Major works

We are responsible for the upkeep, maintenance, repair and improvement of your building and estate as a whole. You are responsible for paying your share of these costs through your service charge.

We carry out regular maintenance to all of our estates, but every building needs major work carried out during its life. This can include:

• Renewing the roof
• Installing new facilities such as entry-phones , or
• Carrying out work to bring your estate up to current standards.

A 'major work' is a one-off piece of work which will cost over £250 (including VAT) per leaseholder, or £100 per year if we have entered into a long-term contract for a service such as grounds maintenance (and we have consulted with you before choosing the contractor).

We are committed to consulting you at all stages of a major work project. The type of consultation will depend on the works we are planning to do.

To allow us to charge you for the work we need to do, we have to carry out a 'Section 20 consultation' which is set out in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (extended by the Common hold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002). It is a process of resident consultation which is carried out before any work can start.

Section 20 consultation explained

• We must serve you with a 'notice of intention', which describes the planned works we want to carry out. We will ask you for written comments and for your preferences on contractors to carry out the work. You will have 30 days to respond.
• We will consider your comments and nominations and those from any other leaseholders in your block.
• We will ask contractors to give us a cost for the work that needs to be done. We must get at least two estimates. If any of the contractors you nominate are not on our approved list of contractors, we will invite them to join it. They will be considered against the same criteria as all other approved contractors, and will have to comply with our requirements and supply an estimate within the consultation period.
• We will send you a 'Notice of estimates'. This will tell you where the estimates can be inspected and invite you to comment on them. You will have 30 days to respond.
• If the contract is not awarded to the lowest prices contractor, or to a contractor nominated by any of the leaseholders, we will issue a 'notice of reasons' explaining why. We will send this out to you within 21 days.
• Where possible, we will try and meet with you and the other leaseholders affected to agree what work needs to be done before the formal consultation process starts.