Do you need a Tenant's Association?

In order to be “recognised” there are basically two ways that this can be done. First, you can ask the Landlord to give notice of recognition in writing. Once given the Landlord cannot remove that recognition without at least six months’ notice. If the Landlord will not give recognition then the Association can apply to a Rent Assessment Panel and the Panel can give such recognition and the Landlord then has to accept that the Association is “recognised” for the purposes mentioned.

You can get an application form from the local panel office and you need to send in the constitution of the Association, a list of the members and their addresses, the name and address of the Landlord and any correspondence with the Landlord seeking recognition. You will not need to attend a hearing. Normally one panel member will make the decision and will want to be satisfied that the rules of the Association are fair and that the Association will represent a significant number of the flat owners. As a general principle that means at least 60%.

To belong to the Association a member must be contributing towards the service charge. The Landlord cannot be a member nor can anybody connected with the Landlord such as their employees. As a general rule Tenants of business premises within the block would not qualify.

If the Panel is satisfied that recognition should be given then a Certificate of Recognition is given and it usually last for at least four years when the Association can apply for renewal. The Certificate could be cancelled at any time if there is some good reason why the Association no longer merits recognition. Sometimes you can have more than one recognised Association if, for example, you have separate blocks of flats within an estate but you cannot have more than one Association in the same block.

It is actually quite helpful for the Landlord to have a recognised Tenant’s Association to consult because it should make running the block a lot easier. Obviously the Landlord needs to be served with a copy of the Certificate. Incidentally, there is no charge for making the application.

Someone has to sit down and prepare a constitution and possibly the help of a Solicitor may be needed. But, if you draft some simple rules covering who can become a member, who can become officers, how the committee will be run and elected, how its finances will be dealt with, how meetings will be notified and how they will be conducted and how any rules will be altered and cover the question of winding up you will probably have covered all the main points. It probably adds value to flats within a block if it is known there is a recognised Tenant’s Association to represent the interests of the Lessees. With all the additional powers that are being given to Lessees now with regard to the right to manage and such like it must pay to have an Association in place which can represent the interests of the Lessees as a whole and save time for individual Lessees in campaigning for particular issues to be dealt with.

If you have any comments or queries, please e-mail editor@newsontheblock.com

By Desmond Taylor