Is your service charge fair?
Leaseholders have real protections — service charges must be reasonable, major works over £250 a flat need a formal consultation, and old costs can become unrecoverable. Sense-check your charge, test the Section 20 rules, and generate a letter to query it. England and Wales. Information, not legal advice. Free, no sign-up.
If you're being charged for major works or a long-term contract, check whether the landlord had to consult you first.
Add each item from your statement. Put last year's figure in too and we'll flag big jumps. Leave last year blank if you don't have it.
Information, not legal advice. Covers residential long leases in England and Wales under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Key rules used: service charges must be reasonable (s.19); landlords must consult (s.20) before qualifying works where any one leaseholder's contribution is over £250, or a long-term agreement where it's over £100 a year — without consultation (or tribunal dispensation) recovery is capped at those figures; costs not demanded within 18 months of being incurred may be unrecoverable (s.20B); and you can request a written summary of costs (s.21/s.22). The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decides disputes. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. Rules change — check GOV.UK or the free LEASE service. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
The protections worth knowing.
Charges must be reasonable. Under section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, you only have to pay service charges that are reasonably incurred, and for work done to a reasonable standard. If you think a charge is excessive, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide what's payable.
The Section 20 consultation. Before a landlord can recover more than £250 from any single leaseholder for qualifying works, or more than £100 a year under a long-term agreement (a contract lasting over 12 months), they must follow a formal consultation: notices, a chance to comment, and estimates. If they skip it without the tribunal's permission, the amount they can charge you is capped at £250 or £100. This is one of the most common things to get wrong.
The 18-month rule. Section 20B says that if costs were incurred more than 18 months before they're demanded, you may not have to pay them — unless the landlord told you in writing, within that 18 months, that the costs had been incurred and would be charged. Old, suddenly-appearing costs are worth questioning.
You can ask for a breakdown. You're entitled to request a written summary of the costs that make up your service charge (sections 21 and 22), and to inspect the supporting invoices and receipts. A demand for payment must also come with a summary of your rights and obligations, or you can withhold payment until it does.
If you want more control: Right to Manage. If the management is poor, leaseholders in a qualifying block can take over management through a Right to Manage (RTM) company, without having to prove fault and without buying the freehold. You generally need a self-contained building where at least two-thirds of the flats are on long leases and no more than 25% is non-residential, and members holding at least half the flats. RTM transfers the service-charge budgeting and the choice of managing agent to the leaseholders. Buying the freehold (collective enfranchisement) is the bigger step beyond that.
The First-tier Tribunal route. For a dispute over whether a service charge is reasonable or payable, the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England (the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal equivalent in Wales) is the place to take it. Fees are modest, you don't usually need a solicitor, and it can rule on reasonableness, on whether s.20 consultation was properly carried out, and on s.20B time limits. You can apply even before paying, and applying does not by itself put you in breach. This tool helps you frame the questions; it isn't a substitute for advice on your specific lease.
Get free, specialist help. LEASE — the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service — gives free initial advice to leaseholders on service charges, the tribunal and Right to Manage.
Keep every demand and certificate in one place.
Stead stores your lease, service-charge demands, certificates and correspondence against your home, with reminders so nothing slips and a clear record if you ever need to challenge a charge.