RD Tax Advisors

Victorian and Edwardian conversion flats — houses from the 1860s to 1910s that have been divided into two, three, or four flats — make up a huge proportion of the leasehold housing stock in cities like London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, and Edinburgh. These buildings have distinctive characteristics that directly affect major works costs. They also … Section 20 Major Works for Victorian Conversions — What’s a Fair Price?

London has more leasehold flats than anywhere else in the UK. By some estimates, around a million leasehold properties in Greater London are managed by freeholders and managing agents who control the service charge process. And because London construction costs are higher than the rest of the country, the sums involved in major works bills … Leasehold Flats in London: Are You Being Overcharged for Building Works?

We got our first lesson in how the leasehold system can exploit leaseholders not from a textbook, but from personal experience — in a flat near a university campus, shared with other students and owner-occupiers in the same block. It’s a situation that’s more common than people realise: buy-to-let landlords and owner-occupiers sharing a building, … Section 20 and Student Flats: What University City Leaseholders Need to Know

If there’s one number every leaseholder in England and Wales needs to have locked in their memory, it’s £250. This isn’t arbitrary. It’s the threshold at which one of your most powerful legal protections kicks in — the Section 20 consultation requirement under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Understanding what this threshold means, how … The £250 Rule: Why Every UK Leaseholder Needs to Know It

Receiving a Section 20 notice is a moment many leaseholders dread — a formal-looking document that seems to exist to tell you money is about to leave your bank account. But a Section 20 notice is also the starting point for your rights. If you know how to read it properly, you can quickly assess … How to Read a Section 20 Notice (And What to Look For)

Over the years we’ve reviewed hundreds of Section 20 major works bills, and we’ve noticed that inflated bills tend to share the same patterns. Not every sign on this list is definitive proof of overcharging — but if you’re seeing two or three of them together, there’s a very good chance your bill deserves professional … 5 Signs Your Freeholder Is Overcharging for Major Works

Many leaseholders use “service charge” and “major works charge” interchangeably, and it’s easy to see why — both come from your freeholder, both go towards the building, and both can produce eye-watering demands. But they’re actually different types of charge with different legal protections, different consultation requirements, and different challenge mechanisms. Understanding the distinction could … Service Charge vs Major Works: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

If you’re a leaseholder in England facing a disputed major works bill, sooner or later you’ll hear about the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). It sounds intimidating — anything with “tribunal” in the name tends to. But the Property Chamber is genuinely one of the most accessible legal forums available to ordinary people, and understanding how … First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber: A Leaseholder’s Guide

Managing agent fees are one of the most contested areas of the leasehold system — and one of the areas where we find overcharging most consistently when we review Section 20 bills. The challenge for leaseholders is that “managing agent fees” covers a wide range of charges, some of which are clearly legitimate, some of … Managing Agent Fees: What’s Legal, What’s Not, and How to Challenge

If you own a leasehold flat in England or Wales and you’ve ever received a bill for building repairs or maintenance, you’ve been affected by Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 — whether you knew it or not. This piece of legislation is one of the most important protections available to leaseholders, … Section 20 Explained: The UK Law That Protects Leaseholders From Inflated Bills