What is a Section 20 consultation, and how does the process work?

In England and Wales, Section 20 is mainly a service-charge recovery cap: consultation is the route that lets the landlord recover more than the statutory limit. Scotland uses title deeds or the Tenement Management Scheme for communal tenement decisions, and Northern Ireland has no equivalent Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Section 20 regime.

What is Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985?

Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 limits what a leaseholder can be charged for qualifying works or a qualifying long-term agreement unless the landlord consults properly or gets tribunal dispensation. The statutory mechanism is the cap, not just the paperwork: Section 20 says that where it applies, “the relevant contributions of tenants are limited” unless the consultation requirements are complied with or dispensed with. That is why a Section 20 notice for freeholders, major works or block management matters only when the cost would otherwise be recoverable through the lease’s service charge. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 extends only to England and Wales, so a Scottish tenement-repair decision is not a Section 20 consultation, and Northern Ireland does not have the same £250/£100 cap. Do not confuse this with the old Housing Act 1988 Section 20, which dealt with pre-1996 assured shorthold tenancies, not leasehold major works.

Who has to run a Section 20 consultation?

The person who can enforce the service charge normally has to run the Section 20 consultation, so it may be the freeholder, a management company, an RTM company or another landlord under the lease. The 1985 Act defines landlord broadly: “landlord” includes “any person who has a right to enforce payment of a service charge”. In a standard freeholder-managed block, the freeholder or managing agent serves the notices; in a resident management company structure, the company may be the landlord for service-charge purposes; and after right to manage, the RTM company takes over the landlord’s management functions because “management functions” under the lease “are instead functions of the RTM company.” Section 20 therefore does apply to freeholders, but not only to freeholders. The practical test is not who owns the freehold label; it is who is demanding the service charge for the works, services or agreement.

What triggers a Section 20 consultation?

A Section 20 consultation is triggered when qualifying works would cost any one leaseholder more than £250, or when a qualifying long-term agreement would cost any one leaseholder more than £100 in an accounting period. England and Wales use the same £250 figure for works and the same £100 figure for QLTAs: the English works regulation applies where the contribution of any tenant is “more than £250”, and the Welsh regulation uses the same words. Qualifying works are works to a building or other premises, and Section 20 repairs are tested per set of works, not by adding every repair in the year together. In Phillips v Francis, the Court of Appeal rejected the annual aggregation approach, saying there were “compelling reasons for concluding that the aggregating approach is wrong”. That means one roof project can trigger consultation even if smaller unrelated jobs in the same year do not.

What is a qualifying long-term agreement?

A qualifying long-term agreement is an agreement made by or for the landlord, or a superior landlord, for more than twelve months, and Section 20 applies if it would cost any leaseholder more than £100 in an accounting period. The Act defines it as an agreement “entered into, by or on behalf of the landlord or a superior landlord, for a term of more than twelve months.” Common examples are managing-agent, cleaning, gardening, lift-servicing and maintenance contracts, but the legal test is the commitment period and the per-tenant cost, not the label on the contract. A contract of employment is excluded in England. A rolling arrangement is not automatically a QLTA just because it might last years: the Court of Appeal approved the approach that “the deciding factor is the length of the commitment.” In Scotland, communal tenement works are decided under title deeds or the Tenement Management Scheme instead; in Northern Ireland there is no equivalent QLTA consultation cap.

What are the stages of a Section 20 consultation?

For private-sector qualifying works with no public notice, the usual Section 20 consultation process has three stages: notice of intention, statement of estimates, and notice of reasons after choosing a contractor where that final notice is required. The regulations start with a written notice: “The landlord shall give notice in writing of his intention to carry out qualifying works”. For a qualifying long-term agreement, the landlord gives a notice of intention, prepares at least two proposals, and may then have to serve a post-award notice; Schedule 1 says the landlord “shall prepare… at least two proposals”. The common Section 20 consultation flowchart is therefore not one universal chart: the route changes for major works, QLTAs, works under a QLTA, public notice contracts and nominated contractors. The core timeline is still built around 30-day observation periods before the landlord commits to the contract or works.

How long does a Section 20 consultation take?

