Commissioning an audit of your building’s management

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 requires that two-thirds of leaseholders in your building must support the appointment. You’ll need their signatures as proof.

If you live in a small building, you can request a management audit if yours is the only dwelling or if it is one of two in the building.

The auditor can examine issues including:

• is the landlord fulfilling their legal duties
• how the landlord deals with repairs and maintenance
• do contracts meet residents’ needs and offer value for money
• how service charge money is held, protected and managed
• how shared areas and facilities are managed

The auditor can provide the leaseholders with an informed professional judgement:

• is the landlord actually providing the services required
• are the services provided to a reasonable standard
• is the landlord obtaining value for money

An auditor can ask to see:

• financial records
• safety compliance documents
• maintenance history

You can choose the auditor. They must be either a qualified:

• surveyor – appoint a surveyor if you are concerned with building standards and contractor procurement
• accountant – appoint an accountant if your main concerns are financial

The auditor cannot be either:

• a tenant of the premises
• an officer, partner, agent or employee of the landlord

When choosing, tell prospective auditors what you need, and ask them to:

• explain any relevant experience they have
• explain the process, including giving notice and the timescales involved
• set out a proposal of what they intend to do and when
• explain how fees are worked out – these should be agreed before the surveyor starts work

An auditor may appoint others to help them. For instance:

• an accountant may employ a surveyor to inspect the property
• a surveyor may employ an accountant to examine the accounts

The auditor will need to write to the landlord and managing agent on behalf of the leaseholders with the following information:

• the names, addresses and signatures of the leaseholders they are acting for
• any documents they want to be given or have access to inspect or to copy
• the date of any proposed inspection – this must allow at least one month, but no more than two months’ notice

This is called a Section 80 notice. The landlord must comply with the notice within one month, or reply explaining their objections, or proposing an alternative date for any proposed inspection.

If the landlord fails to comply or provides objections, leaseholders can ask the auditor to apply to the court for an order. This can be done between two and four months after the Section 80 notice is served.

The auditor will carry out the investigation and then report back in the form of an audit.

Depending on what you’ve requested, the audit can include evidence to help you challenge your service charges at a tribunal or apply for the appointment of a new manager for your building.

• Challenging service charges
• Ask a tribunal to appoint a new property manager
• Applying to the tribunal