Terms and conditions for a block management company

A block managing agent serves a client that is a company run by volunteers, spends money that belongs to leaseholders, and answers to a statutory framework the client has rarely read. The terms have to define the service and the fee, keep the funds where the law puts them, set the agent's authority and the consultation rules for major works, and provide for a clean handover when the board changes agent. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Block and estate managing agents in England and Wales acting for freeholders, resident management companies and right to manage companies on residential blocks and mixed estates. These are business-to-business terms with the client company.

What matters in block management terms

Scope, fees and what is extra

The terms should list the services included in the annual fee (budgets, service charge collection, contractor management, accounts preparation, insurance administration, correspondence) and what is charged separately (major works, lease extension enquiries, disputes, company secretarial work), with the fee per unit stated and reviewed annually on notice. A board that assumes everything is included is the source of most fee disputes.

Service charge funds held on trust

Service charge money belongs to the leaseholders and is held on trust under section 42 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, and the terms should say that the agent holds it in a designated client account for the client company, accounts for it, and does not use it for the agent's own purposes. The terms should say how reserve funds are held and how the agent's fees are paid from the account. Managing agents must also belong to a client money protection scheme under the Client Money Protection Schemes for Property Agents (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc.) Regulations 2019.

Authority, contractors and major works

The agent needs authority to instruct routine and emergency works up to stated limits, and the terms should set them and say that larger works need the board's approval. Major works and long-term agreements are subject to the leaseholder consultation requirements in section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and the terms should say that the agent runs the consultation on the board's instructions, that the board decides, and that contractors are engaged on the client's behalf under the client's insurance.

Instructions, directors and communication

The client is the company, and the terms should say who at the company may give instructions, that the agent acts on the board's decisions rather than individual leaseholders' wishes, and how disputes between leaseholders and the board are handled. The agent should have the right to decline instructions that it considers unlawful or in breach of the lease, and the terms should say that legal advice is not part of the service. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is changing service charge and administration charge rules as it is brought into force, and the terms should say that the agent's procedures follow the law as it stands from time to time.

Term, exit, staff and liability

The agreement should have a minimum term and a notice period, with a handover on exit of records, funds, keys and contracts within a stated period and a handover fee. Where site staff are employed for the block, a change of agent may transfer them under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, and the terms should say who bears the cost. Liability should be capped at the annual fee, with consequential loss excluded, tested for reasonableness under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, and late payment by the client carries interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Leaseholder data is processed under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 as the terms describe.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

The board approved major works and then refused to pay the contractor. Are we liable?

If the terms say contractors are engaged on the client's behalf and that the board decides, the contract is the client's, and the agent's exposure is limited to its own performance. The consultation record and the board minute are what prove the authority.

A leaseholder is demanding we act on their instructions. Do we have to?

The terms should say that instructions come from the board through the people it names, and that the agent acts for the company, not individual leaseholders. Refer the leaseholder to the board.

The block has a caretaker. What happens to them if we lose the contract?

The caretaker may transfer to the incoming agent or the client under the transfer of undertakings rules, and the terms should say who bears the employment costs on exit and what information the agent provides. Silence on this point is costly.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms of business for a letting agent
• Terms and conditions for a facilities management contractor

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.