Disputes involving residents associations need special care. First, they are a type of neighbour dispute – and neighbours have to be able to co-exist. Secondly, the claimant party typically can be liable under contract or company law arrangements to underwrite the costs of the defendant party, which makes it less economic to incur costs. Prevention is better than cure and I will address here some ways to try and prevent them and, when they do arise, to keep costs as low as possible.

These notes describe matters affecting all residents associations according to their type. They compare first the different rules decision taking within trust-constituted, or contract constituted, associations and incorporated ones. Then they focus on the position of associations which have to face up to an external landlord and, next, they deal with situations where the lessees in a block have acquired their reversion (usually the freehold) or sometimes just the right to manage and there is some internal disagreement over a managerial decision. Powers of the courts and tribunals to alter leases or limit their effect regarding recovery of legal costs are also considered.

These notes have been written by James Brenan, a solicitor with Cubism Law, as general guidance. They are not a substitute for proper advice on the facts of any situation and no responsibility is accepted for action taken without first obtaining specific advice from retained solicitors.

Take an overview first

Before I or any solicitor coming to your matter can advise, the solicitor has to research and establish several matters. First, the title structure to the block or estate – this means perusing current Land Registry title entries for the freehold, any head lease and all leases of individual units. Ownership of and control over the reserved or common parts should be checked, in particular. The locus of authority in regard to the enforcement of covenants, grants of licences and the right to forfeit for breaches of covenants is another matter to consider. Restrictive covenants affecting the freehold and all leases are another matter to look for – these will be apparent from the title registers unless they pre-date 1926. (The party who owns the next interest up the chain of title from a lease, i.e. which will take the property once the lease expires and which in the meantime is owed any rent that is due, is often referred to as the reversioner.)

The second level of investigation is to check all the leases of individual flats. They should be read to see if they are all the same and to see what “building scheme” they contain regarding the right to alter the size of the block or the number of flats.

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