A sequenced nine-step plan from "I just inherited this role" to "we are in operational control". Each step links to a calculator and a draft email. The whole pathway takes about three weekend afternoons spread across three months. Nothing here is gated; we will not ask for an email until step 9.
Per statutory inspection in a typical year. Most are not the catastrophic numbers people assume.
Of director time over 90 days to get into compliance. Spread across weekend afternoons.
Director prosecutions for non-cynical compliance gaps. The risk is real but very rarely a worst-case.
Built primarily for directors of smaller blocks (under about 30 units) and self-managed blocks (RTM, Share of Freehold, RMC without a full-service agent). If a TPI-member managing agent runs everything for you, the audit and fix library are still useful as a sanity-check on what they are doing, but the manual BLOCK-iQ tools (budget builder, company books) are unlikely to be your day-to-day. We are most useful where you are doing the work yourselves.
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) is the UK's statutory free advice service for leaseholders and directors. They are not partisan, they sell nothing, and they are excellent at helping new directors orient themselves. Use them in addition to (not instead of) this pathway. We are not a substitute for a real human voice if your situation is unusual.
Visit lease-advice.org →Director liability in a leasehold block sits at the intersection of three regimes: the lease (a private contract between freeholder and leaseholder), statute (the Landlord and Tenant Acts and the building safety regime), and company law (your duties as a director of an RMC, RTM, or share-of-freehold company). Most new directors are surprised by how much of the risk is personal, not corporate, and how few of the duties can be delegated to a managing agent.
You sit in the freeholder's shoes for repair, insurance, accounts, and consultation. Section 19 LTA 1985Service charges must be reasonable and properly incurred. Section 19 LTA 1985 →, Section 20Consultation required for qualifying works (over £250 per leaseholder) and qualifying long-term agreements. Section 20 LTA 1985 →, and Section 21BEvery demand must include the prescribed summary of leaseholders' rights. Section 21B LTA 1985 → are the most-cited.
Directors of an RMC, RTM, or SoF company owe the duties in sections 170-181 Companies Act 2006Statutory duties: act within powers, promote success, exercise independent judgment, exercise reasonable care, avoid conflicts. CA 2006 Part 10 →. Personal liability can attach for breach. Companies House filing failures attract fines starting at £150 and rising to £1,500 for late accounts.
For higher-risk and relevant buildings (broadly above 11m or 18m depending on which duty), the Building Safety Act 2022Creates Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person duties for higher-risk buildings (18m+ or 7+ storeys). Building Safety Act 2022 → places personal duties on the Accountable Person. The Fire Safety Order 2005The Responsible Person duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 sits with the freeholder/RMC for common parts. FSO 2005 → applies to every building with common parts.
Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance is not legally required but is strongly advisable. It typically covers personal liability for honest mistakes but excludes deliberate breaches of statute, fraud, and known existing claims. See directors-officers-insurance.html for the cost band, exclusions, and how to buy. Buildings insurance is covered by the freeholder/RMC's policy and is not the same thing.
Assuming the managing agent has compliance covered. They have a contract with the company, not the statutory duty. The duty stays with the directors. If the FRA is missing or the EICR is overdue, the prosecution names the responsible person, not the agent. Your first job is to verify, not to assume.
In order. Items 1 to 3 are the urgent triage; if you do nothing else in your first month, do these. Items 4 to 8 establish operational rhythm. Item 9 is the steady state thereafter.
Five minutes. Tells you exactly which of the 23 compliance items apply to your block based on age, height, units, gas, and management structure. Every gap then has a dedicated fix page.
Free to fix, takes ten minutes, and without it any service charge demand is unenforceable. Highest-impact-per-minute compliance task in the building.
Statutory duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Either find the current FRA, commission a new one (typical £400-£700), or close out outstanding action items.
Each has its own page with cycle, cost, supplier, and draft quote-request email. Asbestos applies only to pre-2000 buildings; gas safety only where there is a communal supply.
Use the manual BLOCK-iQ budget builder. Paste prior costs (or use the Start with Sensible Defaults button), auto-categorise, fill statutory inspection lines, generate Section 20 flags, and produce a copy-ready budget for leaseholder circulation.
Most blocks are paying too much. Run the rate-per-£1,000 ratio check, demand commission disclosure, and switch broker at next renewal if the rate is materially above fair range.
A RICS surveyor produces a 25-year cost forecast for major works and sets the target reserve plus annual contribution. Held on trust under Section 42 LTA 1987 in a designated account.
Companies House confirmation statement, filleted accounts, director records up to date. Set the AGM date. Confirm management agreement is fit for purpose and fee is fair. Use the company books calculator to see if income covers cost.
The rest is a steady operational rhythm. Log every repair as it happens, commission certified accounts each year, watch the Section 20 threshold on any major works, run the audit annually to catch any gap.
Continuity feels safe. But you may be approving costs that fail the section 19 reasonableness test, or that should have triggered Section 20 consultation and didn't. Check the file before signing off the first quarter.
The agent's incentive is to extend the contract and add scope. Yours is to verify compliance and contain costs. Run the audit independently of anything the agent tells you.
Even if accounts are filed by an accountant, the confirmation statement is the directors' duty. Late filing penalties are personal in some circumstances and the company can be struck off. See companies-house.html for the calendar.
Without it the demand is unenforceable under section 21B(3) LTA 1985Service charge is not payable until the prescribed summary of rights is served. Section 21B LTA 1985 →. Leaseholders can withhold payment and you cannot pursue arrears. Easy to fix; expensive to ignore.
Service charge monies are held on statutory trust under section 42 LTA 1987Service charge contributions held on trust by the freeholder/RMC. Must be in a designated account, separate from operating funds. Section 42 LTA 1987 → in a designated account. Personal-paid invoices reimbursed from the service charge are fine if documented; personal use of company funds is not.
The FRA's action items are statutory under the Fire Safety Order 2005. An open action item left unaddressed for years is the single most common breach we see when blocks are inspected. Close them or document a credible plan with target dates.
Audit run, gaps logged, fix dates set. You can answer "is the building compliant?" in one sentence with a date for any open item.
Every service charge demand goes out with the prescribed summary. No demand can be lawfully withheld for non-compliance.
Either the existing FRA is in date with no open items, or a new one is commissioned with a known delivery date.
Budget for the next service-charge year built, leaseholders informed, Section 20 flags raised on any items above the threshold.
Rate per £1,000 sum insured benchmarked, broker commission disclosed, switch initiated if rate is materially above fair range.
Confirmation statement filed, accounts filed (or scheduled with accountant), director details current.
Five minutes, no email required. The audit produces a personalised list of the gaps in your block, each linking to its dedicated fix page in this 9-step pathway.