What the TPI Service Charge Index 2026 Means for Managing Agents

The Property Institute’s Service Charge Index 2026 offers an important snapshot of the pressures shaping residential property management today.

Built from data covering more than 117,000 homes across England, Wales and Scotland, the report highlights a sector balancing growing compliance responsibilities, rising operational demands and increasing expectations around transparency and communication.

While conversations around service charges often focus on rising costs, the report paints a broader picture.

For managing agents, landlords and resident management companies (RMCs), service charges are increasingly tied to the realities of managing safer, older and more demanding residential buildings. From reserve fund planning and insurance costs to compliance and long-term maintenance, the responsibilities placed on property professionals continue to grow.

Service charges are reflecting the realities of modern building management

According to the report, average service charges have risen by 5.8% since 2024, broadly in line with inflation over the same period.

But the more important story sits behind the figures.

The Index highlights increasing pressure across:

• reserve fund contributions
• Building Safety Act compliance
• staffing costs
• ageing buildings
• high-rise developments

Together, these trends show how the day-to-day demands of residential property management are increasing.

Managing agents today are balancing:

• compliance and safety responsibilities
• budgeting and financial reporting
• contractor coordination
• resident communication
• maintenance planning
• growing reporting requirements

Often, this is happening across increasingly large and varied portfolios.

The report also highlights how significantly costs can vary depending on the type of building being managed. Buildings over 18 metres averaged service charges of £4,447 per leaseholder, compared with £2,418 for buildings under 11 metres. Taller buildings, rapidly ageing developments and growing compliance requirements are all increasing the day-to-day demands placed on property professionals.

Transparency is becoming increasingly important

The TPI Service Charge Index itself was created to improve transparency and understanding across the residential property sector.

That reflects wider expectations across the industry. Leaseholders, directors and clients increasingly expect:

• clearer communication
• accessible reporting
• visibility into service charge costs
• stronger evidence behind budgets
• timely updates and information

For many teams, managing the building is only part of the challenge.

Keeping financial, operational and compliance information accurate and accessible is becoming just as important.

As portfolios grow, many organisations are reviewing whether disconnected spreadsheets, siloed systems and manual processes still provide the visibility needed to manage residential buildings confidently and efficiently.

Why that visibility matters more than ever

One of the clearest messages from the Index is that managing residential buildings now requires greater oversight, clearer reporting and stronger long-term planning.

Block managers are expected to balance operational efficiency with transparency, compliance and resident communication — often across large and varied portfolios.

That is why many organisations are focusing more closely on how information is managed across their business.

Having financial, compliance and property information in one place can help teams:

• improve budgeting accuracy
• support clearer reporting
• manage service charge administration more efficiently
• maintain stronger oversight across portfolios
• communicate more effectively with residents and clients

The aim is to help property professionals manage buildings confidently, communicate clearly and maintain stronger control across their portfolios.

Building Safety Act compliance continues to shape the sector

The report also highlights the continued impact of the Building Safety Act on residential property management.

While Building Safety Act compliance costs remain a relatively small proportion of total service charge expenditure, they increased by 53% between 2024 and 2026.

These costs reflect the ongoing work involved in:

• higher-risk building registration
• safety case reporting
• inspections and assessments
• compliance administration
• ongoing regulatory coordination

Importantly, these are not short-term changes. The responsibilities introduced through the Building Safety Act are becoming a permanent part of managing many residential developments, particularly higher-risk buildings. For managing agents, maintaining control across these responsibilities is becoming increasingly important to delivering safe and well-managed residential buildings.

A sector continuing to adapt

The TPI Service Charge Index 2026 reflects a sector managing genuine operational and regulatory pressure  and not simply rising costs.

Managing agents are balancing growing compliance requirements, ageing buildings, rising expectations around communication and the increasing need for accurate reporting and long-term planning.

For the sector, that creates challenges. But it also creates an opportunity to improve visibility, strengthen communication and deliver better outcomes for leaseholders and residents.

As residential property management continues to evolve, the organisations best placed to adapt are likely to be those with the processes, reporting and oversight needed to manage buildings with confidence.

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