Service Fees Under the 2022 Act: What Landlords Can Charge
Updated 3 November 2026 · Land & Property editorial team
Section 46 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022 lets a landlord charge a service fee for extra services such as security, conservancy and sanitation. The fee may cover services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance and the landlord's management costs, and it follows the relevant costs. The Act sets no cap and no accounts rule, so the agreement and the evidence of costs matter.
- Legal basis
- Section 46, Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022
- What it covers
- Services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance, management costs
- Cap on the fee
- None in the Act
- Related protections
- Void terms (section 11), rent cut if a service stops (section 28), refund of tenant's payments (section 47)
Can a landlord charge a service fee in Uganda?
Yes, within the limits of section 46 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022 (Act 9 of 2022). Section 46(1) says a landlord may charge a service fee for any extra services provided to a tenant, including services relating to security, conservancy, sanitation and other amenities. Section 46(2) defines a service fee as an amount payable by a tenant, as part of or in addition to the rent, directly or indirectly for services, repairs, maintenance, improvements or insurance, or the landlord's costs of management. It adds that the fee varies or may vary according to the relevant costs. Section 46(3) says the relevant costs are the costs, or estimated costs, incurred or to be incurred by or for the landlord in connection with those matters.
Three points follow from the words of the section. The service must be an extra service to the tenant. The fee must be tied to real or estimated costs. And the fee can be a separate line or built into the rent ("as part of or in addition to the rent"). Section 2 of the Act also says "landlord" includes an authorised agent, so a manager can bill the fee for the owner. See What a Property Manager Does and Charges.
What does a service fee cover, and what should the rent already include?
The Act does not list which costs are for the landlord's account and which are for the tenant, except for the points below. Use them to test any fee.
| Cost | Who pays under the Act | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Repairs of the structure, the exterior and common areas | Landlord has the duty to maintain, but section 46(2) lets a service fee include repair and maintenance costs | 7 and 46 |
| Security, conservancy, sanitation, other amenities | Tenant, as an agreed service fee | 46(1) |
| Separately metered power, gas and water | Tenant | 12 |
| First connection, and unmetered power and water | Landlord, unless agreed in writing signed by both | 12(3), 13 |
| Taxes and rates on the premises | Landlord | 10 |
| Cost of preparing the tenancy agreement | A term making the other party pay it is void | 11(2) |
The Act's definition of "services" in section 2 includes the use of water, light or power, conservancy, sewerage, a sweeper, a watchman, a telephone and other amenities, but not capital expenditure on maintenance. That wording supports a tenant who asks why a big capital item, such as a new tank or roof, appears as a service charge. It does not settle the question, so ask for the agreement's wording and the costs. Knight Frank Uganda, a property firm, describes a service charge as an extra fee, usually paid with rent, for services that the rent does not cover, such as security, cleaning, repairs, management, common-area lighting, insurance, garbage collection and lawn care.
What makes a service fee fair and transparent?
The Act has no cap and no rule that a landlord must publish accounts, so transparency comes from the agreement and from asking. We found no section of the Act that gives a tenant a right to inspect the landlord's accounts, so do not assume one. But section 46(3) ties the fee to relevant costs, and section 11(1) makes void any term that excludes or restricts a provision of the Act. In practice, ask for these items before you sign:
- A written list of the services the fee pays for, such as guards, cleaning of common areas, garbage collection and generator fuel.
- The amount in UGX, how often it is paid, and who receives it. Rent is stated and settled in shillings unless both sides agree otherwise (section 22(2)).
- How the amount may change. Section 46(2) says a service fee may vary with costs, so ask whether changes need notice and a basis, such as a supplier invoice or a yearly budget.
- A written receipt. Section 25 requires one for rent, and a fee paid as part of rent should appear in it.
- What happens if a service stops. Section 28 says the landlord must reduce the rent in proportion where the landlord stops providing an agreed service.
Knight Frank Uganda's explainer says that good practice is annual budgets, periodic audits of service charges and open communication between occupiers, landlords and managers. That is practice, not law. If a rise looks sharp, check whether it is really a rent increase, which is limited to ten percent a year unless the agreement says otherwise, with sixty days' notice in the prescribed form (section 26). A tenant can then compare the fee and the rent together. See Landlord and Tenant Act 2022.
Does section 46 apply to someone who owns an apartment?
Probably not in the way a tenant's fee works. The Act applies, under section 1(1), to the letting of residential and business premises, and a service fee is something a tenant pays a landlord. A person who owns a unit in a condominium and lives in it is not a tenant of anyone, so section 46 does not describe what they pay. Owners' contributions to shared costs are a separate matter from a tenancy and are set by the condominium's own documents, so check yours. We found no court decision or regulation that applies section 46 to owners, so we cannot say more than that. Read Condo Service Charge in Uganda for how owners' charges are set, and read your own condominium documents.
The question does come back for investors. An owner who lets a unit to a tenant is a landlord under the Act, and may charge the tenant a service fee under section 46. The owner may also be paying a service charge on the same unit to the condominium body, and may or may not pass it on. If you are buying a flat to let, put the pass-through in the tenancy agreement from the start. Check the numbers against the rental income tax rules as well, since individual landlords are taxed on gross rent.
What can a tenant do about an unfair fee?
Start with the agreement and the paperwork. If the fee was not in the agreement, or the landlord adds one later, ask in writing where it comes from. If a promised service stops, such as the guard or the garbage collection, section 28 requires a rent reduction proportionate to the loss of service. If a tenant pays for something the landlord is liable for under the Act, the landlord must reimburse within fourteen days of a written request with a receipt, unless the agreement says otherwise (section 47(2)). A landlord must not use pressure to push the tenant out over a dispute, because section 45 forbids evicting or trying to compel a tenant to leave except as the Act or agreement allows.
If you cannot agree, the dispute goes to court. Section 2 of the Act defines court to include local council courts, and section 29 explains what happens if a tenant does not pay rent. Keep paying the undisputed rent, so that you are not in arrears. Read Tenant Not Paying Rent for the landlord's side of arrears. For the wider guide to the Act's rent rules, start at Landlord and Tenant Act 2022 and Houses and Apartments for Rent in Uganda, or compare real listings at homes to rent now.
Frequently asked questions
Can a landlord charge a service fee?
Yes. Section 46 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022 lets a landlord charge a service fee for extra services such as security, conservancy and sanitation. The fee may be part of the rent or in addition to it, and it should follow the relevant costs. The Act sets no cap.
What does a service fee cover?
Under section 46(2) it can cover services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance and the landlord's costs of management. Ask for the list in writing. Section 2 excludes capital expenditure on maintenance from the definition of services, so question large capital items.
Can a landlord raise the service fee at any time?
The Act says a service fee may vary with the relevant costs, but it gives no notice period for fee changes. Rent increases need sixty days' notice and are capped at ten percent a year unless agreed (section 26). Put the method and notice for fee changes in the agreement.
What if the service stops but the fee continues?
Section 28 requires the landlord to decrease the rent where the landlord stops providing an agreed service, in proportion to the loss. Write to the landlord naming the service and the date it stopped, and ask for the adjustment in writing.
Do apartment owners pay a service fee under this Act?
Section 46 describes a fee paid by a tenant to a landlord, and the Act applies to the letting of premises (section 1). Owners of condominium units pay shared costs under their own condominium documents, not a tenancy. We found no ruling that applies section 46 to owners.
Sources
- Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022 (Act 9 of 2022), Acts Supplement No. 6, 17 June 2022, Uganda Gazette, as published on ULII (accessed 2026-11)
- What is a service charge? (15 June 2022), Knight Frank Uganda (accessed 2026-11)