For managing agents, freeholders, RTM companies and residents’ associations: communal roof works done right, with the Section 20 support and itemised estimates that make major works defensible.
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📞 Call Now: 01962 809171Communal and leasehold roofs are a different job from a house roof: the works are bigger, the money is the leaseholders’, and the process is governed by law. We work with managing agents, freeholders, Right to Manage (RTM) companies and residents’ associations across Winchester on both pitched communal roofs and the flat roofs common on the city’s purpose-built blocks.
The two things that matter most to a property manager are getting the roof right and getting the leaseholder consultation right. We support both — with the specifications and itemised estimates that make a Section 20 consultation defensible, and workmanship that does not come back to bite the service charge.
Winchester’s flat and communal stock is varied: converted period houses split into flats around the city centre and Hyde, purpose-built post-war and modern blocks near Winnall and Bar End, and student and professional lettings driven by the University and the hospital. Each has its own roof challenge — valley and parapet leadwork on the converted period buildings, flat-roof covering renewal on the mid-century blocks, and communal pitched roofs on the newer developments.
We provide condition surveys with photographic evidence and 5- and 10-year cost forecasts that feed directly into reserve-fund planning, so a roof renewal is budgeted for years ahead rather than landing as a shock major-works bill.
Where communal roof works will cost any single leaseholder more than £250, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (section 20, as amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) requires a formal consultation before the work proceeds. Skip it and the freeholder cannot recover more than £250 per leaseholder, whatever the works cost. Here is how the process runs and how we support each stage:
The managing agent serves a Notice of Intention on all leaseholders describing the proposed roof works and inviting observations over a 30-day period. We provide a clear, jargon-free scope of works you can attach so leaseholders understand what is proposed and why.
At least two estimates are needed, one from a party unconnected to the landlord. We provide fully itemised written estimates — access, materials, labour, waste, VAT broken out — that stand up to leaseholder scrutiny and tribunal challenge alike.
The agent issues a second notice with the estimates and a summary of any observations, opening a further 30-day consultation period. Our itemisation makes it straightforward to explain cost differences between quotes honestly.
Once consultation is complete the contract can be awarded. We schedule around residents, communicate access and scaffold clearly, and minimise disruption to occupied flats.
We provide completion certificates, the workmanship guarantee, RAMS and insurance records for the block’s files and the next service-charge account.
| Stage / job | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Condition survey + report | 1–2 weeks to written report |
| Section 20 consultation (statutory) | ~2–3 months (two 30-day periods) |
| Communal flat-roof renewal | 1–3 weeks on site |
| Pitched communal re-roof | 2–6 weeks depending on size |
The statutory consultation runs in parallel with planning; emergency safety works can proceed without full consultation where there is genuine urgency.
Communal roofs usually need full scaffold, and on Winchester’s tighter streets that means a pavement licence from Winchester City Council, which we arrange. We coordinate scaffold sign-off, provide residents with clear written notice of access and timings, and phase works to keep entrances and parking usable. For occupied blocks the communication is as important as the roofing — we handle it.
| Work | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Condition survey + 10-yr forecast | £350–£900 | Per block, reserve-fund planning |
| Communal flat-roof recover (per m²) | £90–£160 | EPDM/GRP/felt system |
| Parapet / valley leadwork | £900–£4,000+ | Period converted blocks |
| Pitched communal re-roof | £15,000–£60,000+ | Size and access dependent |
Procurement: we work to purchase orders and 30-day payment terms for managing agents, invoice with VAT itemised, and provide the documentation your accounts and auditors need.
Covering SO22, SO23, SO21 and surrounding postcodes.
Communal roof works carry the same written 10-year workmanship guarantee, with manufacturer warranties on membranes and lead on top — exactly the durable, documented outcome a reserve-fund forecast is built on. We provide the completion documentation, warranties and photographic records for the block’s files so the next survey and service-charge cycle has a clean paper trail.
The Property Institute (TPI) guidance is clear that leaseholder consultation and transparent, itemised estimates are central to defensible major works. Our estimates are built to that standard.
We can act on a single block or across a portfolio, provide priority response for managed property, and coordinate directly with your surveyors and accountants. For flat-roof detail see our flat roofing page and for survey work our roof inspections page. To discuss a block or a planned-maintenance programme, call 01962 809171.
The most cost-effective way to run a block roof is on a planned-maintenance cycle rather than reacting to leaks. A scheduled annual or biennial inspection — gutters cleared, lead junctions checked, slipped tiles refixed, flat-roof upstands inspected — catches the small faults that otherwise escalate into the large, disruptive works that hit the reserve fund and trigger a full Section 20 consultation. For a managing agent, a predictable maintenance line in the service-charge budget is far easier to justify to leaseholders than an unexpected major-works bill.
We provide planned-maintenance schedules tailored to each block’s roof type and age, with a written condition report after every visit that feeds the reserve-fund forecast. Over a five- to ten-year horizon this both extends the roof’s life and smooths the cost, so leaseholders face steady, foreseeable contributions rather than sudden demands. It also builds a documented maintenance history that protects the freeholder and agent if the standard of upkeep is ever questioned.
On procurement, we understand how managed property pays: we work to purchase orders, invoice with VAT itemised for the service-charge accounts, offer 30-day terms, and provide the RAMS, insurance and CDM documentation your files and auditors require before work starts. One point of contact handles the whole programme across a single block or a portfolio.
Under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, where communal roof works will cost any single leaseholder more than £250, the freeholder or managing agent must formally consult leaseholders before the work proceeds. Without it, cost recovery is capped at £250 per leaseholder. We provide the itemised scope and estimates that make the consultation defensible.
Yes. We work with managing agents, freeholders, Right to Manage companies and residents’ associations, on single blocks or portfolios, with purchase orders and 30-day terms.
Yes. Our condition surveys include 5- and 10-year cost forecasts so communal roof renewals are budgeted ahead rather than landing as an unexpected major-works bill.
We phase works around occupied flats, give residents clear written notice of access and timings, keep entrances and parking usable, and coordinate scaffold and any pavement licence with Winchester City Council in advance.
Yes — flat-roof covering renewal on purpose-built blocks and pitched communal roofs and leadwork on converted period buildings, which are common across central Winchester and Hyde.
Itemised estimates, completion certificates, the written workmanship guarantee, manufacturer warranties, RAMS and insurance records — everything the service-charge accounts and the next survey need.
Genuine emergency safety works can proceed without the full Section 20 process where there is real urgency, but we document the urgency and keep leaseholders informed. We advise on the right route case by case.
Last updated: August 2026
Last updated: August 2026