Your home

Section 20 consultation

Section 20 Consultation requires all landlords and owners of freehold buildings which are leased, to consult with their leaseholders, or shared ownership leaseholders, if there is to be any major works required to the building for which you will be asked to pay, These are costs that are not covered by your service charges.

There are three stages to Section 20 Consultation:

First - notice of the works that need to be carried out, what they are and why work is necessary
Second - notification of all estimates for the work that have been obtained by the landlord
Third - confirmation of contractor who will undertake the works

Section 20 Consultation FAQs

What should the notice of intention to carry out major works contain?

If you receive a Section 20 Notice, it should should adequately describe the work that needs to be carried out, and the reasons why.

You will be invited to give your opinions or any concerns in writing within 30 days. Where applicable the notice should inform you and other leaseholders of your right to nominate a contractor of your choice. We, as the landlord, will have regard to any observation received by the due date and will gather estimates from contractors nominated by leaseholders.

What should the notice of estimates for major works contain?

The second notice will include details of at least two estimates that we have obtained. One of the estimates must be from a contractor wholly unconnected with us as the landlord.

We will invite leaseholder responses in writing within 30 days and will have regard to any comments or concerns received.

What should the notification of award of contract for major works contain?

This third and last notice should be given within 21 days of entering into the contract. It will contain the reasons for the award of the contract and give a summary of all leaseholders’ responses regarding the estimates - or provide a place at which these could be inspected. This notice is not required where:

the contract has been awarded to a contractor nominated by a leaseholder
the contract has been awarded to the contractor with the lowest tender

For more information please visit Frequently Asked Questions - The Leasehold Advisory Service (lease-advice.org)