Annual Rentcharge

Introduction

Sovereign Harbour residential property owners are covenanted to pay an annual charge (£336 for 2023) to the Sovereign Harbour (Sea Defences) Community Interest Company, a subsidiary of the Sovereign Harbour Trust (SHT), through an ‘Estate Rentcharge’ for flood defence work and harbour and marina maintenance.

Rentcharge Q and A

SHRA has produced a short Q&A document outlining the rentcharge, who does what and what the charge is for. Rentcharge QandA... 

For details of how the rentcharge came about and further background information, see our rentcharge history page.

The Rentcharge Elements

Our Rentcharge chart....   shows the various elements that make up the rentcharge.

The rentcharge consists of two main parts:

1. The Southern Water (SW) Charge. The SHT covenants with the homeowner to apply the SW Charge towards the cost of executing the Littoral Drift obligations and the maintenance and improvement of the beach and sea defences within the vicinity of the Harbour and towards Harbour maintenance. This was set at £75 per property in 1988 and varied by the change in the Retail Price Index (i.e. it has steadily increased).

2. The Marina Charge. The Marina Charge is "all costs and expenses reasonably and properly incurred in connection with or incidental to the cleansing, repair and maintenance of the Harbour and the waterways."

3. There is a third part that not everyone pays. The Berth Charge is only applicable to owners of privately owned berths.

More information on the Marina Charge from Premier Marinas via the SHT website
https://www.sovereignharbourtrust.co.uk/downloads/The%20Marina%20Charge%20explained.pdf 

Paying the Charge

All residential properties at Sovereign Harbour pay the rentcharge (SW Charge and Marina Charge), with the exception of the first 364 homes built there, which, for some technical/legal/historic reason, don’t pay the Marina Charge (they do pay the SW charge).

Whatever you think about the rentcharge, we urge you to make the annual payment, as failure to do so could have serious consequences for you.  Payment delays only increase the CIC's costs passed on to residents. 

To help reduce admin costs and avoid a possible penalty, please pay promptly and online via your bank or from the following website via a credit or debit card: https://www.sovereignharbourtrust.co.uk/rent_charge.asp. On the same webpage, you will find a link to additional information from Premier Marinas about the marina charge.

Past Action from SHRA

The SHRA committee continues to investigate the basis for the charge, how the money is spent, and the management of the Trust and the CIC. Our primary focus is on greater transparency, and the matter is discussed at every SHRA committee meeting.

January 2020. We wrote to the Sovereign Harbour (Sea Defences) Community Interest Company about some aspects of the charge and received a reply. Click here to read the correspondence... 

April 2020. Following our earlier letter to the Sovereign Harbour Trust CIC, we wrote again in April 2020 asking for more details of the charges and for greater engagement with the residents, including SHRA having regular meetings with the CIC board. Click here to read SHRA's letter... 

August 2020. Following a subsequent exchange of emails, the CIC formally replied to our April letter on 4 August 2020. Click here to read their reply. We replied that we looked forward to seeing improved information on the SHT website and indicated that we would like to work with them to make the arrangement for the annual rentcharge more transparent.

We have continued to press the CIC and Premier Marinas to make the charges more transparent and show how the money we pay is spent.  

January 2021. Over the last few months, SHRA has continued trying to get the CIC to produce transparent accounts that clearly explain who benefits from the charge. 

February 2021. Despite appeals to local councillors and the MP, who agree that the accounts should be made more transparent, this year's invoices are not a great improvement on last year's.  In the February 2021 edition of our newsletter, Waterlines,  we show some of the results of work we have done to show better where the money goes (see below).

March 2021. SHRA wrote to the CIC complaining that despite our requests for the accounts to be made more transparent, this year's invoices are not much better than in previous years. We also requested some factual information, e.g. the number of properties that pay the charge and the number of non-payers. We offered to help the CIC improve the transparency of their invoice and the other information they supply about the rentcharge.  Click here to read our letter...   The CIC replied, saying they would be happy to consider any suggestions to improve the transparency of the annual invoices.

2022 - Further correspondence between SHRA and the CIC took place.

2022-23. SHRA's further work on improving the transparency of the rent charge was put on hold while other matters, including two large planning applications, were being dealt with.

It is on Our Agenda

The SHRA committee continues to investigate the basis for the charge, how the money is spent, and the management of the Trust and the CIC. Our primary focus is on greater transparency, and the matter is discussed at every SHRA committee meeting.