Getting a professional opinion on the management of your building
Introduction
If you are concerned about the quality of the management of your building, as a leaseholder you have rights to get a professional opinion from someone independent of the landlord (freeholder).
You can:
- commission a management audit – if two-thirds of the leaseholders in your building support it, you can get an audit on whether the management is effective and value for money. It cannot force a landlord or property manager to change how they operate but can be useful if you’re thinking about taking on the right to manage or applying to the tribunal to appoint a manager
- appoint a surveyor to assist and advise the tenants – if your building has a recognised tenants’ association the association has the right to appoint a surveyor. The surveyor will have legal powers of access to the building and estate and the landlord and property manager’s accounts and other documents
Both can be used to gather information and evidence (including inspecting premises and accessing information and documents that might otherwise be confidential) to:
- enforce better management
- challenge service charges and insurance costs
- ask a tribunal to appoint a new property manager
You should always complain to the landlord to try to resolve any issues before commissioning an audit or appointing a surveyor.
Find out about resolving disputes with your landlord or managing agent.
Costs involved
The leaseholders are liable for the costs of the surveyor or audit. These cannot be recovered from the landlord regardless of the outcome of the surveyor’s investigations or the management audit.
A landlord can add reasonable costs from the audit or appointed surveyor to your service charges, including the cost of copying documents. You can challenge these costs if you believe they are unreasonable.
Choosing which option to use
Both these rights allow leaseholders to get useful information about the building.
The right to appoint a surveyor is more flexible than the right to commission a management audit. It can be used as an ongoing arrangement rather than a one-off piece of work. However, it is only available through a recognised tenants’ association.
All leaseholders also have the right to request a summary of the service charge accounts, and to inspect accounts and receipts, free of charge.
Find out about your rights to see information about service charges.
- Last updated:
- 17 August 2026
- Next review:
- 17 August 2028
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