S20ZA dispensation application
/Leaseholders should have received from HML a copy of an application to the Tribunal to dispense with consultation on works carried out on the chiller plant. If you have not received a copy please contact us.
Consultation under section 20 of the 1985 Landlord and Tenant Act is required when works are expected to cost any one leaseholder >£250. The works required on the chillers will cost £47,089, meaning that nine (out of 325) flats are above the £250 s.20 consultation threshold. For the remaining 316 flats the costs of the works are below the s.20 threshold of £250 and they are therefore unaffected by a decision that grants or refuses dispensation under s.20ZA. RACR - together with many in the world of leasehold- believes that s.20 legislation needs to be reformed in order to better serve leaseholders and avoid unnecessary administration and legal costs.
RACR recommends that leaseholders returning the s.20ZA form respond as follows:
Tick ‘yes’ to supporting the Manager’s application (the form incorrect says landlord)
Tick ‘no’ to sending written representations to the tribunal
Tick ‘yes’ to the tribunal determining this matter on paper (without an oral hearing)
Tick ‘no’ to the tribunal holding an oral hearing.
We make this recommendation on order to minimise any further costs to the service charge (which would be incurred were the application to be contested and/or there was an oral hearing). Unfortunately the s.20 legislation does not differentiate between a block of four flats and a block of four hundred flats. The largest flats at Canary Riverside are more than 3 x the size of the average sized Canary Riverside flat - meaning that s.20 consultation is required when fewer than 3% of the flats here would reach the s.20 threshold of £250.
Please return the completed form to the tribunal by Friday 25th October. If you wish to email the form you can do so as follows:
Subject: Canary Riverside LON/00BG/LDC/2019/0167