Residential block management in London is a sector with a wide range of quality. At its best, a well-managed block protects property values, responds to maintenance issues promptly, manages service charge accounts with complete transparency, and ensures that leaseholders feel properly informed and treated fairly. At its worst, it is characterised by unresponsive management, opaque accounting, deferred maintenance, and adversarial leaseholder relations.

Understanding what good block management looks like — and what questions to ask before appointing a managing agent — is important for freeholders, residents' management companies, and right-to-manage organisations alike.

• RICS membership and ARMA accreditation are the two most relevant professional indicators for a residential managing agent in England and Wales
• Service charge accounts should be prepared to the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code and independently examined or audited
• Response times for maintenance requests should be defined in the management agreement, with emergency response times of no more than four hours for urgent matters

Service charge management

Service charge management is the financial backbone of block management. A good managing agent will prepare an annual budget based on a realistic assessment of the development's maintenance requirements, submit draft accounts to the freeholder or RMC for approval in advance of the service charge year, collect service charges promptly, and produce clear monthly statements reconciling income and expenditure against budget. Year-end accounts should be prepared by a qualified accountant and independently examined or audited, depending on the size of the service charge fund.

Section 20 consultation, required for qualifying major works costing more than £250 per leaseholder, is a frequent source of error and dispute in poorly managed blocks. A competent managing agent will initiate and manage the section 20 process correctly, ensuring that the freeholder's major works expenditure is legally protected and that leaseholders have been properly consulted at each stage.

• Request the three most recent sets of service charge accounts before appointing a managing agent
• Verify that sinking fund contributions are being made and that the fund balance is adequate for the development's anticipated major works requirements
• Ask specifically how the agent handles section 20 consultations and whether they have in-house or external legal support for major works

Compliance and safety

Residential block management in England and Wales carries significant compliance obligations, including fire risk assessments, asbestos management surveys, EWS1 certificates for relevant buildings, lift maintenance contracts, water hygiene testing, and electrical installation condition reports. A competent managing agent will maintain a compliance register for every building under management and ensure that all certificates and assessments are current.

• Ask the managing agent for a full compliance register for the development at the outset of any management appointment
• Verify that the fire risk assessment is current — they should be reviewed annually for most residential buildings
• EWS1 certificates are required for many buildings over 18 metres and affect mortgage availability for leaseholders seeking to sell or remortgage

"The difference between good and poor block management is visible within the first six months of any management instruction. The financial clarity, the maintenance response, and the quality of communication tell you everything you need to know."