Block management
Block management is the professional management of the shared parts, structure and services of a residential building divided into flats, carried out on behalf of the building's owner under the terms of the leases. It covers communal repairs, buildings insurance, health and safety compliance and the service charge accounts. GOV.UK's leasehold guidance and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 set the framework within which it operates.
Block management and property management are not the same thing
The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different work. Property management means looking after an individual let property and its tenancy, the rent, the repairs inside the flat, the deposit and the compliance certificates. Block management looks after the building as a whole, the roof, the structure, the hallways, the lifts, the grounds and the communal services that every flat depends on. A landlord who lets a flat is responsible for managing their own tenancy. The block around that flat is a separate responsibility, usually handled by a professional managing agent acting for the building's owner.
What block management covers
The work falls into four broad areas. Repairs and maintenance of the communal parts and the building's structure, from cleaning and gardening to major works such as roof renewal. Buildings insurance for the whole structure, arranged for the block rather than by individual flat owners. Health and safety compliance, including fire risk assessments, lift inspections and, in taller buildings, building safety duties. And financial management, meaning the service charge budget, the collection of contributions and the annual accounts. The services a manager must provide, and the charges a leaseholder must meet, are set out in the lease, usually the headlease, so no two blocks are managed on identical terms.
Who is responsible for block management
Responsibility rests with whoever holds the obligation to maintain the building under the leases. That is most often the freeholder, who typically appoints a managing agent to carry out the day-to-day work. Where leaseholders own the building collectively, management often runs through a residents' management company rather than an external freeholder. In other blocks the leaseholders have taken control through a Right to Manage company. In each case the managing agent answers to the appointing body, not to individual residents. Managing agents must belong to a government-approved redress scheme, and those holding leaseholders' money must operate client money protection.
How block management is paid for
Block management is funded through the service charge, the periodic payment each leaseholder makes towards the cost of running the building, with the managing agent's fee forming one line within it. The charge must be reasonable under section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and leaseholders have a statutory right to request a summary of how it has been spent. Before recovering more than £250 from any single leaseholder for qualifying works, the manager must follow the section 20 consultation procedure. Landlords using August consistently tell us that the first time they read a service charge demand line by line is when a major works bill lands, by which point the consultation window has often already passed. That is separate from any fee you might pay an agent to manage your individual tenancy, which our guide to property management fees sets out in detail.
Right to Manage and taking control of the building
Leaseholders who are dissatisfied with how their block is run can take over its management without proving fault, using the Right to Manage under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. They form an RTM company, serve notice, and assume the management functions from the freeholder. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 widened access to this right from March 2025, raising the non-residential floor area limit for mixed-use buildings from 25 per cent to 50 per cent and removing the requirement, in most cases, to pay the freeholder's legal costs of the claim.
The legal framework
Block management is governed by leasehold law rather than the tenancy law that applies between a landlord and their tenant. Service charges sit under sections 18 to 30 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Right to Manage and the right to challenge unreasonable charges sit under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. Higher-risk buildings carry additional duties under the Building Safety Act 2022. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is introducing greater service charge transparency, including standardised demands and annual reports, though most of those provisions await commencement through secondary legislation. The longer-term direction of travel is away from leasehold blocks altogether and towards commonhold, which the government has proposed as the default tenure for new flats.
What block management means if you let a flat
From working with self-managing landlords across the UK, August sees the two roles regularly confused. If you own a leasehold flat and let it out, you sit in the middle of two separate systems. Above you, the block is managed under leasehold law, and you pay the service charge as a leaseholder. Below you, your tenant holds an assured tenancy that you manage under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The block manager is not responsible for your tenancy, and you are not responsible for the communal parts beyond your share of the service charge. Keeping the two clearly separated, your obligations upward to the building and your obligations downward to the tenant, is the practical skill of letting a flat well. Since 27 December 2025, a long lease of more than 21 years no longer counts as an assured tenancy regardless of its ground rent, which removed a long-standing trap for leaseholder-landlords.
Frequently asked questions
Do all blocks of flats need a managing agent?
No. There is no legal requirement to appoint one. Many small blocks are self-managed by the leaseholders or the freeholder. Most larger blocks appoint a professional agent because the compliance, accounting and contractor obligations are demanding and carry real liability if handled poorly.
How much does block management cost?
Managing agents typically charge a per-unit annual fee, recovered through the service charge, with the level depending on the size of the block and the services provided. It is distinct from any letting agent fee a landlord pays to manage an individual tenancy. The charge must be reasonable, and leaseholders can challenge an unreasonable one at the First-tier Tribunal.
Can I manage my own tenancy if my flat is in a professionally managed block?
Yes. The block manager looks after the building; you remain free to manage your own tenancy, and many landlords do exactly that to avoid letting-agent fees. The two responsibilities do not overlap, and self-managing your tenancy has no bearing on how the block is run.
