ARMA ASK THE PROFESSIONALS ARMA SURGERY
BRUCEMAUNDER TAYLOR, a chartered surveyor andmember ofARMA’s Council, provides answers to readers’ questions
SECTION20 CHANGES
QUESTION I’ve heardalot aboutchanges to the s.20 consultation procedures. Ourblock is abouttostart preparing formajor outside repairs and redecorations.What arethese changes andhowwill they affect us.
ANSWER Yes, there have been substantial changes arisingout of aSupremeCourt decision knownasDaejanand Benson andaHighCourt decision knownas Phillips vFrancis.Ifyou follow thetried andtrusted s.20 consultation procedure as we have experienceditovermany years, youshouldhavenothing to worry about. If youfailtoproperlyconsult,or make asignificantmistake with your consultation process, thesecases will effectively dictatewhat happens nextwhen one or more lessees challenge you. And boy, is it complicated! There will bemany learnedarticlesfrom top professional
Proper
consultation is vital
advisors,possibly giving different opinions for you to keep at your bedside table in case of insomnia. Far more effective than sleeping pills, believeme. In essence, consultationwasapplied as
amatteroflegal policy:don’t consult, don’t get paid. Everyoneunderstood it, it gave certainty,verylittleroomfor discretion,but at themargins,therewere afewcaseswhere thelandlord ormanagement company made arelativelysmallmistakeand paid a relatively high
price.Not even their Lordshipscould agreebut,bya3/2majority it is nowamatteroffact: no consultation; lessees claimprejudice and give details; landlordmust prove no prejudice or there mightbearguments aboutthe extent of prejudiceand …. youget
thepicture.Finefor thefee earningprofessionaladvisors,fine forpeoplewho canafford justice, disaster for thosewho suffer fromamistake but cannot afford justice. Thepublicpurse doesn’t do sowell either becauseofthe increased workload for Tribunals. Theother casedecided that thes.20limit
foryourblock is appliedtoall ‘qualifying works’ towhichyou areaskedtopay,not just onepackage of works. Theregulation changes in 2003
aretoblame.Attention is nowfocusingon‘what arequalifying works?’and no prizes forguessingthat you need asmall armyof highly paid professional advisors to findout that the answeris…well, it couldbethis, butonthe other hand it could be that. Myadvice:makeabsolutelycertain you
consultproperlyasweall didbefore, and dowhatever you can to minimise the risk of disruptive lessees in your block: talk to them– don’t ignore themand simply wait for the ticking timebombto explode
FormoreonDaejanvBenson, turntoAdvice, p25of this issue.
The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA)isatradeassociationfor firms thatmanageprivateresidential leaseholdblocks of flats in England&
Wales.ARMApromoteshighstandardsof leaseholdmanagement by providingadvice, trainingandguidanceto itsmember firmsofmanaging
agents.ARMAalsoproducesguidancematerials for leaseholdersandResidentsManagementCompanies.With almost300firms inmembership,ARMA alsocampaigns forimprovements in thelegislationgoverningtheleaseholdsector.
FindARMAatwww.arma.org.uk
36 Issue 14, Spring Flat Living
Ifyouhaveaquery, email it to
info@flat-living.co.uk
Allnamesand addressesare withheld
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