Section 20 Major Works — Plain English Guide
How the consultation process works, what landlords and managing agents have to do, when it applies, and the common mistakes that cost recoverability of works costs from leaseholders.
What Section 20 Is — and Why It Exists
Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) requires landlords to consult leaseholders before carrying out qualifying major works or entering long-term contracts whose costs will be passed to leaseholders through the service charge.
The threshold for major works is currently £250 per leaseholder. If any individual leaseholder's contribution to a single set of works will exceed that, the consultation process is mandatory.
Skipping or short-circuiting the process limits how much you can recover. The penalty is statutory: each leaseholder's contribution can be capped at £250 regardless of the actual cost, with the rest unrecoverable from the service charge. On a £200,000 set of external works across 12 flats, that gap is £197,000.
Common Triggers in External Maintenance
Whole-Building Repointing
Brick or stone repointing across whole elevations almost always exceeds the threshold once spread across a small leaseholder count.
Roof Renewal or Major Repair
Re-roofing or major roof works almost always require consultation. Reactive roof repairs below the threshold do not.
External Decoration Cycle
Periodic redecoration of windows, fascias and external joinery — often triggers consultation in larger blocks.
Long-Term Maintenance Contracts
Any service contract over 12 months whose annual cost exceeds £100 per leaseholder also triggers consultation under the same Schedule.
EWS1 / Cladding Remediation
Façade cladding remediation works — including investigations, removal and replacement — require consultation in almost all cases.
Anchor System Installation
Permanent anchor / fall-arrest systems for ongoing access — capital works that often exceed the threshold per leaseholder.
The Three Stages of Consultation
Stage 1 — Notice of Intention
A written notice to every leaseholder describing the proposed works and why they are considered necessary. Leaseholders have 30 days to make written observations and to nominate contractors for inclusion in the tender list.
Tip: the notice should describe the works in plain English, not as a technical specification. The clearer the notice, the fewer the queries to respond to during the 30-day window.
Stage 2 — Notification of Estimates
After the 30-day window, you tender the works (typically to at least two contractors, including any leaseholder nominee) and circulate the resulting estimates with a Statement of Estimates. Leaseholders have a further 30 days to comment.
Tip: a leaseholder-nominated contractor must be invited to tender unless there is a specific reason not to (lack of qualifications, insurance, IRATA membership, etc.). Document the reason if you decline a nominee.
Stage 3 — Notification of Award
If you award the contract to anyone other than the lowest-priced contractor or a leaseholder-nominated contractor, you must issue a written notice within 21 days explaining the reasons for the choice.
Tip: the cheapest is rarely the best — and the legislation accepts that. What it does not accept is an unexplained choice. A reasoned rationale (track record, references, scope clarity, methodology, IRATA / IOSH / SafeContractor accreditation) is sufficient when honestly applied.
Where S20 Recoverability Goes Wrong
Splitting Works Artificially
Splitting one logical project into multiple "small" packages to stay under the threshold is treated by tribunals as a single set of works. The £250 cap kicks in retrospectively.
Vague Stage 1 Description
A Stage 1 notice that does not adequately describe the works can be challenged as not constituting valid consultation — restarting the clock.
Ignoring Leaseholder Nominees
Failing to invite a leaseholder-nominated contractor to tender, or doing so without recorded justification, is a frequent ground for partial dispensation refusal.
Where iRopeAccess Fits in an S20 Cycle
Pre-Notice Survey
An external rope access survey before Stage 1 produces the photographs, defect schedule and indicative scope you need to write a clear, defensible Notice of Intention.
Estimate at Stage 2
A priced estimate that breaks down the scope item by item, with photographs cross-referenced — leaseholders can see exactly what they are paying for.
Delivery Without Surprises
Phased programme, weekly photo updates and a fixed-price contract — the disputes that follow surprise variations don't arise.
Heading Into an S20 on External Works?
Brief us before you draft Stage 1 — a one-day external survey usually saves weeks of back-and-forth at Stage 2 and the disputes that follow.