Block Management for Landlords Who Own a Building of Flats.
Block management for landlords is the running of a building of flats for its owner: the common parts, structure, insurance, safety duties and, where flats are sold on leases, the service charge. Tenancies stay with you or your letting agent. We cover Plymouth, Devon, Cornwall and the wider South West.
Proposals are for developments of 50 or more units. Smaller building? Talk to our team.
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What Does Block Management Cover for a Landlord?
Block management for a landlord covers the building, not the tenancies. Owning a building of flats brings two sets of responsibilities. One belongs to each tenancy: finding tenants, deposits, tenancy agreements and the checks that go with each let. The other belongs to the building itself: the structure, the shared areas, the insurance, the safety duties for the common parts and, where the flats are sold on leases, the service charge.
We look after the second. Tenancies stay with you or your letting agent, and the building has a named manager, a budget, a compliance record and contractors who are vetted and supervised.
Which Kind of Landlord Are You?
You Own the Freehold of a Block Sold on Long Leases
The leaseholders pay a service charge and you carry the landlord's obligations under the leases and the Landlord and Tenant Acts. We run the building to those obligations and keep the evidence that they were met.
You Own a Whole Building and Let the Flats
Every flat is yours, but the common parts, structure and shared services still need managing, and the fire, asbestos and water safety duties for those areas sit with you. We take on the building while your tenancies stay with you or your letting agent. A building converted into self-contained flats where the conversion did not meet the 1991 Building Regulations and still does not, and where fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied, is a section 257 HMO under the Housing Act 2004; whether it needs a licence depends on the council's licensing schemes. Our Plymouth page covers HMOs in the city.
You Own a Flat in a Block and Let It Out
The building is managed by whoever the freeholder or resident management company appoints. If that is us, your service charge, lease questions and repairs to the common parts come through the leaseholder portal, and the lease sets out any consent you need to let.
What Are a Landlord's Duties for a Building of Flats?
A landlord who owns a building of flats is responsible for fire safety in the common parts, asbestos management, water hygiene, the electrical and communal systems, service charge law where there are leaseholders and, on a sale, any first refusal owed to qualifying tenants. These apply because of what the building is, not because of how the flats are let, and each one needs a record that shows it was done.
Fire Safety in the Common Parts
A fire risk assessment for the shared areas under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the resident information and fire door checks required by the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 for the height of the building.
Asbestos
The duty to manage asbestos under regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 applies to the common parts of a block of flats: a survey, a register and a plan for anything found.
Water Hygiene
A legionella risk assessment for shared water systems, in line with the Health and Safety Executive's approved code of practice L8.
Electrical and Communal Systems
Periodic inspection of the landlord's supply, emergency lighting, fire alarm and any lift, each tested and recorded on its own cycle.
Buildings Insurance
Where the flats are sold on long leases, the lease usually requires the landlord, or a management company that is party to it, to insure the whole building and recover the premium through the service charge, while each leaseholder insures their own contents. A leaseholder who pays towards the insurance can ask in writing for a summary of the cover under section 30A of, and the Schedule to, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. See how we manage buildings insurance.
Service Charge Law, Where There Are Leaseholders
Costs reasonably incurred under section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 20 consultation before major works or long-term contracts, money held on trust under section 42 of the 1987 Act, and demands carrying the landlord's name and address under section 47.
Selling the Building
Where more than half the flats are held by qualifying tenants, which includes long leaseholders but not assured tenants, Part 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 generally requires them to be offered first refusal before the building is sold elsewhere.
How Do We Work with Landlords?
We start by reading the title and any leases, then walk the building and set out what is in place, what is missing and what it will cost. The budget is agreed with you before the year starts, client money is held in the building's own designated account, and we take no commission on contractor work.
If you are selling, refinancing or bringing in a new letting agent, the management records, compliance certificates and accounts are ready to hand over, because they have been kept that way throughout. See also freehold management and residential block management.
Sources
The law this page refers to:
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 legislation.gov.uk
- Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 legislation.gov.uk
- Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 legislation.gov.uk
- Housing Act 2004 legislation.gov.uk
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 legislation.gov.uk
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 legislation.gov.uk
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Landlord Questions
Does Block Management Include Letting the Flats?
No. Block management covers the building itself: the structure, the shared areas, the insurance, the safety duties for the common parts and, where the flats are sold on leases, the service charge. Finding tenants, deposits, tenancy agreements and the checks that go with each let stay with you or your letting agent.
Do Fire Safety Duties Apply to the Common Parts of a Building I Let?
Yes. The shared areas of a building of flats need a fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add resident information and fire door checks according to the height of the building. These duties apply because of what the building is, not because of how the flats are let.
Is a Converted Building of Flats an HMO?
It can be. Under section 257 of the Housing Act 2004, a building converted into self-contained flats is an HMO where the conversion work did not meet the appropriate building standards (for conversions completed before 1 June 1992, standards equivalent to the 1991 Building Regulations) and still does not, and fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied. Whether it needs a licence depends on the council's licensing schemes.
Do Leaseholders Get First Refusal If I Sell the Building?
Usually, yes, where more than half the flats are held by qualifying tenants. Part 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 generally requires those tenants to be offered first refusal before the building is sold elsewhere. Qualifying tenants include long leaseholders but not assured tenants.
Talk to Us About Your Building.
A free, no-obligation proposal, based on the building rather than a price list.