Knowledge Hub
Leasehold Guides for Flat Owners, Directors & Freeholders
Leasehold is full of language that makes simple things sound complicated. These guides explain the parts residents and directors ask us about most, in plain English.
Where to start
If you have just received a service charge demand you do not understand, start with the service charge guide. If your building is facing major works, read the Section 20 guide before you agree to anything. If you are a director of a resident management company reviewing year-end figures, the service charge accounting guide covers what you should be seeing.
These pages are general guidance rather than legal advice. Your lease is the document that governs your building, and where the two differ, the lease wins. If you would like us to look at a specific situation, get in touch.
Guides
- Leasehold Service ChargesWhat a leasehold service charge covers, how budgets and reserve funds are set, when charges can be challenged, and what a managing agent should provide each year.
- Accounting for Service ChargesHow service charge accounts work: trust monies, budgets versus actuals, year-end certification, reserve funds, and how service charge accounts differ from company accounts.
- Section 20 ConsultationSection 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sets out consultation for major works. Learn the £250 and £100 thresholds, the notice stages and what happens without consultation.
- What Is CommonholdCommonhold is freehold ownership of a flat with shared areas run by a commonhold association. How it differs from leasehold, and what it means for management and service charges.
- What Is Estate ManagementWhat residential estate management means, what a specialist estate management company does day to day, and how it differs from lettings and sales.
Still not clear? Ask us
We are happy to explain how something applies to your building, whether or not we manage it.