For estates and residents' associationsChecked against the product 19 October 2026

How do Nigerian estates collect service charge and levies?

Short answer

Agree the budget and each household's share at the AGM, raise the charge for every house at once, collect into one estate account with a receipt for each payment, and publish what was collected and spent. Most service charge disputes are about visibility, not the amount. Ledge does the raising, receipts, defaulters list and published accounts for residents' associations and estate committees.

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After you create your account, email hello@ledgeapp.co and the Ledge team switches on estate mode for you.

The method

How to run service charge for an estate

  1. Agree the budget and the split

    Security, power, waste, staff and repairs, and whether each house pays the same or a share by size. Minute the decision at the AGM.

  2. Raise the charge for every house at once

    Same amount, same due date, same description. Raising it house by house invites mistakes and arguments.

  3. Collect into one account

    One estate account, never a committee member's personal account, and a receipt for every payment.

  4. Chase from a list, not memory

    The treasurer works from a defaulters list per period, so nobody is chased twice or missed.

  5. Publish the accounts

    Income against spending, by category, for the year. Residents who can see where the money went are easier to collect from.

Ways estates split service charge
BasisGood for
Same amount for every houseEstates where houses are similar in size
Share of a total budgetEstates that agree a budget first and divide it
Separate levy for one projectA road, borehole or transformer, kept apart from routine charges

With Ledge

What Ledge does, and what it leaves to you

Ledge does

  • Raises a service charge or levy across the houses you select in one go, either the same amount each or a share of a total, under its own category (Starter and up).
  • Keeps a register of houses and residents.
  • Shows a defaulters list for each estate.
  • Issues a receipt for each payment in full. Residents pay online when online payments are on, or upload proof of a transfer for the committee to confirm.
  • Records estate spending and, when the committee chooses to publish, shows residents the year's income and spending in their portal.
  • Sends announcements to residents by email and in-app.

You still

  • Agree the budget and the split. Ledge raises what the committee decides; it does not decide who owes what.
  • Raise each period's charge. Ledge does it for every house at once, but you start it.
  • Allow for part payments: balances count a part-paid charge in full.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between service charge and a levy?
Service charge pays for running the estate: security, power, waste and staff. A levy is usually a one-off charge for a specific project, such as a road or a transformer, and is best kept separate so residents can see what it paid for.
Can residents see how service charge is spent?
In Ledge, yes, if the committee publishes. Estate accounts show residents the year's income and spending by category in their portal. Until the committee publishes, only the committee sees the figures.
How do residents pay?
Online through Paystack once the estate switches online payments on, or by bank transfer with proof uploaded in the portal for the committee to confirm. Each payment in full gets a receipt.
How does an estate start on Ledge?
Create an account, then email hello@ledgeapp.co. The Ledge team switches on estate mode, which turns units into houses and tenants into residents.

More answers

Run your estate on Ledge

Built in Lagos for Nigerian practice: naira pricing, rent paid yearly, quarterly or monthly, and Paystack for online payments.

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