Major Works and Section 20 Consultation: Your Rights as a Leaseholder

What Is Section 20?

Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is the cornerstone of leaseholder protection when it comes to major works. It requires a landlord to formally consult leaseholders before carrying out qualifying works — defined as works for which any single leaseholder's contribution from the service charge would exceed £250.

The consultation process exists to ensure leaseholders have a meaningful opportunity to scrutinise proposed works, comment on the specification, nominate their own contractors for consideration, and challenge the scope or cost before the work is done and the bill is presented.

The Section 20 Consultation Process

The process involves at least two notices:

**Notice of Intention (NOI)** — The landlord must serve written notice on all leaseholders explaining the works proposed and inviting observations within 30 days. Leaseholders can nominate a contractor they would like the landlord to seek a quote from.

**Notice of Proposal (NOP)** — Once at least two contractor quotes have been obtained (including any nominated by leaseholders), the landlord must serve a further notice showing the quotes received. Leaseholders again have 30 days to make observations. If the landlord proposes to accept a tender that is not the lowest quote, they must provide reasons.

**Notification of Reasons** — If the landlord proceeds with a quote that is not the cheapest, and leaseholders request the reasons in writing, the landlord must respond.

Only after this process is complete may the landlord proceed with the works and recover the costs from leaseholders via the service charge.

What Happens If the Landlord Skips Consultation?

If a landlord carries out qualifying works without following the Section 20 procedure, they lose the right to recover more than £250 per leaseholder through the service charge — unless the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) grants dispensation. Dispensation is not automatic and tribunals are reluctant to grant it where leaseholders have suffered real prejudice from the lack of consultation.

If you receive a service charge demand for major works where you were not consulted, write to your landlord immediately querying whether Section 20 was complied with. If it was not, seek legal advice promptly — the time limit for applying to the Tribunal to limit recovery may be tight.

Building Safety Act 2022: Cladding Remediation

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced specific protections for leaseholders in buildings with dangerous cladding or other fire safety defects. In broad terms, qualifying leaseholders in buildings over 11 metres or five storeys tall cannot be charged for cladding remediation costs in most circumstances, and there are caps on charges for other relevant defects.

The rules are complex and depend on when the flat was purchased, the height of the building, and whether the developer or freeholder is still solvent and within the relevant categories. If your building has fire safety issues, specialist legal advice is essential — the Building Safety Act protections are significant but fact-specific.

Keeping Track of Major Works Costs

Our [leasehold cost calculator](/leasehold-cost-calculator) can help you model the likely impact of a major works demand on your annual outgoings and assess whether your current sinking fund contributions are likely to be sufficient to cover future works without a large one-off demand.