What costs carry on after you stop earning?

Many of these rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so each section names the nations it covers. The sources are listed at the end.

Many people take on these costs knowingly and are glad they did. Each section sets out what one of them commits you to.

Timeshares and long-term holiday clubs

A timeshare gives the right to use a holiday property for set weeks each year, in return for a purchase price and a yearly maintenance fee. The House of Commons Library says many were sold to British tourists on holiday abroad in the 1980s and 1990s, often in perpetuity, meaning the contract never ends. It adds that there may be little demand from buyers when an owner wants to sell.

UK regulations in force since 23 February 2011 give a new buyer 14 days to withdraw. Most owners reading this are long past that point. For them the question is what the agreement costs and commits them to from here, and the answers sit mostly in the contract and in recent fee demands.

• When the contract ends. The term clause says. Trading standards guidance says some contracts have no end point, and an owner may still be responsible for fees when no longer able to use the timeshare.
• How the fees have changed. The last few years’ maintenance demands show it, and trading standards warn that fees may increase significantly over time.
• What each week used costs. The yearly fee divided by the weeks actually taken gives a cost per week, which can be set beside the price of renting similar accommodation.
• What happens on death. Trading standards guidance says an estate could be required to settle outstanding fees, so the contract and the will both matter.
• What exit the timeshare company itself offers. Trading standards say many companies let an owner walk away after a number of maintenance payments, often for much less than exit firms charge.
• How it was paid for. Where a credit card or linked finance paid for it, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 can apply. It makes the lender jointly liable for misrepresentation or breach of contract, for a single item priced over £100 and up to £30,000.

Many firms offer to help owners leave, often at high cost. In July 2018 the Chartered Trading Standards Institute reported fees of around £7,000, sometimes for discount club membership rather than legal work. It warned against up-front fees, against taking a new timeshare to offset the old one, and against firms calling themselves lawyers, a word with no legal definition. The Law Society lists real solicitors. A company reselling a timeshare cannot lawfully take payment before the sale happens. Citizens Advice runs the consumer helpline for each nation.

Leasehold flats, including retirement flats

A leaseholder usually pays a service charge for the upkeep of the building, often with ground rent and a share of the buildings insurance. The landlord or managing agent sets these charges, and they can rise sharply when major work falls due. Some leases also require payments into a reserve fund, which GOV.UK says are not usually refunded on sale.

In England a leaseholder has the right to a summary of how the service charge is worked out. The landlord has to consult before planned work costing any one leaseholder more than £250, or services lasting over 12 months and costing more than £100 a year. Unpaid ground rent can be recovered going back 6 years.

For most new leases granted on or after 30 June 2022, ground rent is limited to a peppercorn, which has no cash value. For retirement homes, meaning leases that require occupants to be at least 55, the start date is 1 April 2023. The Act covers England and Wales and is in force. It does not change ground rent under an existing lease.

Many retirement flats also carry an event fee, charged on events such as a sale, sub-letting or a change of occupant. The Law Commission’s report of 31 March 2017 found these fees can be hidden in complex leases and disclosed too late for buyers to take them into account. They can be charged unexpectedly, even when a spouse or carer moves in. It proposed a code of practice rather than abolition, because the fees can make retirement housing more affordable by deferring part of the cost until sale. The government responded in March 2019. The lease sets out whether an event fee applies and how it is worked out.

Park homes and static caravans

Owning a park home usually means owning the home but paying a pitch fee for the land it stands on, reviewed each year. In England, for pitch agreements under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, the yearly review has been linked to the Consumer Prices Index since 2 July 2023. It was previously linked to the Retail Prices Index. Whether a particular caravan agreement falls under the Act depends on the site and the agreement.

A second home or holiday home

A second home brings its own bills, upkeep and insurance, and in many areas a higher council tax bill. Since 1 April 2025, councils in England can charge up to 100% extra council tax on a furnished home that is nobody’s main residence. A council has to decide at least 1 year ahead. Exceptions include occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings, job-related homes, and seasonal homes that planning rules stop anyone living in all year.

In Wales, councils can charge a premium of up to 300% on second homes, from 1 April 2023. Each council decides whether to charge a premium and at what level, so the local council is the place to check. Both rules are in force. Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered here.

Letting out a property

Renting out a home turns it into an ongoing responsibility. GOV.UK says a landlord in England has to keep the property safe and free from health hazards, and keep gas and electrical equipment safely installed and maintained. A landlord also has to provide an Energy Performance Certificate, protect the tenant’s deposit in a government-approved scheme and check the tenant’s right to rent. Rental income may be taxed, after day-to-day running expenses, and a mortgaged property needs the lender’s permission to let. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.

Since 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act has changed private renting in England. Tenancies no longer have an end date, and a landlord can no longer use the section 21 no-fault process. Ending a tenancy needs a legal reason, called a ground, usually with 4 months’ notice. A landlord who wants to sell or move in cannot use that reason in the first 12 months. Rent can rise only once a year, with at least 2 months’ notice, and a tenant can challenge a rise above market rent. These parts of the Act are in force.

