Question 1

Request for Statement of Service Charge

Accepted Answer

Q: On behalf of our Residents' Association I formally requested the Statement of Service Charge Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016. These should have been received not later than 30 September 2016. Recently a new agent has been appointed who so far has refused to send the accounts, claiming that they are being reviewed. We have argued that the new agent was not involved during the relevant period and that the landlord is legally obliged to send the accounts to all leaseholders. Can you advise where we can go to enforce this? FPRA Hon Consultant Gordon Whelan You have a statutory right under section 21 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to request a report of the expenditure for the period ended 31 March 2016. The request should be made in writing and the Landlord must provide the report (a “Section 21 report”) within one month of receiving the request. A Landlord’s failure to comply with a section 21 request without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence and failure could result in a fine of up to £2,500. Despite this statutory right, to force the Landlord to comply with the request can be difficult and may require legal assistance which of course has cost implications. The likelihood of a successful prosecution will also depend on there being no reasonable excuse for the failure to provide the report. From the information provided I do not think that legal enforcement is the best way to go at this stage. The accounts are only just outside the six month window and some handovers can be very difficult for the incoming Managing Agent as they will need to collect and check significant amounts of information about the property. Some of this information may not be readily available. Having said all that, the reply that the accounts are being “reviewed” sounds a bit weak. The best way forward would be to continue to have a dialogue with the Managing Agents and I would suggest a letter along the following lines,

Point out that by failing to provide the accounts within six months of the year end the Managing Agents are failing to comply with the guidance in the 3^rd RICS Code.
State that if you do not get a satisfactory response to your letter within 2 weeks you will be forced to issue a section 21 demand and that you would prefer not to go down this route at the moment.
Ask them for a copy of their complaints procedure as you may need to make an official complaint although you would prefer not to have to do this. (You should also check your lease to see if there is any provision for dispute resolution).

This should focus the mind of the Managing Agent as they will want to avoid 2.) and 3.) if possible. The legal route should only be considered when dialogue has failed. As always, “Jaw, jaw is better than war, war”. [Submitted October 2016]

Question 2

Request for Statement of Service Charge

Accepted Answer

Q: On behalf of our Residents' Association I formally requested the Statement of Service Charge Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016. These should have been received not later than 30 September 2016. Recently a new agent has been appointed who so far has refused to send the accounts, claiming that they are being reviewed. We have argued that the new agent was not involved during the relevant period and that the landlord is legally obliged to send the accounts to all leaseholders. Can you advise where we can go to enforce this? FPRA Hon Consultant Gordon Whelan You have a statutory right under section 21 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to request a report of the expenditure for the period ended 31 March 2016. The request should be made in writing and the Landlord must provide the report (a “Section 21 report”) within one month of receiving the request. A Landlord’s failure to comply with a section 21 request without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence and failure could result in a fine of up to £2,500. Despite this statutory right, to force the Landlord to comply with the request can be difficult and may require legal assistance which of course has cost implications. The likelihood of a successful prosecution will also depend on there being no reasonable excuse for the failure to provide the report. From the information provided I do not think that legal enforcement is the best way to go at this stage. The accounts are only just outside the six month window and some handovers can be very difficult for the incoming Managing Agent as they will need to collect and check significant amounts of information about the property. Some of this information may not be readily available. Having said all that, the reply that the accounts are being “reviewed” sounds a bit weak. The best way forward would be to continue to have a dialogue with the Managing Agents and I would suggest a letter along the following lines,

Point out that by failing to provide the accounts within six months of the year end the Managing Agents are failing to comply with the guidance in the 3^rd RICS Code.
State that if you do not get a satisfactory response to your letter within 2 weeks you will be forced to issue a section 21 demand and that you would prefer not to go down this route at the moment.
Ask them for a copy of their complaints procedure as you may need to make an official complaint although you would prefer not to have to do this. (You should also check your lease to see if there is any provision for dispute resolution).

This should focus the mind of the Managing Agent as they will want to avoid 2.) and 3.) if possible. The legal route should only be considered when dialogue has failed. As always, “Jaw, jaw is better than war, war”. [Submitted October 2016]

Request for Statement of Service Charge

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