Loading guides…
What you’re paying for, whether it’s fair, and what you can do. Date-stamped, because the rules are changing.
Estate management company accounts explained in plain English. Learn what each line means, where to find the filings, and the five questions to ask before your AGM.
Your rightsWhat rights freehold estate residents have in 2026 — and what's coming under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. A dated tracker of what's in force now versus still pending.
Estate chargesWhat estate management charges are, why freehold homeowners pay them, what they cover, what's typical, and your rights in 2026 — a plain-English guide for managed-estate residents.
Your rightsWhat the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 changes for estate charges, the new rights coming under Part 5, whether it's in force yet, and what to do now.
Estate chargesFleecehold explained: what the term means, why new-build estates carry charges, how common it is, and whether the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will fix it.
Estate chargesThe average estate management charge is around £350 a year, but charges range from £100 to £500+. What drives the difference, and how to tell if yours is too high.
Estate chargesA plain-English guide to estate management charges on freehold new-build estates: what they pay for, what you can question, and how the 2024 Act is changing your rights.
Your rightsCan you challenge estate management charges in 2026? What you can do today, the routes that exist now, and the new First-tier Tribunal right that's coming.
Your rightsHow to challenge estate management charges, step by step: request a breakdown, check your deeds, gather evidence, write in, escalate, and use the tribunal route.
Estate chargesEstate rentcharge vs service charge vs ground rent: what each one is, the legal basis, who pays, and whether the difference changes your protections as a freeholder.
Your rightsWhat Section 121 of the Law of Property Act 1925 means for estate rentcharges, whether you can really lose your home over an estate charge, and what reform is coming.
Your rightsCan you refuse to pay estate management charges? Usually no — it's in your deeds. Here's what non-payment risks, the rare Section 121 danger, and what to do instead.
Your rightsA step-by-step guide to complaining about an estate management company: raise it in writing, use the formal complaints procedure, and escalate to the Property Ombudsman.
Estate chargesWhat estate management charges cover: private roads, lighting, grounds, drainage, play areas, insurance, the management fee and sinking fund — and where charges most often drift.
Estate chargesWhat an unadopted road is, who maintains it, when a council adopts via a Section 38 agreement, and what non-adoption means for your estate charge and selling your home.
Buying & sellingBuying or selling a freehold home on a privately managed estate? What to weigh, what to check before you buy, and what the estate charge means when you sell — a plain-English guide.
Buying & sellingA buyer's checklist for a new build or freehold home on a managed estate: the estate charge, who controls it, road adoption, the deeds and Section 121, sinking funds and disputes.
Buying & sellingDoes an estate charge or an unadopted road make a house harder to sell? How to prepare an information pack and reassure buyers and their mortgage lenders — a seller's guide.
Buying & sellingDo estate charges affect your mortgage? Why lenders worry about the Section 121 re-entry risk, what a deed of variation is and when it's used, and what to check before you buy.
Buying & sellingCan residents take control of their estate? What a residents' management company (RMC) is, how it differs from a managing agent, and how you might change agent.
Buying & sellingWhat an estate managing agent does, what they're responsible for, what you're entitled to expect, and the red flags that tell you they're not earning their fee.