Block Management FAQ

As the name suggests, your service charges are your contribution towards the shared services that your development receives or requires, e.g. the communal gardening, cleaning, window cleaning, electricity, general repairs, insurances, and any periodic reports.

At White & Sons, we propose an annual Budget to the Directors, it is then up to the Directors to either agree with our figures or provide their own amended figures. Your service charges will always be based upon the Directors Agreed Budget. If we act for a Freeholder client, we may implement our own advice and set your Budget ourselves.

Maintenance issues which affect the communal or shared parts can be directed to your Block Manager.

At White & Sons, our team consists of seven experienced block managers, each overseeing their own dedicated portfolio. Should you decide to appoint us, you will be assigned a personal block manager who will serve as your direct point of contact, ensuring consistent and attentive service. Our Block Managers are supported by a dedicated team of four administrators who ensure smooth operations and efficient service delivery.

We actively encourage all leaseholders and occupiers to exchange their telephone numbers with the flats above and below them.

Although leaks are fairly rare, when they do happen, it is important that you are able to contact the occupier in the flat that is leaking. The flat owner is responsible for repairing the leak in their own flat as a matter of urgency.

Yes, if you are selling your flat then you will need to pay up to the end of the period that has been demanded. Prior to completion, your solicitor will work out your apportionment meaning your buyer will pay for the remainder of the service charge year.

Flats that do not ventilate & heat their flats sufficiently can suffer with condensation, particularly in the winter months. We see a sharp increase in communications across our developments regarding mould and damp in the winter months, due to high electricity prices and tenants/residents choosing to turn the heating off to save on bills.

Click here to read further guidance on the prevention of mould from The Association of Residential Managing Agents Ltd.

As a Managing Agent, our role is to manage the shared and communal parts of your development. It follows that we do not manage the privately demised individual properties.

We regretfully have little or no enforcement action available to us as your Managing Agent. Noise is classified as an antisocial/neighbourly issue, and not one relating directly to the communal areas which we maintain.

We advise that noisy neighbours should be reported to the Local Authority by the offended party, and if outside “social hours”, the non emergency police line. If further incidents arise, the Environmental Health Department will need to be contacted. To be able to take action in court it must be proven that the noise amounts to a statutory nuisance.

If you live in a flat or a maisonette, it is important that you and your neighbours are courteous to each other and keep noise to a minimum so everyone can live in harmony.

Resident Management Companies (RMCs) and Right to Manage Companies (RTMs) are private companies, not public ones. Unlike publicly listed companies, there is no requirement in law for private companies to have annual AGMs – unless a “quorum” has been achieved, as set out in the company’s Memorandum & Articles of Association.

This is a statutory consultation process, most commonly for substantial projects.

The purpose of this process is to inform leaseholders of the forthcoming works and that they have certain rights, including the nomination of any contractor(s) they have worked with before, who holds suitable Public Liability Insurance.

Section 20 notices are required:

• Where the anticipated contribution per leaseholder exceeds £250.00 inclusive of VAT towards Qualifying Works.
• Where the anticipated contribution per leaseholder exceeds £100.00 inclusive of VAT and an agreement is entered into by the landlord for a period exceeding 12 months, this is known as a Qualifying Long Term Agreement.

The above assumes that the leases specify all flats pay an equal proportion. For developments whose leases stipulate unequal proportions, the Section 20 notices need to be issued to all leaseholders, even if just one leaseholder who pays the most (e.g. a penthouse flat) reaches the £100.00 or £250.00 threshold.