An interest-only mortgage that ends after work stops

With an interest-only mortgage the monthly payments cover only the interest, and the amount borrowed is due in full at the end of the term. The Financial Conduct Authority found that interest-only loans made up 9% of all regulated UK mortgages at 31 December 2022. Of those, 55% were taken out before 2008, when lenders were not required to check for a credible repayment plan. A term that ends after retirement means the repayment falls due when income may be lower.

Car finance with a large final payment

Personal contract purchase, or PCP, is a common way to pay for a car. It has a deposit, monthly payments and an optional final payment, called a balloon payment, to own the car. MoneyHelper says the deposit is usually at least 10% of the car’s value, and that contracts usually run 3 to 5 years. There is a yearly mileage limit, usually 10,000 miles, with charges for going over it or for damage.

MoneyHelper gives this example for a £20,000 car on a 3-year deal at 6% interest. The figures are its own illustration, not a forecast.

The arithmetic is £3,000 + £10,000 + £2,500 + £7,000 = £22,500, before insurance and running costs. MoneyHelper notes that it is easy to get locked into a cycle of changing the car every few years to avoid the balloon payment, which keeps the monthly payments going.

Guaranteeing someone else’s loan

Some lenders will only lend if another person agrees to make the payments when the borrower does not. That person is the guarantor. If the borrower stops paying, the lender can turn to the guarantor for the payments. When a guarantor complains, the Financial Ombudsman Service says it usually looks at whether the lender made reasonable and proportionate checks before lending and agreeing the guarantor, and whether it obtained the guarantor’s agreement.

TV, streaming and sports subscriptions

Paid TV tends to build up one subscription at a time. Streaming services usually bill monthly and can be cancelled at any time. Pay-TV packages often come with a 24-month minimum term, and the provider’s own page says the price can still rise during that term. Ofcom’s Media Nations report for July 2026 says household take-up of subscription streaming has stayed relatively constant over the past few years.

Advertised prices read on 13 October 2026, turned into a yearly cost. Each yearly figure is the monthly price × 12.

Two points sit behind the headline prices. The provider’s sports offer reverts to £35 a month after the 24-month term. Add-on packages and extra streaming services each add their own yearly figure, and a household with several can add them together to see the full cost.

Household energy

Switching supplier or tariff can change the price, but every home pays for some energy, and over the last five years that price has swung sharply. In Great Britain, Ofgem caps the unit rates and standing charges on standard variable tariffs every three months. The cap limits prices, not the total bill, so a home that uses more pays more. Northern Ireland’s energy market is regulated separately, by the Utility Regulator, and is not covered here.

Each level is the figure Ofgem published for that period, and only these periods are shown. The typical use the bill rests on was lowered twice over the period, so the later levels are for a smaller household than the earlier ones. From 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 the government’s Energy Price Guarantee held a typical bill at £2,500, well below the cap.

Ofgem puts the October 2026 rise of 4%, from £1,663 to £1,723, down to higher wholesale gas prices from conflict in the Middle East. It says prices were compounded by extreme temperatures across Britain and Europe, risk around liquefied gas supply and low wind. Wholesale costs now make up 47% of the cap. Prices could ease if those pressures fade, or stay high if supply stays tight. Nobody can say which, and the next level is due by 25 November 2026.

Two things shape how exposed a household is.

• A fixed tariff. Ofgem says a household on a fixed tariff is not covered by the cap, so its price does not move with the cap during the term. That trades the chance of a fall for certainty, and can end up costing more or less than the cap.
• Temporary help ending. The government has taken VAT off electricity bills for six months from 1 October 2026, while gas still carries it. When a temporary cut ends, a bill rises without any change in the cap.

As an illustration of headroom, a 20% rise on the current typical bill of £1,723 adds about £345 a year (£1,723 × 0.2 = £344.60). The 20% is an assumption, not a forecast.

This guide informs. It is not financial advice, and it does not say whether any of these costs is right for you or whether to take one on or give one up. That turns on your own circumstances, such as your income, health, family and plans. MoneyHelper offers free, impartial guidance, including Pension Wise appointments on defined contribution pensions. For advice on your own case, a financial adviser regulated by the FCA can be found through its register.

How Landfall handles it

Spending moves a plan more than almost any other figure, and no statement hands it to you. One place to start is what you spend now, adjusted for what retirement changes.

Large costs arrive in lumps. A roof, a boiler, a kitchen or a replacement car is a one-off event in Landfall, not a cost spread across every year.

A retirement also changes shape. The early years tend to cost more, the middle years less, and the late years more again if care arrives. One yearly figure averages all three, which is why spending in Landfall runs in phases. In a couple, costs do not halve when one person dies, and the survivor’s income can fall by more than their spending does.