Preparing the Streatham instruction
This Streatham guide uses the defined Streatham Park and Garrad’s Road context rather than describing the whole neighbourhood as one housing type. For a converted house, the starting point is the present layout and maintenance arrangement. Garden appearance and original domestic form do not establish which parts are shared.
Large houses later divided into flats
Lambeth’s Streatham Park and Garrad’s Road conservation statement records large houses converted to flats after the war within a leafy residential setting. It also discusses how some paired entrances can make a building’s origin difficult to read. This supports a conversion-focused brief without proving the history of every nearby property.
Obtain the available plans and compare them with the occupied building. Identify common roofs, entrances and service routes, including any later extensions. Where the records do not explain a boundary or alteration, list the question for investigation instead of treating the original house layout as the current arrangement.
Local evidence: Lambeth: Streatham Park and Garrad's Road conservation statement.
Build a roof brief from the reported evidence
Collect the location and timing of reported water entry, previous repair information and photographs. Relate that record to the roof slopes and junctions that can be inspected. A recurring symptom may need a closer investigation before a contractor is asked to price a definitive repair.
If rear additions have different roof construction, keep them distinct in the schedule. State the proposed treatment and the evidence supporting it for each part. A general description of a converted house should not lead to one repair detail being applied indiscriminately to later work.
Confirm garden and driveway use for the proposed method
A wide-looking drive or garden may still be privately allocated or constrained in practice. Check the documents and authority for construction use, then record protection and reinstatement requirements. The tender should show the route agreed for materials rather than rely on an assumption about suburban space.
Explain how temporary arrangements affect the separate entrances and residents’ ordinary movements. Ask bidders to identify any access dependency that could change their sequence. The managing agent can coordinate appointments while the contractor remains responsible for explaining its working method.
Translate the specification into decisions for a small board
Use a marked roof or elevation plan to connect repair items with the evidence behind them. Distinguish work required by an observed issue from an optional improvement. Directors can then see which technical decisions need to be made before obtaining or comparing estimates.
Where observations concern the share payable by a particular flat, provide the physical description and refer the lease question to the client’s advisers. Keep technical changes and statutory advice traceable. A small number of flats does not make informal assumptions about consultation or liability reliable.
Agree an appropriate appointment and retain the repair history
For a fee proposal, identify the number of converted buildings, available access and the stages sought. State whether the instruction includes tender analysis, site attendance and contract administration. Specialist questions should be allocated expressly rather than hidden within a broad surveying description.
Keep the completed work record alongside earlier repair reports, with clear location references. Identify items deferred or found to need a separate instruction. That history helps a future adviser distinguish recurring symptoms from new ones without assuming a completed contract addressed the whole property.
Section 20 thresholds and responsibilities
For England, qualifying works trigger consultation when any one leaseholder’s relevant contribution is more than £250. For a qualifying long-term agreement, the test is more than £100 for any one leaseholder in an accounting period. Such an agreement has a term of more than 12 months, subject to the statutory definition and exclusions. Check the highest actual contribution under the leases, including VAT where payable, rather than relying on the average for the block.
Thresholds effective from 31 October 2003; statutory sources checked 1 October 2026. This source check is separate from the page’s human review date.
Sources: qualifying works amount, agreement amount and accounting period, agreement definition and commencement.
Reform watch: Government has consulted on raising the thresholds and a draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill was published in January 2026. Government consultation; draft Bill. Check the current law before relying on a proposed change.
HCS does not prepare or serve statutory Section 20 notices. HCS provides the specification, tender information and consultation support the landlord or managing agent needs. The notices are issued by the landlord or agent, with their solicitor where required. HCS does not give legal advice.
Where HCS specifies, tenders or administers a Section 20 programme, HCS will not also tender as contractor.
Local sources checked
Local sources checked 2 October 2026. The dated character records describe residential stock; current permissions and the condition of the instructed building need separate checks.
- Lambeth: Streatham Park and Garrad's Road conservation statement — PDF pages 8 and 30, sections 2.12 and 3.18
Streatham major works questions
Can the appearance of paired doors prove a building was built as flats?
Not reliably by itself. Check the available records and actual arrangement before drawing that conclusion. The local conservation statement recognises that appearances can be ambiguous. The works brief needs the current common-part and responsibility information regardless of the original form.
Is a shared-looking driveway available to the contractor?
Confirm the ownership, rights and authorised conditions of use. Ordinary access arrangements may differ from permission for storage or heavy construction movement. Include protection and reinstatement where relevant so the proposed method and price reflect the arrangement actually agreed.
What should a small residents’ board record before seeking estimates?
Record the proposed scope, evidence for the repairs, unresolved investigations and access assumptions. Obtain the relevant advice on the leases and statutory process. A concise decision record helps keep the technical package consistent even when directors have different views about the work.
Related services and guidance
- London Section 20 and major works consultancy
- Streatham area guide
- South West London area hub
- Streatham contract administration
- Streatham licence-to-alter advice
- Streatham party wall advice
- Professional support for managing agents
- Section 20 consultation stages
- Planning repairs and reserve funding
- Check consultation thresholds
- Plan indicative consultation dates
Discuss the Streatham block repair brief
Send the property address, available reports and the decision needing technical support.
New local guidance is prepared by Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy. The review attribution above covers the previously published service guidance; local source checks are recorded separately.