A Section 20 consultation normally takes at least two 30-day consultation periods for major works, so two to three months is a realistic minimum and three to four months is common in practice. The statutory period is not a single total duration; the regulations define the “relevant period” for a notice as “the period of 30 days beginning with the date of the notice”. Wales uses the same 30-day definition. Where a qualifying long-term agreement requires a post-award reasons notice, the English regulations require it “within 21 days of entering into the agreement”. The important timing point is that the 30-day clock runs from service or receipt, not simply the date posted: in Trafford, the Upper Tribunal said the date of the notice meant the date it notifies the recipient, “not the date of posting.” There is no general statutory two-working-day postal rule for every Section 20 notice.

Can a Section 20 notice expire?

A Section 20 notice does not have a fixed statutory expiry date, but a landlord cannot safely treat an old notice as open-ended if the works or timing have materially changed. The Upper Tribunal accepted that “there is no specified time limit for the service of the notice,” but also said the next steps should be judged in “months rather than years.” In that case, a two-year gap and changed works were enough to raise a real issue, although dispensation was ultimately granted because there was no relevant prejudice. The 30-day period is only the observation window; it is not a validity period for the entire project. A fresh notice is usually the safer course where the scheme has changed, the estimates are stale, or leaseholders were consulted on something materially different from what is now proposed.

What does a Section 20 notice have to contain?

A Section 20 notice of intention for private qualifying works must identify the proposed works in general terms, invite written observations and, where required, invite leaseholders to nominate a contractor. The English regulations say the notice must “describe, in general terms, the works proposed to be carried out or specify the place and hours at which a description of the proposed works may be inspected.” They also require the notice to invite tenants and any recognised tenants’ association to propose a contractor within the relevant period. There is no prescribed statutory Section 20 notice template, so what matters is whether the notice contains the required information for the relevant consultation route. Be careful with templates that say the 30 days simply runs from posting: Trafford held that the date of the notice is the date it notifies the recipient, meaning service or receipt, “not the date of posting.”

How should a Section 20 notice be served?

A Section 20 notice should be given in writing to each tenant and any recognised tenants’ association, using a method that lets the landlord prove service or receipt. The regulations state that “The landlord shall give notice in writing of his intention to carry out qualifying works” and that the notice goes “to each tenant”. They do not impose one fixed method such as first-class post, recorded delivery, email or hand delivery for every case. The often-repeated 30 days from receipt plus two working days for post rule is not a statutory rule: in Trafford, the tribunal assumed but did not decide that Law of Property Act 1925 section 196 applied, and the two-working-day point came from the delivery evidence in that case. Sensible block managers add postal time and keep proof, because an invalid service date can shorten the leaseholder’s statutory response period.

What happens if the freeholder skips the Section 20 consultation?

If the freeholder skips Section 20 consultation, each leaseholder’s contribution is capped at £250 for qualifying works or £100 per accounting period for a qualifying long-term agreement unless the tribunal grants dispensation. The Act says the tenant’s contribution is limited unless the consultation requirements have been complied with or dispensed with. For England, the regulations explain that Regulation 6 “imposes a limit of £250” for qualifying works, while Regulation 4 imposes “a limit of £100 in any accounting period” for QLTA charges. Wales uses the same £250 qualifying-works cap. A £3,000 roof repair bill with no warning is therefore not automatically payable in full just because the works were needed. After Daejan, however, the tribunal focuses on prejudice rather than punishment: the Supreme Court said the consultation rules are “a means to an end, not an end in themselves,” so dispensation can allow recovery on terms.

Can you challenge a Section 20 notice?

You cannot usually appeal a Section 20 notice just to quash it, but you can make written observations during the consultation and later challenge whether the service charge is payable, reasonable or capped. The regulations define the relevant observation period as “30 days beginning with the date of the notice”, and for qualifying works the landlord must have regard to observations made within that period. If the bill is later demanded, Section 27A allows an application to the tribunal for a decision on “whether a service charge is payable” and, if so, its amount. Section 19 also limits recoverable service charges to costs that are reasonably incurred. In England, the First-tier Tribunal service-charge application fee is currently £114, and if there is a hearing “a fee of £227 will become payable”. A poor consultation point is strongest when it caused a real financial or practical disadvantage.

How much will a Section 20 bill cost you?

