Know your rights

You can write to your freeholder or managing agent at any time requesting a written summary of service charge costs. They must provide this within one month of your request, or within six months of the end of the accounting period — whichever is later.

The summary must show the total spent on each category of service and confirm whether accounts have been certified by a qualified accountant. Refusing to provide this summary is a criminal offence.

Within six months of receiving the written summary, you can write to your freeholder requesting to inspect the underlying documents — invoices, receipts, contracts and any other papers supporting the charges. They must make these available within 21 days.

You are entitled to take copies of anything you inspect. If they refuse access, they are committing a criminal offence and you can report this to your local authority.

Before carrying out works that will cost any individual leaseholder more than £250, your freeholder must follow a formal consultation process. This applies to qualifying works (repairs, improvements) and qualifying long-term agreements (service contracts lasting more than 12 months).

The process involves two formal notices: a Notice of Intention describing the works, and a Notice of Proposals with at least two contractor estimates. You have the right to submit observations at each stage and nominate your own contractor for consideration.

If your freeholder fails to follow this process correctly, your contribution to those works may be capped at £250 per leaseholder, regardless of the actual cost.

If you dispute a service charge but are worried about forfeiture — your freeholder taking back possession of your flat for non-payment — you can pay the amount while simultaneously writing to your freeholder to state clearly that the payment is made "under protest" and that you do not accept the charge as reasonable.

This protects you from forfeiture while preserving your right to challenge the amount at tribunal. Simply paying without protest may be taken as acceptance of the charge.

You can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) — previously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal — to have your service charges assessed. The tribunal can determine whether a charge is reasonable, whether it was incurred, and whether the works or services were of a reasonable standard.

There is no application fee for service charge disputes. You do not need a solicitor, though one can help in complex cases. The tribunal's decision is legally binding on both parties. Applications can be made before or after paying the disputed charge.

If you and your fellow leaseholders are unhappy with your freeholder's management, you may be able to take over management of the building yourselves through a Right to Manage (RTM) company — without needing to prove fault or buy the freehold.

To qualify, at least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be held on long leases, and at least half of those leaseholders must participate. The process involves forming an RTM company and serving a formal Claim Notice on the freeholder. Once the RTM company takes over, it takes responsibility for arranging building insurance, managing repairs and setting service charges.

Any service charge contributions held by your freeholder must be kept in a separate trust account and cannot be mixed with the freeholder's own money. This means if your freeholder becomes insolvent, your sinking fund contributions should be protected.

You have the right to request information about where your service charge funds are held. If contributions are not held in a designated trust account, this is a breach of the freeholder's legal duty.