# Block management readiness check: ten yes-or-no questions on Section 20, demands, accounts, arrears and fire safety > Ten yes-or-no questions for a block managing agent in England on Section 20, demands, the 18-month rule, accounts, arrears letters and fire safety. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/block-management/block-management-compliance-readiness-check/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Block and property managers, Running the firm - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: We wrote ten questions from the rules set out in 10 of our guides; for 4 of the ten the answer that is in order is "no", so the check cannot be passed by ticking yes. The first asks: Before instructing any works, do you test the cost against the leaseholder with the largest share and consult if that share is over £250? Section 20 consultation is required when any one leaseholder's contribution to qualifying works exceeds £250. Without it, recovery is capped at £250 a flat: on a £48,000 job across 24 flats that leaves £42,000 with the client. - Sources: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 20; Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003; Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 21B; Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 20B; Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 22 and 25; Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 21; Housing Act 1996, section 81; SI 2004/3086; Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, Part 4 (uncommenced); commencement orders SI 2024/1018, SI 2025/57 and SI 2025/131; Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10; Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, regulations 3 and 13; RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code, 4th edition, sections 7.4 to 7.6; each rule is set out with its source in the guide the question links to. The test record is in tests/readiness/tools-check.txt. This check is for the director or senior property manager of a residential block managing agent in England. The ten questions cover Section 20 consultation, service charge demands and accounts, arrears letters, the 2024 Act, fire doors, evacuation plans and a change of agent, each taken from a rule set out in our guides. It is general information, not legal advice. There are ten questions and they take about five minutes. Answer from memory. "Not sure" counts as a gap, because a rule nobody in the office can recall is a rule nobody is checking. **Free tool on the page:** Block management readiness check: ten yes-or-no questions on Section 20, demands, accounts, arrears and fire safety. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/block-management/block-management-compliance-readiness-check/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## What each question checks **1. Before instructing any works, do you test the cost against the leaseholder with the largest share and consult if that share is over £250?** The answer that is in order is "yes". Section 20 consultation is required when any one leaseholder's contribution to qualifying works exceeds £250. Without it, recovery is capped at £250 a flat: on a £48,000 job across 24 flats that leaves £42,000 with the client. Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 20; Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003. The working is in [Section 20 checker](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/section-20-consultation-threshold-and-timetable-checker/). **2. Has any service charge demand gone out in the last 12 months without the summary of rights and obligations attached?** The answer that is in order is "no". Under section 21B a demand must be accompanied by the prescribed summary. Without it the leaseholder may withhold the charge, and lease provisions on late payment and interest do not apply until the demand is re-served. Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 21B. The working is in [Service charge demand checker](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/service-charge-demand-validity-checker/). **3. Is there any cost on your books that was incurred more than 18 months ago and has been neither demanded nor notified in writing to leaseholders?** The answer that is in order is "no". Section 20B makes such a cost irrecoverable. For a year ending 31 March, a cost incurred on 1 April is lost if it is not demanded or notified by 30 September the following year; a section 20B(2) letter protects it. Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 20B. The working is in [When are service charge accounts due? A calendar from the year end, with the 18-month clock](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/service-charge-accounts-when-due-calendar/). **4. When a leaseholder asks in writing to inspect the invoices behind a cost summary, do you open the file within one month and keep it open for two months?** The answer that is in order is "yes". Section 22 gives the leaseholder six months from obtaining the summary to ask. Facilities must start within one month and last two months, with inspection free. Failure without reasonable excuse is an offence with a fine of up to £2,500. Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 22 and 25. The working is in [Leaseholder asks to see the invoices](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/section-22-request-inspect-service-charge-invoices-reply-template/). **5. In blocks of more than four flats, is a requested summary of service charge costs certified by a qualified accountant?** The answer that is in order is "yes". Section 21 requires a requested summary to be certified by a qualified accountant where the charges are payable by tenants of more than four dwellings. The Act asks for a certificate, not an audit; the lease may ask for more. Source: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 21. The working is in [Do service charge accounts need to be audited? What the Act requires, what the lease requires, and the difference](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/do-service-charge-accounts-need-to-be-audited/). **6. Do any of your arrears letters mention forfeiture for a service charge that has not been admitted or determined?** The answer that is in order is "no". Section 81 of the Housing Act 1996 bars forfeiture for a service charge until it is admitted or determined by a court or tribunal. Forfeiture is also unavailable for £350 or less unless the sum has been outstanding over three years. Source: Housing Act 1996, section 81; SI 2004/3086. The working is in [Service charge arrears letter template for managing agents](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/service-charge-arrears-letter-template-managing-agents/). **7. Have you changed your service charge demand template to match the standard form expected under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024?** The answer that is in order is "no". Part 4 of the 2024 Act, including the standardised demand form, had not commenced on 1 October 2026. The 1985 Act still governs demands, and redesigned templates have dropped the section 21B summary or the section 47 and 48 information. Source: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, Part 4 (uncommenced); commencement orders SI 2024/1018, SI 2025/57 and SI 2025/131. The working is in [Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/leasehold-and-freehold-reform-act-2024-what-is-in-force-managing-agents/). **8. In every block above 11 metres, are the communal fire doors checked at least every 3 months?** The answer that is in order is "yes". Regulation 10 requires communal fire door checks at least every 3 months and flat entrance door checks at least every 12 months on a best endeavours basis, with a record of the attempts to gain access. Source: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10. The working is in [How often must fire doors be checked in a block of flats? The 11-metre rule, the access record and a check sheet](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/how-often-fire-door-checks-block-of-flats-regulation-10/). **9. For each block of at least 18 metres or seven storeys, has a building emergency evacuation plan been prepared and sent to the fire and rescue authority?** The answer that is in order is "yes". The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 have required this since 6 April 2026, with a review within 12 months. Blocks over 11 metres with a simultaneous evacuation strategy are also in scope. Source: Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, regulations 3 and 13. The working is in [Residential PEEPs](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/residential-peeps-regulations-2025-block-managers-letter-template/). **10. When you take on a block, do you ask the outgoing agent for a full and final reconciliation and the remaining funds within three months of their termination?** The answer that is in order is "yes". No statute lists what must be handed over. The RICS code, 4th edition, asks for a full and final reconciliation, with any remaining monies, within three months of termination, and an interim payment ready for day one where funding allows. Source: RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code, 4th edition, sections 7.4 to 7.6. The working is in [Taking over a block from another managing agent](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/managing-agent-handover-checklist-taking-over-a-block/). ## How to use the result The list under your score is a to-do list. Each line names the rule, where it comes from and the page that shows how to deal with it. Put a name and a date against each one. A gap that has an owner and a date is being handled; a gap that everyone knows about and nobody owns is how firms end up explaining themselves later. Do the check again each quarter, and again whenever a rule in this sector changes. Give it to a second person in the office without showing them your answers. Where the two of you disagree, the procedure is not written down clearly enough, and that is worth knowing whichever of you is right. A good score is not a certificate. The questions cover the points our guides cover, which are the ones that come up most often in a small firm; they are not every duty a firm has. This page is general information, not legal advice. Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) sets up AI assistants for block and property managers: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not make a firm compliant, and none of the ten answers depends on them. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.