# When are service charge accounts due? A calendar from the year end, with the 18-month clock > Enter the year end and number of flats to get demand dates, the section 21 and 22 deadlines, the 18-month cut-off and whether a certificate is needed. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/block-management/service-charge-accounts-when-due-calendar/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Block and property managers, Service charges and arrears - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: For a 24-flat block with a 31 March year end, the first cost of the year must be demanded or notified by 30 September the following year under section 20B, a requested section 21 summary is due by 30 September and must be accountant-certified, so accounts out by 30 September satisfy both without a separate diary entry. - Sources: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 ss 20B, 21 (as in force, version of 17 December 1996) and 22; RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code, 4th edition, effective 7 April 2026 (rics.org); all read 2026-10-01. "When are service charge accounts due?" is one of the most-searched questions in block management, and the honest answer is that the 1985 Act sets no single date. It sets three clocks, and the lease sets a fourth. The calendar puts them on one page from the year end you enter. **Free tool on the page:** Service charge year calendar: demands, accounts, inspection and the 18-month clock. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/block-management/service-charge-accounts-when-due-calendar/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## Clock one: the lease On-account demands fall on the dates the lease says: quarter days, half-yearly, or once a year in advance. The calendar offers the three common patterns. Each of those demands has to carry the summary of rights and the landlord's name and address, which the [demand checker](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/service-charge-demand-validity-checker/) tests. The lease usually also says when the accounts are to be prepared and the balancing charge demanded, often "as soon as practicable after the year end". That wording is why the statutory clocks matter: they are the only hard dates. ## Clock two: section 21, the summary of costs A leaseholder, or the secretary of a recognised tenants' association, may ask in writing for a summary of the costs incurred in the last accounting year. The landlord must comply within one month of the request or within six months of the end of the accounting period, whichever is later. Where the charges are payable by tenants of more than four dwellings, the summary must be certified by a qualified accountant as a fair summary, sufficiently supported by accounts, receipts and other documents produced to them. Two things follow. First, the six months is not a deadline for accounts in general; it is the deadline for answering a request. Second, in a block of five flats or more a request turns the year-end accounts into a certified document, so a firm that produces certified accounts anyway has nothing extra to do when the request arrives. Our guide on [whether service charge accounts need an audit](https://aeolookup.com/block-management/do-service-charge-accounts-need-to-be-audited/) covers the difference between that certificate and an audit. ## Clock three: section 22, inspection Within six months of obtaining the summary, the leaseholder may ask to inspect the accounts, receipts and other documents supporting it and to take copies. The landlord must afford reasonable facilities within one month of the request, for a period of two months, free of charge; copying may be charged for, and the cost of providing the facilities can be treated as a management cost. The calendar shows the window so the file can be ready rather than assembled under a deadline. ## Clock four: section 20B, 18 months This is the one that costs money. A cost incurred more than 18 months before the demand that includes it is not recoverable unless, within the 18 months, the leaseholder was told in writing that it had been incurred and that a contribution would be required. For a year running 1 April to 31 March, a cost incurred on 1 April is lost if it is not demanded or notified by 30 September the following year. A balancing demand sent with the year-end accounts within six months of the year end clears every cost in the year with months to spare, which is the real reason accounts within six months is the working standard in the sector. Where accounts will be late, a section 20B(2) letter to every leaseholder saying that costs have been incurred in the year and a contribution will be required protects the year. It is a one-page letter and it is cheaper than the alternative. ## The working target The RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code, 4th edition, effective 7 April 2026, names timely issue of budgets and year-end accounts among its aims. Section 5.13 of the code says service charge accounts should be prepared, and copies made available to all contributors, within six months of the end of the financial period, or sooner if the lease requires. The calendar uses six months from the year end as the target; that date also satisfies section 21 if asked, section 20B for every cost in the year, and the expectations of any leaseholder who reads the code. ## What is coming The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 provides for a standard demand form and an annual report to leaseholders. On 1 October 2026 neither is in force, and the 1985 Act rules above still govern. When the commencement regulations are made, the annual report will add a fixed date to this calendar; until then the dates here are the ones a tribunal applies. This is general information for England, not legal advice. ## Short answers from this page **When are service charge accounts due?** The lease sets the date; the statute sets the back-stops. For a year ending 31 March, the first costs of the year must be demanded or notified by 30 September the following year under the 18-month rule, and a requested section 21 summary is due within six months of the year end. Accounts out by 30 September satisfy both. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) Overlyft: https://overlyft.com/ General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.