Four consultations, four different spreadsheets
Roof works on one block, a lift replacement on another, a long-term cleaning contract on a third, and a redecoration project that the directors keep changing their minds about. Each one needs notices issued, an observation period observed, estimates gathered and responses recorded.
Each property manager tracks theirs differently. One uses a spreadsheet, one uses calendar reminders, one relies on memory and a paper file. When a property manager is off sick, nobody else can tell which stage a consultation has reached or when the next notice is due.
Why it is so easy to lose the thread
A consultation is a sequence of dated events spread across email, post, contractor quotes and leaseholder replies. None of the usual tools holds that sequence in one place. The block management system knows about the leaseholders and the money, but usually not about where a particular consultation stands.
Observations from leaseholders arrive by email, by letter and sometimes by phone. They need recording and responding to, and they are the first thing to go missing when someone is busy.
What a muddled consultation costs
We will not tell you what the law requires; your advisers do that. What we can say is what disorder looks like in practice: a notice sent to the wrong address list, a date calculated from the wrong day, an observation that never got a reply, a director asking for a status nobody can give.
Each of those means rework, awkward conversations with leaseholders and, where works are delayed, contractors waiting and prices moving.
The consultation tracker we build
We build a tracker that treats each consultation as a record with stages, dates, documents and correspondence attached. The stages are set up from your procedure, as agreed with your advisers, so the system follows your process rather than inventing one.
- Consultation record: property manager opens a consultation against a block, chooses the type of works or agreement, and the stage template for that type is applied.
- Distribution list: leaseholder names and service addresses are pulled from your block management system at the time of each notice, and the list used is saved with the notice.
- Date reminders: each stage has a due date, and the property manager and a backup are reminded ahead of it.
- Observation log: a dedicated mailbox per consultation, or a tag on your shared inbox, feeds replies into the record. Letters can be scanned in. Each observation shows whether it has been answered.
- Document store: notices, estimates, specifications and responses are filed against the stage they belong to.
- Status view: a portfolio screen shows every live consultation and its current stage, and a simple summary can be shared with directors.
| Usual problem | How the tracker handles it |
|---|---|
| Unclear which stage a consultation is at | One status per consultation, visible to the whole team |
| Wrong or outdated address list | Addresses pulled fresh for each notice and saved with it |
| Observation unanswered | Each one logged with an open or answered state |
| Property manager absent | Backup is named and reminded as well |
What property managers notice day to day
Nobody has to rebuild a timeline from email threads. Opening a consultation shows what has been sent, to whom, what has come back and what is due next. When directors ask where the roof project has got to, the property manager can answer from the screen.
When a property manager leaves or goes on holiday, their consultations carry on under someone else without a scramble.
Signs you need this
- Section 20 dates are tracked in personal spreadsheets or calendars.
- Leaseholder observations have gone unanswered because the email was missed.
- Nobody but the property manager knows where a consultation stands.
- Several consultations are live at once across the portfolio.
- Directors regularly ask for status updates you have to piece together.