenants of course use more electricity and water than others and
should they do, their consumption is often metred. This is property manager
WeCare's policy and tenants with showrooms for example, whose equipment is
continually in use, come into this category, as do medical centres who use more
than the average quantity of water. Others, on the other hand, such as the
Platan Group take a different position. The electricity in their buildings'
offices is, as a matter of course metred but for them, hot and cold water usage
is very difficult to monitor. Doing so would incur accounting costs higher than
simply allowing this staple service to be included in the normal charges.
For the common good
Other services, such as cleaning, security and technical maintenance for
instance, are more obviously held in common. If an elevator needs to be
repaired, it's naturally in the interests of every tenant to contribute equally
to the cost.
Security is perhaps the most contentious of this type of service. Contributing
to this, it is also "one of the biggest costs", says Andrzej Ciupak of
DTZ Management Polska, for what would seem the obvious reason that as a
twenty-four hour operation, it consumes a great deal of electricity and
manpower.
Protection money counts
"Tenants," according to Ciupak, "are increasingly trying to
streamline their expenditure" on service charges and other real estate
outlay and this may well be a reason why some are becoming a little tetchy about
the services they get in return. Since the terrorist attacks of 11/9/01, a lot
of companies have, naturally enough, become far more security conscious but this
means at the same time, that they are also paying more and more attention to
what they pay towards their safety. "At the moment there is a lot of
pressure on companies to reduce costs," says Ciupak.
Outsourcing
It's well enough known that cleaning, reception and security are services
commonly delegated to contractors, specialists in their respective trades. For
the work they do they are paid out of the service charges companies fork out
for. Cleaners and receptionists can do little wrong but according to some of the
tenants Eurobuild spoke to, security firms can, despite providing one of the
most expensive services. Two companies, paying up to EUR 6 sqm in class A
buildings, complained that lap-top computers had gone missing from their offices
on a regular basis and were treated with casual unconcern by their landlords
when they brought the issue up. They were quite outspoken in their anger.
Service charges for them are a strange payment indeed.