A Section 20 bill costs whatever your lease makes you liable for and the works reasonably cost; the £250 and £100 figures are consultation thresholds and caps, not normal prices. No statute sets a typical Section 20 notice cost or a standard major-works bill. A £250 figure means consultation is needed for qualifying works if any one leaseholder would pay more than that, and it may cap recovery if consultation was skipped. Large bills vary sharply by building: government-commissioned research recorded leaseholders saying, “We pay bills of £3,000 to £4,000 for major works,” while a trade interviewee said, “You’re probably looking at £40,000 or £50,000 for a lift replacement,” referring to the block cost rather than each flat’s bill. Florrie’s Law is not a general cap: its £15,000 London figure applies only to specified social-landlord, government-funded works over a five-year period.

Can you refuse to pay a Section 20 bill?

You should not simply refuse to pay a Section 20 bill unless you are ready for enforcement, but you can pay under protest and challenge whether the amount is payable, reasonable or capped. If consultation was required and not complied with or dispensed with, the works contribution is limited by the £250 rule in England and Wales. Even after consultation, Section 19 limits charges to reasonable sums, and Section 27A says a tenant is not taken to have admitted any matter “by reason only of having made any payment.” The freeholder also cannot forfeit a dwelling lease for unpaid service charge unless payability has been finally determined, admitted, arbitrated or agreed; Section 81 begins, “A landlord may not… exercise a right of re-entry or forfeiture” unless those conditions are met. That does not make non-payment risk-free: GOV.UK warns that the landlord can take you to court if you stop paying a charge you are responsible for.

If you sell your flat mid-consultation, who pays for the works?

If you sell your flat mid-consultation, the buyer normally pays a Section 20 bill formally demanded after completion, while any charge already due and unpaid before completion remains the seller’s problem unless the sale contract says otherwise. Section 20 itself does not allocate the bill between seller and buyer; it defines the relevant contribution as the amount the tenant may be required to contribute “under the terms of his lease”. Conveyancers deal with the risk through apportionments, retentions and replies to leasehold enquiries. The Law Society Standard Conditions say that, on evidence of proper payment, property “income and outgoings” are apportioned so far as completion changes entitlement or liability. In practice, a buyer who completes during consultation should expect their solicitor to negotiate a retention if the cost is unknown, because the managing agent may bill whoever owns the lease when the demand is issued.

Can you pass a Section 20 major works bill on to your tenant?

