Under the terms of your lease you are obliged to pay. When you bought your flat your solicitor should have obtained details of any major planned expenditure from the council, although sometimes this only projects 3 years into the future. It's worth checking what was supplied at the time you bought. It's a bit late for you but I would always ask for a future maintenance plan if buying in a block as most components ie roof, windows etc have a finite life and external decorating is usually carried out on a cyclical basis. There should at least be an indicative plan of when these works are due with rough costs. This will at least give an idea of what you are facing. It's always worth talking to the housing office but whatever your circumstances you will have to pay. If you don't pay the council can contact your mortgage lender and get the arrears added to your mortgage or apply to the court or the leasehold valuation tribunal. The Leasehold Advisory Service is a useful site with practical help for leaseholders: http://www.lease-advice.org/ Good luck.