Strengthening leaseholder protections over fees, charges and services: consultation

2.6 New duty to publish administration charge schedules

96. Administration charges are one-off charges which may be charged to an individual leaseholder in addition to service charges, for specific requests outlined in the lease (e.g. permission for keeping a pet, making property alterations or subletting). [17] Existing legislation defines what is meant by an administration charge and includes a requirement that, where an administration charge is variable, it must be reasonable and can be challenged at the appropriate tribunal.

97. Leases specify when these charges apply but rarely state the amount or require landlords to proactively publish information about administration charges or the levels at which they are set. Many leaseholders are unaware of potential costs, what levels they are set at, or their existing rights to challenge them.

98. We want to ensure that leaseholders are better informed of all the charges they may face. The 2024 Act introduces a new requirement on landlords to publish an administration charge schedule, detailing administration charges leaseholders may be liable to pay. It also requires landlords who change the costs of their administration charges to publish a revised schedule 28 days before new charges take effect.   

i) Form and content of the new administration charge schedule

99. The new administration charge schedule should be clear, easy to understand and detailed enough to inform leaseholders about potential costs. If an exact cost cannot be provided upfront (e.g. a licence for structural alterations involving multiple parties such as surveyors), an alternative method for calculating the cost should be included. We propose that this should include estimated costs for the parties involved, providing the leaseholder with an indication of what the charges are likely to be. See Annex D for the proposed structure and contents of the administration charge schedule, which sets out fixed costs where an exact cost can be provided and variable costs where information on how the estimated cost is calculated is set out.

ii) Manner of providing the new administration charge schedule

100. We propose that landlords provide a copy of their administration charge schedule in the annual report (see section 2.1) for all leaseholders. They should provide any updated versions to leaseholders by the same means separately (e.g. if the annual report has already been provided) when changes are made. We also propose that the schedule must be made available upon request at any time.