Does a roof repair need a Section 20 consultation, and what happens if we skip it?

Last checked against the sources on 06 October 2026

Yes, usually. Roof repairs are “works on a building”, and consultation is needed once any one leaseholder’s share would come to more than £250. In a block of six equal flats that is £1,500 of work. If you skip it, and a tribunal doesn’t excuse you, you can only recover £250 from each leaseholder and the company has to find the rest.

Why roof work almost always crosses the line

Section 20 applies to “qualifying works”, which the Act defines simply as works on a building or any other premises. A repair counts as much as a replacement. The trigger is set so that consultation is needed when any one leaseholder’s contribution would be more than £250. What matters is each leaseholder’s share under their lease, not the size of the job in the abstract. With equal shares, the total cost at which it kicks in is:

4 flats: more than £1,000
6 flats: more than £1,500
8 flats: more than £2,000
10 flats: more than £2,500

Roof work can easily cost several times that, so for a small building almost any roof job beyond a small patch repair is in scope. If the leases give unequal shares, work out the biggest share and test that.

What you risk by skipping it

You can only charge £250 per leaseholder. Under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, if the consultation hasn’t been done or dispensed with, each leaseholder’s contribution is limited to the figure in the regulations, which for works is £250. On a £12,000 roof over six equal flats, that means recovering £1,500 and the company carrying the other £10,500.
The only way out is the tribunal. Section 20ZA lets the First-tier Tribunal dispense with the requirements if it is satisfied that it is reasonable to do so. That means an application, with evidence and delay, and no guarantee.
Even a successful application can cost you. In Daejan v Benson, the leading Supreme Court case, a landlord that had botched the consultation faced recovering £1,250 from five leaseholders instead of nearly £280,000. It won dispensation, but only on terms that the leaseholders’ total liability was cut by £50,000 and that the landlord paid their reasonable costs of the tribunal proceedings. The court said the question is whether leaseholders suffered real prejudice from the failure, so the tribunal can attach conditions, and leaseholders who can show a credible case for prejudice can expect it to listen.
Cost and quality can still be challenged. Separately from consultation, leaseholders only have to pay costs that were reasonably incurred, for work of a reasonable standard (section 19), and costs billed more than 18 months after they were incurred can be lost unless you told leaseholders in writing within that time that they would be asked to contribute (section 20B).

What it looks like when it goes wrong

The directors approved the roof, the contractor finished it and invoiced £12,000. A leaseholder points out that no notices were served. The company applies for dispensation, which means a tribunal application, evidence and a wait, with the invoice still unpaid. If the tribunal grants it, it can attach conditions, as it did in Daejan v Benson, including paying the leaseholders’ costs. If it refuses, the company is left carrying £10,500 on the roof, with six neighbours who are also its members and who each know exactly why. Section 20 is the one way to prevent all of that, and it needs two months and some paper.

What about an urgent leak?

The 2003 Regulations contain no exception for emergencies. If work genuinely can’t wait, the legal route is a dispensation application under section 20ZA. Practically, and this is common sense rather than a legal requirement, keep records of why it couldn’t wait, get whatever comparison quotes you can, tell leaseholders straight away what is happening and why, and take advice before you commit.

Doing it properly, for a roof

Describe the work in the first notice well enough that leaseholders can comment on it. A surveyor’s specification helps.
Allow for the time. Each of the two comment periods is 30 days beginning with the date on the notice, so there are about two months of statutory periods before you can sign the contract, plus the time to get estimates.
Get at least two estimates, including one from a contractor with no connection to the company, plus one from any contractor a leaseholder nominates if you can.
Serve notices on paper, by hand or recorded delivery, and keep a record of who got what and when.
Within 21 days of signing, send the reasons letter unless you chose a nominated contractor or the lowest estimate.

For the full process, who must be consulted and what this doesn’t cover, see our answer on whether RTM and share-of-freehold companies have to follow Section 20. This is general information, not legal advice.

How Tiny Freeholder helps

Tiny Freeholder’s major works section runs the Section 20 process for the roof: it works out whether any leaseholder’s share passes £250, builds the notices in the company’s name, dates them from the day they will be delivered, records how and when each person got their copy, and tracks the estimates, comments and reasons letter. It stops and tells you to take advice for the cases it can’t handle.

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