Straight answers to the Companies House questions Resident Management Company and Right to Manage directors actually search for, from confirmation statements to share transfers.
One director does everything and the rest of the building agrees they should be paid. What the articles, the lease and HMRC each have to say before you do it.
Confirmation statementsNo new directors, no flats sold, nothing to report. You still have to file a confirmation statement, and here is the five-minute version for a building where nothing happened.
Companies House & complianceA reminder, a penalty notice, a proposal to strike off. What each Companies House letter actually means for a freehold company, how urgent it is, and what to do.
Confirmation statementsThe annual return was replaced by the confirmation statement in 2016. What changed, why old paperwork still says AR01, and what your building's company files now.
Companies House & complianceYour freehold company's registered office is a director who has moved out. How to change it with an AD01, what an appropriate address means now, and what to avoid.
Confirmation statementsThe £50 digital fee, £110 by post, and what the payment period actually buys you. Plus the extra confirmation statements you can file in the same year for nothing.
Team & accessA director on your building's company has stopped replying. What the board can still do, what needs their signature, and how to remove them if it comes to that.
Team & accessYou are stepping down from your building's freehold company. What to hand over, what to file at Companies House, and how to leave without leaving a mess behind.
Documents & AIBefore arguing about a service charge, read the clause. Where to find the apportionment, what counts as recoverable, and the questions worth asking your lease first.
Documents & AILeases, insurance, accounts, minutes, certificates. A practical list of what a self-managed building should hold, and how to stop it living in one person's inbox.
Registers & recordsCompanies no longer keep local registers of directors, secretaries or PSCs. The register of members stayed, and for a share of freehold company it is the important one.
Confirmation statementsYour review period, the 14-day filing window, and how to find the real date on Companies House. Plus why the date moves after you file, and what an early filing does to it.
Share transfersA missing share certificate does not stop a share of freehold flat sale. What a replacement needs, what an indemnity is for, and the register that really matters.
Share transfersSelling a share of freehold flat and the buyer's solicitor has asked for the share certificate. What they actually need, who issues it, and how to answer fast.
Companies House & complianceCompanies House now wants to know you're really you. What ECCTA identity verification actually requires of share of freehold and RTM directors, and by when.
The company secretary roleFrom 18 November 2025 the local registers of directors, secretaries and PSCs were abolished. The register of members survived. What that means for a building.
The company secretary roleRoughly £150 to £600 a year standalone, more bundled with a managing agent. What you actually get, what stays your job anyway, and when it is worth it.
The company secretary roleThe most common route from fine to strike-off notice in a self-managed building. Five things to move before they hand over the keys, and in what order.
The company secretary roleDirectors run the company and carry the legal duties. The secretary handles admin and carries far less. Why that matters when nobody volunteers.
The company secretary roleBoth are free and take about ten minutes online. The 14-day deadline, what you need to hand, and the one step buildings forget when a secretary steps down.
The company secretary roleNot minute-taking and gravitas. Four or five real jobs a year, most of them deadline-shaped. The honest month-by-month list for a freehold company secretary.
The company secretary roleAlmost anyone, and that is genuinely the answer. No qualifications, no exam, no need to own a flat. The few real restrictions, and who actually does it.
The company secretary roleLegally, almost certainly not. But your articles of association can still require one, and that is the bit nobody checks. How to find out in ten minutes.
Confirmation statementsA confirmation statement (CS01) filled in field by field for a four-flat freehold company, plus the two years that trip boards up: a sale, and a silence.
Confirmation statementsNo automatic penalty, unlike accounts at £150 and up. But a late confirmation statement (CS01) can still bring a £250 fine, an offence, and strike-off.
Confirmation statementsYes, it can. The sequence from overdue confirmation statement (CS01) to Gazette notice to dissolution, how long you actually get, and where to stop it.
Companies House & complianceWe swept 173 London postcode districts for self-managed freehold and Right to Manage companies. Board size and a named secretary predicted strike-off.
Share transfersA shareholder who won't sign can freeze a flat sale for months. The practical routes to unstick it, from a simple indemnity through to court.
Directors' duties & governanceThe typical self-managed freehold company runs three directors, not one. What we found across thousands of buildings, and why the myth persists.
Confirmation statementsTwo filings, two deadlines, two very different penalties. Why boards that keep the confirmation statement on track still get caught by late accounts.
Companies House & complianceYour freehold now belongs to the Crown. What that blocks, and the two routes back: administrative restoration at £341, or an application to court.
Team & accessMore than half of self-managed buildings name nobody as secretary. Doing so cuts strike-off risk roughly sixfold, and usually costs nothing at all.
Directors' duties & governanceCompanies under strike-off notice average 1.82 directors. Everyone else averages three. What the data says about small boards, and what closes the gap.
Registers & recordsBecoming a director publishes your home address on the public register. How to swap it for a service address, free, in about ten minutes.
Companies House & complianceDormant is a tax status, not a lighter set of duties. What a dormant freehold company still has to file every year, and what the confusion costs.
Directors' duties & governanceWhat directors' duties really mean for a volunteer board, where limited liability protects you, and the situations where it stops protecting you.
Directors' duties & governanceDoing all the admin alone? What a managing agent or company secretary service actually takes off your plate, what it costs, and what stays yours.
Team & accessOne director holding every password is how buildings get struck off. How to share access to filings and records across the whole board, safely.
Documents & AIAsk a plain-English question about ground rent, subletting or service charge and get an answer in seconds. What AI can read in a lease, and what it can't.
Companies House & complianceCheck your building's company for strike-off risk in two minutes, free. What the warning signs look like on Companies House, and how to keep watching.
Share transfersWhether a share of freehold transfer triggers stamp duty, how the £1,000 threshold actually works, and the check to run before completion.
Share transfersA flat sale moves a share in the freehold company too. The stock transfer form (J30), the member register, stamp duty, and the 25% check boards miss.
Registers & recordsThe local PSC register went in November 2025, but the duty to identify PSCs and tell Companies House did not. Who counts, and the ID deadline they face.
Registers & recordsRecording a director appointment (AP01) or resignation (TM01): the 14-day deadline, identity verification, and the register you have to keep yourself.
Confirmation statementsThe pre-filing checklist for a self-managed building: registered office, directors, personal codes, members, lawful purpose. Ten minutes, in the right order.
Confirmation statementsConfirmation statement overdue? No automatic fine, but strike-off is real. The exact sequence Companies House follows next, and where you can still stop it.
Confirmation statementsFiling a confirmation statement (CS01) for your building's company: the £50 fee, the 14-day window, personal codes, and what to fix first. Step by step.