Your freeholder will not repair: how to force them, and how to get at the insurance

In England and Wales, a leaseholder’s strongest routes are usually the First-tier Tribunal route for management failure and the statutory insurance-disclosure route, not informal pressure on the managing agent. Scotland uses property-factor enforcement instead, and Northern Ireland has much narrower tribunal routes.

How do you force a freeholder or managing agent to carry out repairs?

In England and Wales, you normally force repair failure by applying to the First-tier Tribunal for appointment of a manager under Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.24 if you can show breach of a management or repairing obligation, or by using Right to Manage if qualifying leaseholders want control without proving breach. The manager-appointment route is the sharper answer where water has entered a leasehold flat from a faulty parapet gutter, roof works have stalled after a Section 20 notice, or mould is making the flat unlettable: the tribunal can act where the landlord “is in breach of any obligation owed by him to the tenant… relating to the management of the premises”. Right to Manage is different because Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 s.71 creates a route for an RTM company to acquire management rights, so it is a control remedy rather than a damages claim. Do not simply stop paying service charges; a tribunal application is the safer practical route. In Scotland, the equivalent pressure point is a Property Factor Enforcement Order; in Northern Ireland, the Lands Tribunal can act only where legislation gives it jurisdiction, so there is no general equivalent repair-forcing route.

What can you do if the freeholder will not give you the insurance policy or file a claim?

In England and Wales, refusing without reasonable excuse to provide the buildings-insurance summary or policy is a criminal offence punishable by a fine up to level 4, and a leaseholder who pays insurance through the service charge can demand inspection in writing. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 gives the tenant the right, where the service charge includes insurance, to require the landlord by written notice to provide insurance information; if the landlord does not comply, paragraph 6 says the offender is “liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.” That is separate from the claim itself: if a leak from the flat above has damaged your ceiling and the freeholder will not claim, the same statutory schedule lets the tenant serve written notice on the insurer describing the damage. FCA reforms from 31 December 2023 add useful context because insurers must give leaseholders policy-pricing information, including commission details, after concerns about leasehold buildings-insurance commissions. In Scotland, the property factor must provide policy details on request and have a claims procedure; for Northern Ireland, no equivalent statutory insurance-disclosure rule was found.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.24 — “(i)that the landlord either is in breach of any obligation owed by him to the tenant under his tenancy and relating to the management of the premises in question or any part of them or (in the case of an obligation dependent on notice) would be in breach of any such obligation but for the fact that it has not been reasonably practicable for the tenant to give him the appropriate notice, and” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 s.71 — “This Chapter makes provision for the acquisition and exercise of rights in relation to the management of premises to which this Chapter applies by a company which, in accordance with this Chapter, may acquire and exercise those rights (referred to in this Chapter as a RTM company).” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2011 s.20 — “(1)A property factor enforcement order is an order requiring the property factor to––” Source
• Northern Ireland Department of Justice Lands Tribunal — “It can deal only with those disputes where there is provision for it to do so in legislation.” Source
• Leasehold Knowledge Partnership leasehold survey — “1 in 5 leaseholders are unaware they could replace a poorly performing managing agent.” Source
• Barrister Connect service charge dispute guidance — “Making a formal application to the tribunal is a much safer way to dispute a charge than simply withholding payment.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Schedule — “Where a service charge is payable by the tenant of a dwelling which consists of or includes an amount payable directly or indirectly for insurance, the tenant may by notice in writing require the landlord—” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Schedule paragraph 6 — “(2)A person committing such an offence is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Schedule — “the tenant may, within that specified period, serve on the insurer a notice in writing stating that it appears to him that damage has been caused as mentioned in paragraph (a) and describing briefly the nature of the damage.” Source
• Scottish Government Property Factors Code of Conduct 2021 — “Details of the policy (including name of provider, policy number and summary) or equivalent protections must be made available if requested by a homeowner who wishes to verify the policy is in place.” Source
• Scottish Government Property Factors Code of Conduct 2021 — “If applicable, a property factor must have a procedure in place for submitting insurance claims on behalf of homeowners and for liaising with the insurer to check that claims are dealt with promptly and correctly.” Source
• Financial Conduct Authority leasehold buildings insurance reforms — “Insurers will also be required to ensure that their insurance policies provide fair value to leaseholders and provide important information about their policy and its pricing, including the detail of any commission paid for leaseholders.” Source