Service charges are still one of the biggest day-to-day property bugbears for Midlands' businesses, according to a survey of industrial and retail tenants by law firm George Green.

More than half of those businesses which pay service charges complained about their size, unpredictability and having to pay for unwanted services.

On the plus side, the survey found that some tenants are now getting wise and insisting that their service charges are capped.

Cheryl Leyser, commercial property partner at Cradley Heath-based George Green, says that for the second time in three years the firm's survey showed that service charges were the number one problem for commercial tenants.

"Many tenants complained that service charges are uncapped, unquantified and unquantifiable. Their arbitrary nature, wild fluctuations from one year to the next which makes budgeting difficult, and being charged for services they did not want and did not use were all common complaints," explains Ms Leyser.

"However, we were pleased to see that a number of tenants had recognised this problem and asked their landlords to put a cap on the amount they have to pay annually as part of their initial negotiation.

"This at least provides some certainty for their annual budgets."

According to Ms Leyser, a new departure in this year's survey was the number of tenants who now are asking for the service charge to be included in their rent and paid on a monthly basis.

"Paying a rent inclusive figure allows occupiers to budget even more accurately," says Ms Leyser.

"But, landlords have to be quite cute in estimating what repairs need to be carried out in the forthcoming 12 months.

"They need to understand their property so that if, say, a leaking roof requires replacing, they build that into the charge.

"They could end up losing out using this method if they are not aware of a major repair. However, tenants say they are prepared to pay more for certainty."

According to George Green's survey, the majority of tenants still pay the service charge in the traditional manner and continue to complain about it.

"There continue to be some shocking examples of excessive charges included in service charges," says Ms Leyser.

"In one instance, a #600 bill for the removal of ivy, and the inclusion of items such as street signs, caretaker's pension contributions and Christmas decorations, all of which are a landlord's responsibility.

"If tenants do not get their service charge capped at either a lump sum per annum or a figure per sq ft of space, they need to pay special attention not just to the state of repair of their unit, but also to that of the estate in general, which can give them some clue about their likely service charge levels."

Her advice is simple.

"Look out for poorly maintained service roads or general levels of disrepair which need to be rectified," warns Ms Leyser.

Tenants who only have short-term interior repairing leases may not escape paying for external maintenance, says Ms Leyser.

"Occupiers in a row of adjoining industrial units, or of an office suite in a shared block, may believe that they will not have to pay to maintain the exterior of the building.

"However, they can be liable for external repair and maintenance via the service charge which can be a potentially huge indirect liability. We always recommend tenants to have a structural survey done of their building to ensure they will not face a share of a bill for a new roof or for underpinning foundations."

George Green has advised a leading West Midlands college of education on a major expansion for the second time in six months.

Commercial property partner Ceri Mort advised Dudley College on the legal aspects of acquiring a 2.247-acre site in the town from the University of Wolverhampton for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.

Dudley College plans to redevelop the site, providing new classrooms for learners in the Black Country for a range of programmes, including basic skills, leisure, tourism and the caring services as well as a centre of excellence for engineering.

The site, bounded by The Parade and Salop Street, is close to the centre of Dudley and adjoins a site acquired from the University of Wolverhampton by the college last year.

"This is the second land deal in the last six months on which we have advised Dudley College as it becomes the major centre of learning in Dudley," says Ms Mort.

"Once again, it was an important and complex land and property deal which proceeded very smoothly."

John Scott, vice-principal (resources) at Dudley College, says that the new classrooms on the site will help the college provide even better facilities for its students and learners in the Black Country.

"We have invested in to ensure that our students have an outstanding learning experience. This is the start of some exciting developments for Dudley College," he says.

George Green advises two other Black Country three colleges - Halesowen College and Stourbridge College.