By the end of 2024 leaseholders were asking harder questions about service charges, and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 had signalled more transparency to come. A managing agent who can show a costed ten year plan for each block is in a far stronger position than one who reacts to each repair as it arrives.
What a good plan contains
- Every element. Roofs, walls, windows, common parts, services and external areas, each inspected and graded.
- Remaining life. When each element is likely to need repair or replacement.
- Costs by year. Budget costs set out year by year, so the reserve fund can be planned.
- Priorities. Urgent items separated from planned work, with health and safety items flagged.
- Grouping. Works grouped sensibly, so scaffold is erected once, not three times.
How it helps
Reserve funds. Contributions can be set against a real forecast rather than a guess.
Section 20. When works go ahead, the plan explains why they are needed and why now.
Leaseholders. A clear plan, explained in plain English, turns a surprise bill into an expected one.
The standard
RICS sets out how such plans should be prepared in Planned preventative maintenance of commercial and residential property. A plan should be reviewed regularly, because prices and conditions change.
See our Planned Preventative Maintenance service, a ten year plan a managing agent can budget against, and a ten year plan for a listed watermill complex.