# Section 20 checker: does this job need consultation, and what are the dates? > Enter the cost, the number of units and the notice date to see whether Section 20 applies, what is recoverable without it, and the earliest date for each stage. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/block-management/section-20-consultation-threshold-and-timetable-checker/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Block and property managers, Section 20 and major works - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: We ran a £48,000 roof job across 24 equal shares through the regulations: £2,000 a flat, so consultation is required, and without it the recoverable sum falls to £6,000 (24 × £250), leaving £42,000 with the RMC. - Sources: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 ss 20 and 20ZA; Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003, regs 2, 4 and 6 and Schedules 1 and 4; all read on legislation.gov.uk 2026-10-01. Our test is saved in tests/warden/tools-check.txt. Two questions arrive together on every major works file: does this need a Section 20 consultation, and if we serve the notice on Monday, when can the scaffold go up? The checker answers both from the cost, the number of contributing units and the date of the first notice. **Free tool on the page:** Section 20 checker: does this need consultation, and what are the dates?. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/block-management/section-20-consultation-threshold-and-timetable-checker/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## The threshold is about one leaseholder, not the average Section 20 applies to qualifying works where the "relevant contribution of any tenant" would be more than £250 (regulation 6 of the 2003 Regulations), and to a qualifying long-term agreement, meaning a contract of more than twelve months, where any tenant's contribution in an accounting year would be more than £100 (regulation 4). "Any tenant" is the word that catches people. A block where most flats pay 3% but the penthouse pays 9% has to be tested on the 9%. Dividing the total by the number of flats gives the average, and the average can sit under £250 while one lease sits over it. That is why the checker asks for the largest single share and treats equal shares as the default rather than the rule. The figures are inclusive of VAT, because that is what the leaseholder pays. ## What happens if you skip it Section 20(1) limits the contribution of each tenant to the appropriate amount, £250 for works or £100 a year for an agreement, unless the consultation requirements were met or the tribunal dispensed with them under section 20ZA. The landlord or RMC does not get a discount; it gets a cap, and the rest of the bill stays with it. On our example, a £48,000 roof across 24 flats is £2,000 each. Consulted, all £48,000 is recoverable, subject to reasonableness. Not consulted, the RMC can demand £250 from each flat, £6,000 in total, and carries £42,000 itself. Dispensation is possible, and tribunals do grant it where leaseholders were not prejudiced, but an application costs time and money and the answer is not guaranteed. It is a repair, not a plan. ## The timetable For qualifying works where no public notice is required, Schedule 4 Part 2 sets three stages, and regulation 2 defines "the relevant period" as 30 days beginning with the date of the notice. The checker works the calendar from the date you serve the first notice: - **Stage 1, notice of intention.** Describe the works (or say where the description can be inspected), state why they are needed, and invite written observations and nominations of contractors within 30 days. The period begins with the day of the notice, so a notice dated 6 October ends its period on 4 November. - **Stage 2, statement of estimates.** Obtain at least two estimates, one from a contractor wholly unconnected with the landlord, and include an estimate from any nominated contractor. Send the statement with a summary of the observations received and your responses, and invite written observations on the estimates within a second 30 days. - **Stage 3, award.** Have regard to the observations. If the contract goes to someone who is neither a nominee nor the lowest estimate, give every leaseholder written reasons within 21 days of entering the contract. The minimum from first notice to a signed contract is therefore 60 days. In practice it is longer, because observations need a written answer, estimates have to be obtained, and anything posted needs a day or two in each direction. A roof that must be done before winter needs its notice of intention served in summer. A qualifying long-term agreement follows the same shape under Schedule 1, with a notice of proposals in place of the statement of estimates. Where the contract is one that must be advertised publicly, Schedules 2 and 3 apply and the sequence differs; the checker does not cover those. ## Building safety works Since 1 April 2023, where the works are to remedy a relevant defect in a relevant building under the Building Safety Act, the notice must also say what steps the landlord has taken to recover the cost from others (section 20ZA(5A)). Our guide on [what the Building Safety Act asks of a managing agent](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/building-safety-act-higher-risk-building-managing-agent-duties/) covers which buildings that applies to. ## Keep the file Every stage produces paper: the notice, proof of service on each leaseholder and any recognised tenants' association, every observation, your written reply, the estimates, the statement and the notice of reasons. A challenge at the tribunal, often years later, is decided on that file. The full sequence with what each notice must say is in our [Section 20 stages guide](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/section-20-consultation-process-stages-managing-agents/), and the demand that follows the works has its own rules, covered by the [service charge demand checker](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/service-charge-demand-validity-checker/). This is general information for England, not legal advice. ## Short answers from this page **When is Section 20 consultation required?** For qualifying works, when any one leaseholder's contribution would be more than £250; for a qualifying long-term agreement (over 12 months), more than £100 a year. A £48,000 roof job shared equally by 24 flats is £2,000 each, so consultation is required. **What happens if Section 20 consultation is skipped?** Each leaseholder's contribution to the works is capped at £250 unless the tribunal grants dispensation. On a £48,000 job across 24 flats the recoverable sum falls to £6,000, leaving £42,000 with the landlord or the residents' management company. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.