Public leasehold intelligence from IntelliLease.info. Operational platform at intellilease.co.
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Lease Primer · Domain Map

Leasehold Domain Map

A flat, collapsible map of the key roles, charges, documents, risks and routes that shape leasehold ownership. This is not a glossary dump. It is a practical orientation layer.

At a glance
8domain groups
42core concepts
3risk levels
v1static and stable

Why this page exists: leasehold is confusing because roles, documents, money flows and dispute routes are mixed together. This page separates the domain into readable blocks. No broken interactive explorer. No fake app behaviour.

Flat collapsible v1

Domain groups

Open the groups you need. Each concept has a one-line explanation and risk/context marker. Dedicated concept pages can come later.

Governance & Control (6)

Freeholder

Owner of the freehold interest. May retain or delegate management functions depending on the lease and structure.

actor

Head Leaseholder

Intermediate leaseholder sitting between the freeholder and occupational leaseholders in layered structures.

layered

RMC

Resident Management Company. A company through which leaseholders may participate in estate or building management.

company

RTM

Right to Manage company. Statutory route allowing qualifying leaseholders to acquire management functions without buying the freehold.

statutory route

Managing Agent

Appointed agent carrying out management tasks. The agent acts under authority and is not usually the ultimate decision-maker.

delegation

Maintenance Trustee

Trustee or corporate role that may hold maintenance functions under specific estate documents. Powers must be checked.

verify powers

Service Charges (7)

Service Charge

Contribution towards shared building or estate costs, subject to the lease and statutory reasonableness controls.

core term

Budget / Estimate

Forward-looking statement of anticipated expenditure for a service charge period.

document

Balancing Charge

Top-up demand where actual expenditure exceeds sums collected on account.

cash impact

Apportionment

Method by which costs are divided between leaseholders, usually dictated by the lease.

lease-led

Recoverability

Whether the lease permits a particular cost to be charged to leaseholders.

legal test

Payability

Whether the demanded sum is lawfully due, including lease, demand and statutory compliance issues.

dispute route

Reasonableness

Whether the amount and the way the cost was incurred meet the statutory reasonableness standard.

statutory test

Reserve Funds (5)

Reserve Fund

Money collected for future major expenditure, where the lease allows it.

future works

Sinking Fund

Often used interchangeably with reserve fund, though exact meaning depends on the lease.

alias

Reserve Contribution

Annual or periodic payment into the reserve fund.

cash flow

Reserve Adequacy

Assessment of whether the fund is proportionate to expected future works.

planning

Reserve Leakage

Unexplained reduction in reserve balances without clear matching expenditure or major works trail.

red flag

Section 20 & Major Works (6)

Section 20

Statutory consultation process for qualifying works and qualifying long-term agreements.

statutory process

Qualifying Works

Works above the statutory contribution threshold requiring consultation unless dispensation applies.

threshold

Long-Term Agreement

Agreement exceeding the relevant statutory contribution threshold over more than 12 months.

threshold

Notice of Intention

First consultation notice explaining proposed works or agreement and inviting observations.

document

Statement of Estimates

Consultation stage presenting estimates for review.

document

Dispensation

Tribunal permission to dispense with consultation requirements in appropriate circumstances.

tribunal

Insurance (5)

Insurance Premium

Cost of the building insurance policy recovered under the lease or insurance provisions.

cost

Insurance Rent

Insurance charged as rent rather than as a service charge where the lease provides for it.

lease wording

Insurance Commission

Commission paid in connection with policy placement. Disclosure and reasonableness matter.

transparency

Broker Commission

Commission received by insurance broker. Relevant where total cost and disclosure are questioned.

transparency

Reinstatement Valuation

Assessment of rebuild cost used to set the insured value.

valuation

Documents & Evidence (6)

Lease

The starting document for recoverability, apportionment, machinery clauses and control structure.

primary

Demand

Request for payment. Must be checked against lease terms and statutory demand requirements.

payment

Accounts

Year-end accounting record showing actual expenditure and service charge position.

evidence

Invoice

Supplier evidence supporting charged expenditure.

evidence

Ledger

Accounting record showing postings and movements by category or account.

forensic

Section 20 Pack

Consultation documents, estimates, observations and decisions for major works or long-term agreements.

evidence pack

Disputes & Tribunal (5)

First-tier Tribunal

Main forum for many residential service charge and leasehold management disputes in England.

forum

Payability Challenge

Challenge to whether the charge is lawfully payable at all.

challenge

Reasonableness Challenge

Challenge to whether cost amount or incurring of cost was reasonable.

challenge

Determination

Tribunal decision on issues such as payability, reasonableness or dispensation.

outcome

Expert Evidence

Professional evidence used to support technical, valuation or reasonableness arguments.

evidence

Risk Watchlist (7)

DescriptorWhy it mattersRisk level
SundriesGeneric catch-all term. Weak description and poor traceability risk.High
MiscellaneousCan become a dumping category for undefined costs.High
Other CostsUndefined descriptor. Requires evidence and category breakdown.High
General RepairsOver-broad description. May need invoice-level analysis.Medium-high
Operational SupportPotential shadow fee unless contract and service basis are clear.High
Project OversightMay duplicate management or professional fee recovery.High
Property Oversight CostsPossible descriptor drift from management fee style categories.Review

How to use this page

This is a v1 orientation layer. It should not try to behave like a product interface before the site is even earning traffic or trust.

Use caseStart hereNext action
Trying to understand who controls your buildingGovernance & ControlCompare roles against your lease, company documents and management agreement.
Trying to understand your billService ChargesCheck recoverability, apportionment, demand validity and evidence trail.
Major works or large demandsSection 20 & Major WorksCheck consultation documents, thresholds, estimates and dispensation issues.
Unclear or suspicious labelsRisk WatchlistAsk for supporting invoices, ledgers, explanations and allocation evidence.

Need this turned into a toolkit or checklist?

Email hello@intellilease.co with the issue, governance pattern, building type and documents available.

Email IntelliLease