Using a request notice to get details of qualifying tenants (England)

You may need to contact other leaseholders and invite them to join the tenants’ association, to reach the 50% membership threshold. This can be difficult where flats are sublet, empty or owned by absent leaseholders or companies.

The secretary of the association has the legal right to serve a request notice on the landlord asking for contact information for qualifying tenants who are not already members.

The request can ask for:

• their name
• the address of the flat which they pay a service charge for
• any address where service charge demands are sent
• their email address

This information can only be used for the purpose of inviting people to join the association.

The request notice can help you:

• identify qualifying tenants who are not already members
• work out the 50% membership threshold
• invite qualifying tenants to join the association

Before sending this information, the landlord must contact the people and get their written consent.

Some landlords cite data protection and refuse to provide the information. Our template letter reminds them that the law has been specifically designed to allow tenants’ associations to request the information needed, and for landlords to share it.

A request notice does not guarantee that you will get enough responses to reach the 50% threshold.

The process can take a long time. The landlord has up to 4 months to provide the information, and they only have to share details for leaseholders who have given consent.

Some leaseholders may refuse consent for their information to be shared, or may not respond to the landlord’s request.

Many leaseholders do not realise that a recognised tenants’ association is relevant to them, because they do not think of themselves as “tenants”. It’s best to give the landlord a very short explainer to include when they contact the leaseholders. Be sure to explain the benefits of the association and that it’s for leaseholders. However, the landlord does not have to use this.

You can use our template letter to send the request notice.

Landlords cannot reject the template notice as invalid if it is completed properly. You should also include our reminder to the landlord of their legal duties. This can help avoid delays.

You should include a list of current qualifying tenants who are members of the association.

• Template letter and request notice
• Landlord duties notice

The landlord has a number of duties following receipt of the request notice.

Duty 1: Acknowledgment of request notice

When served by a secretary of a tenants’ association with a request notice for information about relevant qualifying tenants who are not members of the association, a landlord must within 7 days (beginning with the date on which the request notice was received):

• acknowledge receipt of the request notice in writing; and
• inform the secretary of the tenants’ association that the landlord will provide a substantive response to the notice

If the landlord does not consider the request notice to be valid they must, within 7 days beginning with the date on which the notice was received:

• inform the secretary of the tenants’ association in writing that the landlord will not provide a substantive response because the landlord does not consider the notice received to be a valid request notice
• give reasons as to why the landlord does not consider the notice to be a valid one

Duty 2: Contacting relevant qualifying tenants

Once served with a request notice, a landlord must, as soon as practicable, send an information form to each relevant qualifying tenant about whom information has been requested.

The information form is a written document which:

1. informs the leaseholder that a tenants’ association has requested that the landlord provide information relating to the qualifying tenant
2. sets out what information has been requested in relation to the qualifying tenant
3. identifies the tenants’ association that has made the request
4. includes the postal address of the tenants’ association and its email address (if it has one)
5. asks the qualifying tenant for written consent to disclose the information to the tenants’ association
6. informs the qualifying tenant that the information will not be disclosed without that consent
7. informs the qualifying tenant that the tenants’ association has stated in its request that the information will only be used to ask the qualifying tenant if they want to become a member of that association
8. informs the qualifying tenant that any queries relating to the tenants’ association should be directed to that tenants’ association
9. asks the qualifying tenant to reply within 28 days (beginning with the date of receipt of the information form):
   1. confirming that they consent to all of the information being disclosed
   2. confirming that they consent to some of the information being disclosed (and what that is)
   3. confirming that they do not consent to any of the information being disclosed
10. gives a postal address and email address (if the landlord has one) which can be used to reply to the landlord
11. is signed and dated by the landlord

Duty 3: Substantive response to request notice

A landlord has 4 months (beginning with the date on which the request notice was received) to provide a substantive response to the tenants’ association.

The substantive response must be in writing and must either state:

• all information which the landlord has consent to disclose; or
• that there is no such information

The substantive response must:

1. state the number of qualifying tenants to whom the landlord sent an information form
2. state the number of such qualifying tenants who did not give written consent for information to be disclosed
3. be signed and dated
4. be accompanied by a statement signed and dated by the landlord that the information contained in the substantive response is true to the best of the landlord’s knowledge and belief

Duty 4: Further disclosure

Where a landlord receives consent from a qualifying tenant to disclose known information after the 4 month period, the landlord must disclose that known information as soon as reasonably practicable after consent has been received.

This further disclosure must be in writing and accompanied by a statement that the information is true to the landlord’s knowledge and belief. This statement must be signed and dated by the landlord.

The tribunal can deal with landlords who fail to comply with their duties.

The secretary of a tenants’ association can apply to the tribunal for an order requiring a landlord to:

• acknowledge their request notice
• contact relevant qualifying tenants
• provide a substantive response to the request notice

Apply using Application form TA2. Submit the form to the relevant tribunal office with the required fee shown on the form.

The application might be decided without a hearing, but if there is a formal hearing a further fee will be payable.