The Good Management Company · 1 October 2026 · 5 min read
A well run block feels quiet in the best sense. Repairs are reported once and fixed, the common parts are clean and safe, the service charge makes sense when you read it and residents know who to contact and what will happen next. Very little of it is visible, which is the point.
Good management is easy to recognise and hard to describe, so this article sets out the specific things residents notice when a block is looked after properly. None of it depends on the size of the building or the value of the flats. It depends on routines being kept.
You can tell from a handful of everyday signs: how quickly a reported fault is acknowledged, whether the common parts look the same in March as in September and whether you understand what your service charge pays for.
Think of the hallway light that has been out for a week, the door closer that slams, the bin store that overflows every Monday. Each is small. Together they tell residents whether anyone is paying attention. In a well run block those things are picked up on routine visits, logged and dealt with, often before anyone reports them.
Residents should know who manages the building, how to reach them and what will happen after they get in touch. Messages should be acknowledged promptly and closed off when the matter is resolved.
The standard is simple to state. A named contact. A single place to report repairs. Notice of planned work before it starts, with dates, access arrangements and who to call. A short note when something is fixed, so the person who reported it is not left wondering. Larger matters, such as major works or a change to the buildings insurance, deserve a proper letter explaining what is happening and why, sent early enough for questions to be asked.
Communication also runs the other way. Residents who are told about fire safety arrangements, bin collection days and how to report a leak become part of keeping the building in order rather than simply recipients of a service.
Because money is where trust is won or lost. Leaseholders who can see what they are paying for and why are far more likely to support the spending a building needs.
A clear budget sets out each heading, the figure for the coming year and how it compares with the last. Year end accounts should follow promptly and reconcile with that budget. Leaseholders have a statutory right to ask for a written summary of the costs behind their service charge under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 21. They can then inspect the supporting invoices and receipts under section 22. In a well run block that right rarely needs to be used, because the information is offered without being asked for. Our guide to reading a service charge statement properly explains what each part should show.
It looks like nothing much happening. Gutters are cleared before they overflow, the roof is checked before it leaks and the lift is serviced on schedule rather than repaired after it fails.
Behind that calm sits a written maintenance plan, routine site inspections and contractors who know the building. The economics are set out in our article on why planned maintenance costs less than emergency repairs, but residents feel the difference first as less disruption: fewer emergency call outs, fewer leaks into the flat below and fewer weeks of scaffolding arriving without warning.
Cleaning and gardening belong here too. A written specification, checked against what is actually done, is the difference between common parts that are cleaned and common parts that only look cleaned.
By being fair, consistent and open, so that disagreements are about decisions rather than about whether anyone is listening.
In blocks run by a residents’ management company, the directors are neighbours giving their time. Clear papers, proper records and advice when a question goes beyond the routine keep the role manageable and keep people willing to stand. Our account of what a residents’ management company director is responsible for sets out what they take on.
In other blocks, leaseholders may form a residents’ association. One that is recognised under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 29, gains certain rights to be consulted. Either way, an annual meeting with clear accounts and a real chance to ask questions does more for goodwill than any number of newsletters.
Try the everyday test. Think of the last fault you reported, the last letter you received about the building and the last service charge statement you read. If each left you clear about what was happening and why, the block is probably in good hands. If not, the gaps are usually specific and fixable: no maintenance plan, an unclear budget, no single point of contact. Good management is not a premium extra. It is the ordinary standard, done consistently.
Report the fault in writing to the managing agent or landlord, note the date and ask for a timescale. If nothing happens, raise it with the directors or the landlord directly. The lease and any management agreement may set out the standard you can expect.
Yes. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 21 and 22, leaseholders can ask for a written summary of costs and then inspect the supporting invoices and receipts.
Usually the landlord or the residents’ management company named in the lease, often acting through a managing agent. The lease sets out which parts are communal and who must maintain them.
This article describes the position as at October 2026 and is general information rather than legal advice. Anyone making a decision about their own building should take proper advice on it.
The long term economics of looking after a building before it asks you to.
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