Information on major work programmes

Consultation

The Council is required to consult you (and any recognised Resident’ Association) before we carry out any maintenance or improvement work likely to cost more than £250 per flat, and before we enter into any long term agreement likely to cost more than £100 per year per flat. 

Qualifying works are repairs, maintenance or improvements works on a building or other premises identified in your lease. These are usually specialist works that will not be undertaken by our day-to-day contractors.

You have two 30 day periods to comment on our proposals. The first stage is to advise you of our intentions and the second stage is to provide you with the estimated costs. We will also write to any residents associations in the borough. You may have the right to nominate a contractor yourself and you may comment and inspect the tenders if you wish. If you raise an issue we will respond to you within 21 days. If we do not choose either the lowest priced contractor or one nominated by a residents association, then we will write to you again within 21 days if entering into a contract to explain to you why we have selected this contractor.

Qualifying long term agreements relate to services that we provide and could include: 

• cleaning and gardening 
• insurance cover 
• maintenance of lifts 
• partnering contracts for day to day repairs and capital projects.

We will consult with you if we are entering into an agreement for more than 12 months and it will cost you more than £100.

Where we are carrying out works under a qualifying agreement (which we have already consulted you on) you will not be able to nominate a contractor.  We will inform you of our intention to carry out the work, the reason it is necessary and an estimate of cost from the contractor we are in a long term agreement with. We will still give you a 30 day period to inspect the tenders and make comments. If you raise an issue we will respond to you within 21 days.

Please submit consultation comments in writing to: 

Home Ownership, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames 

Guildhall 2

Kingston

KT1 1EU

Email: leasehold.consult@kingston.gov.uk

First Tier Tribunal previously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal

The First Tier Tribunal has power to authorise a landlord to dispense with the consultation requirements if it is satisfied it is reasonable to do so.

Examples are:

• very urgent works (safety grounds) 
• advance applications, where the landlord gives a full description of the relevant reasons
• difficult to obtain more than one estimate with regard to specialist works.

Planned maintenance and major works programme

Major works programmes such as external decoration, come under the responsibility of Kingston Council’s Asset Management Section. 

You will be notified by letter of any works and the contact details of the relevant Resident Liaison Officer or Project Manager.

If you have a problem with the way the major works are being carried out, and you have not been able to contact either the Resident Liaison Officer or Project Manager, you should call 020 8547 5003 straight away and ask for the Home Ownership Team. If you wait until you are invoiced for major works, it may be too late to recall the contractors to correct any faults.