Resolving disputes with landlords or managing agents

Check your lease to confirm:

• what your landlord or their managing agent is responsible for
• what rights you have

Leases can be hard to understand. For example, it might refer to your right to “quiet enjoyment” or the landlord’s “derogation from grant” (losing the rights given to you in the lease). Older leases might not include your statutory rights.

You can read more about your rights and responsibilities as a leaseholder to help you understand the issue and whose responsibility it is.

You could also check the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code, which is a government-approved code of practice that anyone managing a building should follow. If your landlord or managing agent has failed to follow the code this can support your case if you need to take legal action.

It’s important to keep records of the issue, including:

• dates and times of incidents or breaches
• what has happened and how it has affected you
• any communications with your landlord or managing agent
• evidence such as photos or videos where relevant

Good documentation can help if the issue continues or gets worse, or if you need to take formal legal action.

It’s often best to try to resolve the issue informally before taking formal action.

Your options depend on what the issue is, but in most cases you should start by contacting the managing agent (or the landlord if they manage the building themselves). Clearly set out the problem and what action you want them to take.

Check if they have a process for reporting issues that you can use. This might be shown on their website if they have one, or on letters or communications.

Other things you could try include:

• alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, where an impartial professional (mediator) helps both sides work out an agreement (you may have to pay for this)
• getting advice from your local council or organisations like Citizens Advice
• raising the issue through your tenants’ or residents’ association if you have one

Do not withhold payments

Do not deliberately withhold payments that are due under the terms of your lease as a way of resolving an issue with your landlord or their managing agent. They might take action against you for breaching your lease.

If your dispute is about a service charge, it’s best to pay the charge “under protest” while looking into your options or challenging the charge at a tribunal.

Find out more about costs and charges, including when you can challenge them.

If informal attempts do not work, you should contact the managing agent or your landlord formally in writing.

Check their website or communications for details of their complaints process. Include:

• that you are raising a formal complaint
• the details of what has happened, and any rules or terms of your lease that you think are being broken
• what you want the landlord or managing agent to do to put things right
• a reasonable deadline for a response and follow-up action

Keep copies of all letters for your records.

Find out more about how to complain to your landlord or managing agent.

If you’re not happy with how your complaint is dealt with, you might be able to complain to a redress scheme. This is a free, independent service for resolving customer service complaints about property managers.

Private landlords do not have to belong to a redress scheme, so you can only use this step for complaints about a managing agent or a social housing landlord.

Check if a redress scheme is suitable for your issue. For example they can help with poor customer service, communication or complaint handling, but they cannot decide if service charges are reasonable, or force your landlord to do repairs.

Find out more about how to use a redress scheme.

Legal action is usually a last resort. It can be expensive, stressful and time-consuming, and you may not always get the outcome you want.

You’ll need to consider the cost and time of taking legal action, and whether the outcome is likely to be worthwhile. Also think about whether you have the skills to do it yourself or if you’ll need support.

It’s best to get legal advice first to see if legal action is likely to be the best way of resolving the issue.

A court will expect you to have also considered alternative dispute resolution first, to try to reach agreement with your landlord without formal legal action.

Your options for legal action will depend on the issue, but can include:

• applying to a tribunal, if the dispute is something a tribunal can deal with, such as unreasonable service charges or administration charges
• going to court, if the issue is about breaching the terms of the lease, such as not maintaining the building properly, or to claim money to recover losses

If you decide to take legal action, this will need to be against your landlord (freeholder), rather than the managing agent. This is because your lease is a legal agreement between you and your landlord. They are responsible for making sure that the managing agent meets their responsibilities and that the building is properly managed.

You could consider alternative dispute resolution at any point during a dispute, if you think that your landlord or managing agent will be willing to discuss the issue and try to find a solution that you can both accept.

If your dispute is about problems with the building that could be a serious safety or environmental health risk then you could try reporting the issue to your local council.

If there are ongoing problems with your landlord or managing agent, or if the leaseholders want to have more control over how the building is run, then you could consider options such as the right to manage for changing the management of your building.

You could try asking your local councillor or MP to look into the issue on your behalf:

• contact your local councillor
• contact your MP

There are also charities that offer help and advice with housing problems, including:

• Citizens Advice
• Shelter