Section 20 dispensation: how to apply under section 20ZA, what it costs and what the tribunal looks for

When a roof fails in November or a rising main bursts, there is no time for two 30-day consultation periods. The route is an application to the First-tier Tribunal under section 20ZA of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to dispense with the consultation requirements. It is made on form Leasehold 5, costs £200 to issue and £300 more if a hearing is listed, and turns on one question: what the leaseholders lost by not being consulted.

What dispensation does

Section 20 limits each leaseholder's contribution to £250 for qualifying works, or £100 a year for a long-term agreement, unless the consultation requirements were complied with or the tribunal has dispensed with them. Dispensation removes that cap and does nothing else. It does not decide that the cost is reasonable or payable; a leaseholder can still apply under section 27A for that.

The tribunal may dispense with "all or any" of the requirements, so the application can cover the whole procedure or one missed step, such as a statement of estimates that left out the summary of observations. The form asks whether the works have started or been carried out, so it can be made before or after the event. Our stage-by-stage guide lists the steps a tribunal will compare your file against.

There is one exception. Section 20(1)(b) excludes works to which section 20D applies, the remediation works touched on in our Building Safety Act guide. Take legal advice before relying on dispensation for those.

The test is prejudice

The statute says only that the tribunal may dispense "if satisfied that it is reasonable". The Supreme Court set out what that means in Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson, decided on 6 March 2013 by three justices to two.

• The requirements protect leaseholders from paying for inappropriate works and from paying more than would be appropriate. The tribunal should focus on how far the leaseholders were prejudiced in either respect by the failure to consult.
• The size of the landlord's loss if dispensation is refused is not a relevant factor.
• The legal burden stays on the landlord throughout. The factual burden of identifying some relevant prejudice is on the leaseholders, and the tribunal will look at their arguments sympathetically.
• Dispensation can be granted on terms. The court named two: a reduction in the recoverable cost to make up for the prejudice, and payment of the leaseholders' reasonable costs of testing the application.

In Daejan the landlord stood to recover just under £280,000 from five leaseholders with dispensation and £1,250 without. It was given dispensation on terms: £50,000 off the charge and the leaseholders' reasonable costs paid.

What it costs

These are the figures in Schedule 1 to the Fees Order as substituted on 13 July 2026, and the 07.26 version of the form prints the same two.

Set the fees against the cap. A £48,000 roof repair across 24 equal shares is £2,000 a flat. Without consultation or dispensation, recovery is 24 × £250 = £6,000, and £42,000 stays with the client. The Section 20 checker runs the same sum for unequal shares.

The form says fast-track cases are usually heard within 10 weeks of application and standard-track cases within 20 weeks, and it has a box for urgent cases. Ten weeks is longer than a leaking roof can wait, so in a real emergency the works go ahead and the application runs alongside them.

How to apply

1. Record why the job could not wait: photographs, the contractor's report, the date the defect was found, and what would happen in the 60 days that two consultation periods take.
2. Write to every leaseholder and any recognised tenants' association the same day, using the letter below.
3. Get the estimates that time allows. Two is the consultation standard. If only one contractor could attend, write down why.
4. Do as much of the consultation as you can. The Supreme Court gave the example of a stage carried out with five days for replies in place of 30. A shortened consultation is evidence that little was lost.
5. Complete form Leasehold 5. The applicant's capacity can be landlord or managing agent. Everyone who pays a service charge is a respondent. Attach a sample lease. Describe the works and their dates, the consultation carried out or proposed, and why dispensation is sought. Say whether a decision on the papers, without a hearing, would suit the case.
6. Pay the £200 and email the form to the regional tribunal office listed in its Annex 2. Send a copy of the application to the respondents.
7. Follow the tribunal's directions and keep every reply on file.

The letter to leaseholders

Dear [name],

[Block]: urgent works to [describe]

On [date] we found [defect]. [Contractor] advises that [risk if left]. The works cannot wait for the two 30-day consultation periods that section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 would normally require.

We have instructed [contractor] to [works] at an estimated cost of £[amount]. [We obtained a second estimate of £[amount] from [name]. / We could obtain only one estimate because [reason].] Your share under your lease is estimated at £[amount].

[Landlord] is applying to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) under section 20ZA of the Act to dispense with the consultation requirements for these works. You will be sent a copy of the application and you may respond to the tribunal.

If you have observations on the works, the contractor or the cost, or know a contractor we should ask, please write to us by [date, at least five days ahead]. We will reply to every observation and put the replies before the tribunal.

The tribunal's decision on dispensation does not decide whether the cost is reasonable. Your right to challenge that is unchanged.

After the decision

If dispensation is granted, demand the cost in the usual way, with any reduction the tribunal ordered taken off first. The demand checker covers the tests that demand must pass. If it is refused, give the client the unrecovered figure in writing.

This is general information for England, not legal advice.