As a leaseholder, you pay a service charge which contributes to the cost of providing services (including repairs) to the building your home is in, or the estate it is on. This is set out in your lease.
Under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by Section 151 of the Commonhold & Reform Act 2002) we must consult you before carrying out qualifying works, regardless of whether this payment has already been calculated and collected within a sinking fund.
Qualifying works will be outlined in the lease and include:
- One-off work which will cost any one leaseholder more than £250 (inclusive of VAT). These can include repairs, redecoration, cyclical works and improvements (should your lease include an improvement clause)
- If we enter into any service agreement with an independent organisation or contractor for a period of 12 months or more, where a contribution from any one tenant/leaseholder would exceed £100 in any 12 months. These can include grounds maintenance, lift servicing, cleaning, waste-management.
Exemptions include:
- Contracts of employment
- stock management agreements
- agreements entered into before 31st October 2003
- an agreement lasting less than 5 years entered into at a point when there were no tenants at the property.
The Section 20 consultation process gives leaseholders the opportunity to make comment and provide feedback. It involves formal notices which allow leaseholders 30 days to provide written comment. We are then required to respond to any written comments in order for the Consultation to progress.
Stage 1: We write to you explaining what service or work we are considering and why we think it needs to be done. You then have a minimum of 30 days to send back any comments on the proposals and if you wish nominate a contractor to carry out the work.
Stage 2: We write to you again and provide details of the quotes we have received from the tendering process, this will usually involve estimates from at least 2 contractors. This allows us to estimate how much the contract is likely to cost you. You then have a further minimum of 30 days to give your feedback.
Stage 3: We will tell you which contractor has been chosen and why. Works can then commence and costs will be included in either your subsequent service charges, from your existing sinking fund or through an invoiced payment. If any contractor nominated by leaseholders is unsuccessful, we will tell you the reason(s) for this.
