Definition of terms
This year's Retail OSCAR incorporates a re-alignment in our Cost Categories to the RICS Service Charge Code's Cost Class definitions. We detail below for ease of reference the new Cost Class headings and the cost categories included under each of the new cost class headings.
Management
1. Management Fees
- Management fees: owner or managing agent fees for managing and administering building services excluding rent collection, etc.
2. Accounting Fees
- S/C audit fees: auditor's fees to review the year end service charge reconciliation.
3. Site Management Resources
- Staff costs: direct employment or contract costs for provision of staff for management of on-site facilities.
- Receptionists / concierge: direct employment or contract costs for provision of reception and concierge staff, including associated administrative and training costs.
- Site accommodation (rent / rates): rent, service charge and rates associated with site management accommodation.
- Office costs (telephones / stationery): costs of equipping and running site management office.
- Petty cash: miscellaneous minor expenditure incurred in relation to site management duties.
- Help desk / call centre / information centre: operational costs for providing help desk / call centre / information centre facilities.
4. Health, Safety and Environmental Management
- Landlord's risk assessments, audits and reviews: consultancy fees and other costs associated with provision and review of owner's health and safety (H&S) management systems.
Utilities
5. Electricity
- Electricity: electricity supply to common part and retained areas and central plant excluding occupier direct consumption.
- Electricity procurement / consultancy: consultancy and procurement fees for negotiating electricity supply contract and auditing of energy consumption.
- Fuel (standby electrical power): fuel oil to run any standby electrical power systems.
6. Gas
- Gas: gas supply to owner's central plant, excluding occupier direct consumption.
- Gas procurement / consultancy: consultancy and procurement fees for negotiating gas supply contract and auditing of energy consumption.
7. Fuel Oil (heating)
- Fuel oil: fuel oil supply to owner's central plant, excluding occupier direct consumption.
- Fuel oil procurement / consultancy: consultancy and procurement fees for negotiating oil supply contract and auditing of energy consumption.
8. Water
- Water and sewerage charges: water supply to central plant, common part and retained areas excluding occupier direct consumption.
- Water consultancy: consultancy fees incurred in reviewing water usage.
Soft Services
9. Security
- Security guarding: direct employment or contract costs incurred in providing building security guarding.
- Security systems: servicing and maintenance of building security systems (e.g. CCTV, access control, intruder alarm).
10. Cleaning and Environmental
- Internal cleaning: cleaning of internal common part and retained areas.
- External cleaning: cleaning of external common part and retained areas.
- Window cleaning.
- Hygiene services / toiletries: cleaning and servicing of common parts' toilet accommodation.
- Carpets / mats hire: provision of dust and rain mats to common part areas.
- Waste management: refuse collection and waste management services provided for building occupiers.
- Pest control: pest control services provided to common part and retained areas.
- Internal floral displays: providing and maintaining floral displays within the common part areas.
- External landscaping: provision and maintenance of external landscaped areas and special features.
- Seasonal decorations: provision and maintenance of seasonal decorations to common part areas.
11. Marketing and Promotions
- Events: promotional events.
- Marketing: marketing and advertising in accordance with marketing strategy.
- Research: research into local market conditions, customer surveys, etc.
- Staff costs: direct employment or contract costs for provision of marketing and promotional activity.
- Landlord's contribution to marketing: financial contributions made by landlord towards marketing and promotions.
- Local authority contribution to marketing: financial contributions made by local authority towards marketing and promotions.
Hard Services
12. Mechanical & Electrical Services (M&E)
- M&E maintenance contract: planned maintenance to the owner's M&E services, including contractor's H&S compliance.
- M&E repairs: repair works to the owner's M&E services.
- M&E inspections and consultancy: auditing quality of maintenance works, condition of M&E plant and H&S compliance.
- Life safety systems maintenance: planned maintenance works to the owner's fire protection, emergency lighting and other specialist life safety systems, including contractor's H&S compliance.
