What is a tenants' association?
Key takeaways
A tenants’ association (TA) is formed by leaseholders in the same block or estate to represent their collective interests to the landlord
A TA communicates leaseholders’ interests to the landlord, resolves disputes, ensures lease rights are maintained, and negotiates service charges
Recognised TAs have various rights including to inspect accounts, review service charge expenditure, and be consulted on manager appointments
What is a tenant’s association?
A tenants' association (also known as a TA) is formed when a group of leaseholders in the same block or estate come together to represent their joint interests to the property’s landlord.
Representatives act on members’ behalf and can negotiate over issues such as service charges and repairs.
Who is eligible for membership of a tenants’ association?
To become a member of a tenants' association, you’ll need to live in a block where all leaseholders make similar, variable service charge contributions that are set by the landlord.
Those paying fixed charges are not eligible. You must also hold a long lease from the same landlord.
The individual landlord or directors and managers of a company landlord cannot join. Neither can tenants of shops or offices.
What is a tenants’ association’s role?
A tenants' association has a key role in communicating the interests and needs of leaseholders to the landlord, whether they are an individual or company.
Elected representatives of a tenants’ association will be able to:
Boost communication between the landlord and tenants
Resolve any disputes that arise
Ensure rights of your lease are maintained properly
Negotiate around the service charge, potentially leading to savings for tenants
Must a tenants' association be recognised by a landlord?
To gain full rights, a tenants’ association must be recognised by a landlord.
Otherwise, it falls under the category of a residents’ group which, while still a good idea for bringing leaseholders together, does not have the same legal standing.
How do you set up a recognised tenants’ association?
Setting up a recognised tenants’ association requires time and dedication. You will need to:
Find out informally whether there is sufficient interest within your block or building to set up an official TA
Start an informal committee and draft a constitution, which you can do with the help of the Federation of Private Residents’ Association (FRPA)
Tell all leaseholders about the plans for a TA, sending out the draft constitution and plans for a meeting
Distribute the minutes of the meeting to all leaseholders, whether present or not
If there are enough leaseholders keen on joining a TA (60% of eligible leaseholders must become members of the TA to be recognised) you’ll need to elect a committee. This will require a chair, treasurer, and secretary, each one elected by a secret ballot. One vote is available to each flat or house.
Agree an annual fee to cover simple costs like stationery and postage fees once the committee is formed
Hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) and regular meetings in between to discuss any issues
What if my landlord refuses recognition for a tenants’ association?
If you notify your landlord of the formation of a tenants' association and have the requisite constitution and committee, they should recognise this without any issues.
However, if they refuse or withdraw recognition without giving six months’ notice, you can apply for formal recognition via a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) via the government website.
A tribunal will then contact all interested parties and begin the process of recognising the TA.
There are no initial costs and a FTT does not tend to award costs against the losing side. Be sure to check lease agreements as landlords may be able to claim any costs against the service charge.
Once you have FTT recognition, the certificate issued will last for up to four years.
What are the rights of a recognised tenants’ association?
There are some core rights which make forming a tenants' association a good bet if you’re looking to deal better with your landlord. These include:
Inspecting accounts and receipts to ensure any charges are not too high
See annual service charge expenditure
Go over any insurance policies and inspect documents
Being consulted regarding the appointment of any managers by the landlord
Engaging the services of a surveyor for any service charge advice and any building concerns
Suggesting contractors to carry out any work that is required
What’s the different between a tenants’ association and a residents’ association?
A residents’ association differs from a tenants' association in the respect that the latter does not require recognition and the fact that all residents can be members, regardless of whether they are paying variable or fixed service charges.
A residents' grouping can take care of social matters and smaller issues, while a TA has greater powers to help fix any problems within a block or building, as well as negotiate directly with the landlord.
Compare mortgages with MoneySuperMarket
Looking for first-time buyer mortgage to take your first step on the property ladder? Or perhaps you're looking to remortgage?
Either way, it’s easy to find and compare mortgages from a range of leading lenders with MoneySuperMarket.
Whether you’re looking for a fixed-rate, a tracker, or a discount mortgage, our mortgage comparison tool can help you find a great deal for you.
We’ll just ask you a few questions about the property you’re looking to buy or remortgage and how much you’ll need to borrow.
We’ll then show you results including the initial interest rate and your monthly repayments and any product fees you’ll be asked to pay.
