What is your consultation process?
Under Section 20 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985, we must consult with you if works will cost any one Leaseholder more than £250. This is different from minor routine repairs, which we do not have to consult on under Section 20. In these cases, repayments are included in your annual service charge.
We understand that planned works can have a financial impact on Leaseholders, so have developed a consultation process specifically for large projects, which goes beyond the legal requirements of Section 20.
Stage 1 – engagement meetings
When we are planning to carry out a large project or a project that will cost a significant amount of money, we will write to you describing the work we plan to undertake, why it is required and how much it is likely to cost. We will do this before we start the formal consultation process.
We want to provide you with advance notice of the planned work and an idea of what your share of the cost is likely to be, so you can comment on the proposals and plan how you might arrange to pay. We will invite all leaseholders to an engagement meeting, at which we outline our initial proposals and seek views.
Stage 2 – formal consultation process
The next stage is the start of the formal consultation process, when we will send you a Section 20 Notice.
This is often called ‘Section 20 consultation’ because it was introduced by Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by S151 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002).
The consultation arrangements set out in the Act are detailed and involve different arrangements, depending on the type of contract and will affect which consultation we undertake with you.
When you receive a formal notice, you have the right to give us your views and comments, these are referred to as ‘observations’. Observations must be made about the proposed work, as we won’t be able to address other queries during this process. If you write to us with any observations during the consultation period, we will respond to you within the required timescales.
Depending on the type of work, we may hold a pre-commencement meeting for all Leaseholders. This provides an opportunity to talk to the contractor and Project Manager and to ask any questions you may have about the works themselves or about what will happen while they are taking place.
To learn more about the Section 20 consultation process, take a look at our guide.