There are laws that protect you as a leaseholder and give you certain rights about your service charges. Here are the key legal requirements that affect how we manage your building and communicate with you.
When we need to do major work on your building or sign long-term contracts, we must ask for your views first if the cost will be:
- £250 or more per homeowner for works, or
- £100 or more per homeowner per year for contracts lasting longer than 12 months
The consultation process has three stages:
- Stage 1: Notice of intention We send you an outline of what work needs doing, why it's necessary, and give you the chance to suggest alternative contractors. You have 30 days to respond.
- Stage 2: Notice of estimates We send you estimates from at least two contractors, plus a summary of any feedback we received from residents. You have another 30 days to respond.
- Stage 3: Notice of reasons (if needed) We only send this if we haven't chosen the cheapest contractor or haven't used a contractor suggested by residents. We'll explain our reasons fully.
All notices must be sent by post, so please tell us if the address where we should send you letters changes. Your correspondence address is usually the place where you live.
Year-end accounts We must provide you with a written summary showing how your service charge money was spent during the year. We automatically send you these year-end statements - you don't need to ask for them.
For buildings with more than four homes, these accounts must be checked by a qualified accountant.
Summary of rights and obligations Every time we ask you to pay service charges, we must include a document called 'Service charges - Summary of Tenants' Rights and Obligations'. If we forget to include this, you can withhold payment until we send it.
You have the right to inspect the detailed accounts, receipts and other documents that support your year-end statement. This helps you see exactly how the money was spent. If you're part of a recognised residents' association, your secretary can also request to see these documents.
You and other leaseholders have the legal right to take over management of your building by setting up your own management company. This is called "Right to Manage" or RTM.
Key points about RTM:
- This only applies if Notting Hill Genesis owns your building (we're the freeholder).
- You'll need to set up or appoint your own management company.
- You should get independent legal advice before starting this process.
- There are some eligibility requirements that decide whether a building is able to go RTM.
- The Leasehold Advisory Service website has more information about how to do this.
If we don't own your building, this process doesn't apply and you'll need to approach the actual freeholder.