A buy-to-let landlord usually cannot pass a one-off Section 20 major-works bill on to the occupying tenant unless the tenancy already contains a lawful variable service-charge mechanism that covers it. In England, Section 11 blocks short-tenancy clauses that shift the landlord’s structural repair costs back to the tenant; it says a tenant repair covenant is “of no effect” so far as it relates to the landlord’s repair obligations, including a covenant “to pay money on account of repairs by the lessor.” In Wales, Section 11 does not apply to occupation contracts, because the Act says Welsh occupation-contract repairing obligations sit in Part 4 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 instead. In England, the Tenant Fees Act also bans prohibited payments: a landlord “must not require” a relevant person to make a prohibited payment in connection with a tenancy. Shelter’s practical exception is narrow: where the tenancy agreement includes a variable service charge, the landlord might be able to recover some common-area works. Otherwise, the freeholder bills the leaseholder-landlord, not the tenant occupying the flat.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.20 — “the relevant contributions of tenants are limited” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.40 — “This Act extends to England and Wales.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.20 — “Subject to subsection (3) below, an assured tenancy which is not one to which section 19A above applies is an assured shorthold tenancy if—” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.30 — “landlord” includes “any person who has a right to enforce payment of a service charge;” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 s.96 — “Management functions which a person who is landlord under a lease of the whole or any part of the premises has under the lease are instead functions of the RTM company.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 reg.6 — “For the purposes of subsection (3) of section 20 the appropriate amount is an amount which results in the relevant contribution of any tenant being more than £250.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2004 reg.6 — “For the purposes of subsection (3) of section 20 the appropriate amount is an amount which results in the relevant contribution of any tenant being more than £250.” Source
• Phillips v Francis [2014] EWCA Civ 1395 — “In my judgment, these are compelling reasons for concluding that the aggregating approach is wrong and that the incorporation of an annual limit is also wrong.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.20ZA — “qualifying long term agreement” means “an agreement entered into, by or on behalf of the landlord or a superior landlord, for a term of more than twelve months.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 reg.4 — “Section 20 shall apply to a qualifying long term agreement if relevant costs M1 incurred under the agreement in any accounting period exceed an amount which results in the relevant contribution of any tenant, in respect of that period, being more than £100.” Source
• Corvan (Properties) Ltd v Abdel-Mahmoud [2018] EWCA Civ 1102 — “HHJ Marshall QC was correct in Paddington Walk at paragraph 49 that the deciding factor is the length of the commitment.” Source
• mygov.scot Tenement Management Scheme — “If your title deeds do not say how to decide, and the flat owners cannot agree, you can use the scheme to make decisions.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Sch.4 — “The landlord shall give notice in writing of his intention to carry out qualifying works—” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Sch.1 — “The landlord shall prepare, in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph, at least two proposals in respect of the relevant matters.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 reg.2 — “relevant period”, in relation to a notice, means “the period of 30 days beginning with the date of the notice;” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2004 reg.2 — “relevant period” means “the period of 30 days beginning with the date of the notice;” Source
• Trafford Housing Trust Ltd v Rubinstein [2013] UKUT LRX/87/2012 — “not the date of posting.” Source
• Paddington Walk Management Ltd v Governors of Peabody Trust [2013] UKUT LRX/149/2011 — “there is no specified time limit for the service of the notice” Source
• Paddington Walk Management Ltd v Governors of Peabody Trust [2013] UKUT LRX/149/2011 — “months rather than years.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Sch.4 — “describe, in general terms, the works proposed to be carried out or specify the place and hours at which a description of the proposed works may be inspected;” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Sch.4 — “The notice shall also invite each tenant and the association (if any) to propose, within the relevant period, the name of a person from whom the landlord should try to obtain an estimate for the carrying out of the proposed works.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Sch.4 — “to each tenant;” Source
• Trafford Housing Trust Ltd v Rubinstein [2013] UKUT LRX/87/2012 — “Assuming (but without deciding) that section 196 therefore applies in the present case to the notice required to be served under the Regulations” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Explanatory Note — “Regulation 6 imposes a limit of £250 as regards a tenant’s contribution in respect of service charges attributable to qualifying works.” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Explanatory Note — “Regulation 4 imposes a limit of £100 in any accounting period” Source
• Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson [2013] UKSC 14 — “The Requirements are a means to an end, not an end in themselves” Source
• Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 Sch.4 Part 2 — “Where, within the relevant period, observations are made, in relation to the proposed works by any tenant or recognised tenants' association, the landlord shall have regard to those observations.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.27A — “whether a service charge is payable” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.19 — “only to the extent that they are reasonably incurred” Source
• First-tier Tribunal form Leasehold 3 — “The application fee is £114” Source
• GOV.UK Tribunal guidance T541 — “If there is to be a hearing, a fee of £227 will become payable when you receive notice of the hearing date.” Source
• MHCLG leasehold and freehold charges research — “We pay bills of £3,000 to £4,000 for major works.” Source
• MHCLG leasehold and freehold charges research — “You're probably looking at £40,000 or £50,000 for a lift replacement.” Source
• Florrie’s Law mandatory directions — “£15 000 for a dwelling situated within a London authority;” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.19 — “Where a service charge is payable before the relevant costs are incurred, no greater amount than is reasonable is so payable” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.27A — “But the tenant is not to be taken to have agreed or admitted any matter by reason only of having made any payment.” Source
• Housing Act 1996 s.81 — “A landlord may not, in relation to premises let as a dwelling, exercise a right of re-entry or forfeiture” Source
• GOV.UK leasehold service charges — “Your landlord can take you to court if you stop paying a charge you’re responsible for.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.20 — “under the terms of his lease” Source
• Law Society Standard Conditions of Sale specimen — “income and outgoings of the property are to be apportioned between the parties” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “A covenant by the lessee for the repair of the premises is of no effect” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “to pay money on account of repairs by the lessor.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.13 — “In the case of a dwelling-house in Wales, section 11 does not apply if the dwelling-house is subject to an occupation contract” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.1 — “A landlord must not require a relevant person to make a prohibited payment to the landlord in connection with a tenancy of housing in England.” Source
• Shelter England repairs under section 11 — “Where the tenancy agreement includes a variable service charge, a landlord might be able to use this to recover costs of works.” Source