Qualifying long-term agreements (QLTAs)

It does not matter:

• who carries out the service
• whether the contract is new or renewed
• whether the landlord or managing agent organised it

If the agreement lasts longer than a year and any single leaseholder will pay more than £100 a year towards it, your landlord must carry out a formal Section 20 consultation.

Landlords often use long-term agreements for everyday services needed to run a building.

Common examples include:

• cleaning and caretaking contracts
• grounds maintenance and gardening
• lift or fire alarm servicing
• communal electricity supply
• block management or managing agent fees
• door entry or CCTV maintenance
• pest control contracts
• waste disposal or bulk rubbish collection
• buildings insurance

If any of these contracts last more than 12 months and cost over £100 a year per leaseholder, they are QLTAs.

The consultation process depends on whether your landlord is a contracting authority, which are subject to strict “tender” rules.

Contracting authorities include local councils and most housing associations. You will know which process is being used based on the initial notice.

If your landlord is not a contracting authority

Consultation happens in 2 stages for long-term agreements.

Stage 1: Notice of intention

Your landlord must:

• explain they want to enter into a long-term contract
• describe the services or works in general terms
• invite written comments from leaseholders
• allow you to nominate contractors

You get 30 days to respond.

Stage 2: Notice of landlord’s proposals

Your landlord must:

• get at least 2 estimates for the contract
• give details of the estimates in the proposal notice
• include a summary of comments from stage 1 and their response
• allow another 30 days for comments

If the landlord chooses a contractor who is not the lowest quote, they must give reasons.

If your landlord is a contracting authority

If the contract is high value, a landlord who is a contracting authority (such as a local council and most housing associations) must give “public notice”. This means advertising the opportunity on the government's Find a Tender service.

In this case, the rules are different: you cannot nominate a contractor, because the landlord must follow strict public tender rules.

You can still send written comments on what the contract should cover, but you will not have the right to nominate a contractor.

Some long-term agreements include both:

• routine servicing or maintenance
• major works (large one-off projects)

Major works are treated separately under Section 20.

Qualifying works are any works on the building that cost more than £250 for any leaseholder, for example:

• renewing the lift
• replacing the roof
• fire safety upgrades
• external or internal redecoration
• window replacements

Even if the landlord already has a long-term contract that covers such works, they must still consult you separately for each major project that will cost more than £250 for any leaseholder.

For works under an existing QLTA, you usually cannot nominate a new contractor, but you can still challenge the necessity and cost.

This is because:

• QLTAs cover services
• qualifying works cover building projects and repairs, and they follow different rules

A contract is not a qualifying long-term agreement if:

• it lasts 12 months or less (and effectively ends without continuing on a rolling basis)
• it is a one-off piece of work
• it is not recharged to leaseholders

Examples that often do not count include:

• a single repair job
• repainting a corridor
• replacing a broken pump
• plumber or electrician visits