Guide · Your company

Annual accounts for a block: company accounts and service charge accounts

The two sets of accounts a self-managed block needs: company accounts for Companies House and service charge accounts for leaseholders, with deadlines.

Last reviewed 22 October 2026 by Phil, founder3 min readPlain text (Markdown)

The short answer

A block's company usually needs two sets of accounts: its own statutory accounts for Companies House, due within 9 months of its year end, and service-charge accounts for the leaseholders, as the leases require. Leaseholders can also ask for a summary of the service-charge costs, which must be certified by an independent qualified accountant if the charges are payable by more than 4 flats. Prompt service-charge accounts also protect you from losing costs under the 18-month rule.

Key facts

Company accounts go to Companies House within 9 months of the year end.
Service-charge accounts go to leaseholders, in the form and on the timetable the leases set.
A leaseholder can ask for a summary of costs: due within 1 month of the request or 6 months after the period ends, whichever is later.
Above 4 flats, the summary must be certified by a qualified accountant who isn't a director or officer of the company.
From 2027, new rules are expected to require accountant-reported accounts for buildings of four or more flats.

Two different sets of accounts

	Company accounts	Service-charge accounts
Who they're for	Companies House (and HMRC, if the company is active)	The leaseholders
What they show	The company's own finances	What the service charge collected and spent, and the reserve
Required by	The Companies Act 2006	The leases, plus the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 rights
Deadline	Within 9 months of the company's year end	As the lease says; aim for six months
Year end	The company's accounting reference date	The service-charge year in the leases (they may differ)

Many accountants prepare both at once. Ask them to align the company's year end with the service-charge year if you can.

Company accounts

Small company rules usually apply, and most block companies don't need an audit. But members can require one: for a company without shares, 10% of the members (s.476).
Dormant accounts are only possible if the company had no significant accounting transactions in the year (s.1169). That's unlikely once it collects and spends service charges.
Trust money: service charges are held on trust for the leaseholders and are outside the company's Corporation Tax. Ask your accountant how they will be shown, or excluded, in the company's own accounts. Practice varies.

Service-charge accounts

Check the lease for:

the year end and deadline;
whether the accounts must be certified or audited, and by whom;
what they must show, such as a statement of costs, the reserve and each flat's balance.

Good service-charge accounts show income and spending under the same headings as the budget, the reserve balance separately, and each flat's balancing charge or credit.

Leaseholders' rights to information

Summary of costs (s.21). A leaseholder can ask in writing for a summary of the costs for the last accounting year. You must provide it within 1 month of the request or 6 months after the end of the period, whichever is later.
Certification. If the service charges are payable by the leaseholders of more than 4 flats, the summary must be certified by a qualified accountant (s.21(6)). The accountant must be independent: not a director, officer or employee of the company, and not its managing agent (s.28).
Inspection (s.22). After receiving a summary, a leaseholder can ask to inspect the accounts, receipts and other documents behind it.

Year end, step by step

Close the books: reconcile the bank, list unpaid invoices and amounts owed.
Send the accountant the bank statements, invoices, budget and each flat's account.
Approve the accounts as directors and send them to leaseholders.
Demand any balancing charge promptly, or send a written notice, so costs don't fall outside the 18-month rule.
File the company's accounts at Companies House on time.

Changes coming

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will require, for buildings of four or more flats, service-charge accounts with a report by a qualified accountant within six months of the year end, and an annual report to leaseholders within one month. The government said in July 2026 that the regulations would follow with 12 months' notice, with changes from 2027. These rules weren't in force as at October 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice. Every building and lease is different. For free initial advice, contact LEASE (The Leasehold Advisory Service): https://www.lease-advice.org/

Questions people ask

Do service charge accounts need to be certified?

If the lease says so, yes. Separately, if a leaseholder asks for a summary of costs and the service charges are payable by more than 4 flats, the summary must be certified by a qualified accountant who is independent of the company.

Do service charge accounts need to be filed at Companies House?

No. Companies House receives the company's own statutory accounts. Service-charge accounts are for the leaseholders, as the leases require.

When should service charge accounts be issued?

When the lease says. If it's silent, aim for within six months of the year end (the deadline the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will set once in force), and in any case quickly enough to demand any balancing charge within the 18-month rule.