- Life safety systems repairs: repair works to the owner's fire protection, emergency lighting and other specialist life safety systems.
- Life safety systems inspections and consultancy: auditing quality of maintenance works, condition of plant and H&S compliance.
13. Lifts and Escalators
- Lift maintenance contract: planned maintenance works to lifts in the common part and retained areas, including contractor's H&S compliance.
- Lift repairs: repair works to common parts' lifts.
- Lift inspections and consultancy: auditing quality of maintenance works, condition of lift plant and H&S compliance.
- Escalator maintenance contract: planned maintenance works to escalators in the common part and retained areas, including contractor's H&S compliance.
- Escalator repairs: repair works to common parts escalators.
- Escalator inspections and consultancy: auditing quality of maintenance works, condition of escalator plant and H&S compliance.
14. Suspended Access Equipment
- Suspended access maintenance contract: planned maintenance works to the owner's suspended access equipment, including contractor's H&S compliance.
- Suspended access repairs: repair works to the owner's suspended access equipment.
- Suspended access inspections and consultancy: auditing quality of maintenance works, condition of suspended access equipment and H&S compliance.
15. Fabric Repairs and Maintenance
- Internal repairs and maintenance: repair and maintenance of internal building fabric, common part and retained areas.
- External repairs and maintenance: repair and maintenance of external building fabric, structure, external common part and retained areas.
- Redecorations: redecoration and decorative repairs.
Income
16. Interest: distinct activities that yield a true income to the service charge account.
- Interest: interest received on service charge monies held within owner's or agent's bank account.
17. Income from Commercialisation: income yielded from any facilities installed and / or maintained at the occupier's expense.
- Car park income.
- Vending machine income.
- Other.
- Operational expenses.
- Contract charges: overheads, expenses and operational costs incurred in providing any of the above facilities.
- Repairs and maintenance.
- Staff costs.
Insurance
18. Engineering Insurance: landlord's engineering insurances.
- Engineering insurance.
- Engineering inspections.
19. All Risks Insurance Cover: landlord's all risk insurance costs.
- Buildings insurance.
- Loss of rent insurance.
- Public and property owner's liability.
- Insurance.
- Landlord's contents insurance.
20. Terrorism Insurance: landlord's terrorism insurance costs.
- Terrorism insurance.
Exceptional Expenditure
21. Major Works
- Project works: exceptional and one-off project works, over and above routine operational costs.
- Refurbishments.
- Plant replacement.
- Major repairs.
22. Forward Funding
- Sinking funds: forward funding of specific major replacement projects (e.g. plant and equipment replacements, roof replacements).
- Reserve funds: forward funding of specific periodic works to even out fluctuations in annual service charge costs (e.g. internal / external redecorations).
- Depreciation charge: depreciation charge in lieu of sinking / replacement fund contribution of major plant and equipment.
Size bands
- Small centres
- 50,000 sq ft to 99,999 sq ft
- Medium centres
- 100,000 sq ft to 249,999 sq ft
- Large centres
- over 250,000 sq ft
Shopping centres
For the purpose of this review a shopping centre is defined as a group of shops (in excess of 10) comprising gross internal floor area of at least 50,000 sq ft (4,645 sq m), under common ownership with shared services and common parts. Excluded from this survey are retail parks.
Types of centres
For the report we have categorised shopping centres into four types:
- enclosed (air-conditioning)
- enclosed (non air-conditioning)
- part-enclosed / open
- open
'Enclosed' centres have covered malls and a form of door / barrier at the boundary.
'Part-enclosed / open' centres have a combination of open areas and enclosed malls.
'Open' centres have no malls that are enclosed.
Historic comparison
Historic figures have been reformatted as far as possible under the new code of practice to allow like-for-like comparisons. However, in some cases it has not been possible to extract this information for certain costs, for example water rates, that were previously within 'Administration' and now appear under a different cost class of Utilities. Therefore a direct comparison between the old and new service charge formats is not always possible.