Package Description
Rent and Service Charge Accountant
Salary: £40,000 - £45,000
Location: Working from home with occasional travel to Halesowen
Working pattern: Monday to Friday
Hours: 37.5hrs
The Role
We are looking for a proactive and commercially aware Rent & Service Charge Accountant to take end-to-end ownership of the rent and service charge cycle across a diverse portfolio of approximately 140 properties, including supported living schemes.
Acting as the subject matter expert and central point of coordination, you will ensure all charges are accurate, compliant, recoverable and clearly understood by stakeholders.
This is an opportunity to bring structure, ownership and continuous improvement to a critical area of the business, establishing clear, transparent and repeatable processes. Working across owned properties, private landlords and registered providers, you will confidently interpret leases, tenancy agreements and landlord arrangements, while building strong relationships with Finance, Housing and operational teams.
Success in the role will be demonstrated through accurate and timely budgets, reconciliations and year-end accounts, clear accountability across teams, effective management of compliance and recoverability risks, and the delivery of information that stakeholders trust for its accuracy, transparency and strong evidence base.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the rent and service charge cycle across the portfolio.
- Work closely with Housing, Finance and operational teams.
- Manage annual rent and service charge budgets.
- Prepare reconciliations, accruals and year-end accounts.
- Ensure accurate charging, billing and reporting.
- Establish and maintain effective processes, controls and approvals.
- Improve cost coding, data quality and audit trails.
- Review charge recoverability against leases and agreements.
- Assess eligible charges and Local Housing Allowance -related considerations.
- Produce reporting across c.140 properties, including supported living.
- Support audits, reviews and year-end assurance.
- Drive process improvements and strengthen governance.
Experience and Essential Skills
- Strong knowledge and experience service charge, property finance or housing finance.
- Strong understanding of budgeting, reconciliations and cost recoverability.
- Experience working with operational teams, finance and auditors.
- Strong Excel, data analysis and reporting capability.
- Accounting qualification, part-qualified or qualified by experience (e.g. AAT).
- Knowledge of property, housing, leasehold and landlord/tenant arrangements, including LHA considerations.
- Ability to interpret leases, apply RICS principles, and understand Section 20/20B requirements to support compliant charging and clear audit trails.
About Keys
Keys supports people with complex needs to build stability, resilience, and a sense of belonging through Connected Support. We believe everyone has the right to live well and shape a life of their own. Through our national network of clinical, therapeutic, and education services, we provide flexible, personalised support for children and adults - delivered by expert multidisciplinary teams. There are no fixed pathways - just the right support, at the right time, to promote independence and re-enablement.
We are proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We are also committed to supporting the Armed Forces community through our Armed Forces Covenant.
Eligible candidates from military backgrounds are guaranteed an interview – please include details of your service on your CV.