A statement of estimates is supported by a procurement record, not just a list of prices. For the ordinary qualifying-works procedure, the landlord needs to address the statutory estimate and nomination requirements while explaining what has actually been priced. This guide helps clients organise that technical information. It concerns Schedule 4, Part 2 of the English regulations; it should not be used as a universal template for public procurement, long-term agreements or every other Section 20 route.
Identify the applicable procedure before asking for tenders
Have the landlord or its adviser confirm which consultation procedure applies. The ordinary route has a notice of intention that invites observations and nominations, followed by estimates information and a further observation opportunity. A contractor shortlist prepared before that first stage should not prevent proper consideration of nominations received through it. Keep the timetable open enough for the statutory process to inform procurement.
Describe the intended work and the information needed to price it. Where investigation is incomplete, record what remains provisional and how it will be resolved. It is difficult to compare tenders meaningfully if each contractor has guessed a different repair extent. A specification should expose those uncertainties rather than allowing a superficially complete total to hide exclusions or inconsistent assumptions.
Record nominations and the attempts to obtain estimates
The regulations prescribe how tenant and recognised tenants' association nominations are handled. The required selection can depend on who nominated, whether there are multiple nominations and how support is distributed. The duty is to try to obtain the relevant nominated estimate; it is not a guarantee that a nominee will respond or be appointed. Use the actual statutory rules and the client's adviser for the selection.
Keep a dated nomination register, tender invitation, documents issued, questions, follow-up attempts and the response. Record a refusal or lack of response accurately. Avoid replacing missing evidence with a later assertion that a contractor was unavailable. Where the available time, access or scope made pricing difficult, show what was offered and which issue prevented a useful return, so the client can decide what to do next.
Check the unconnected-contractor requirement
The ordinary procedure requires at least one estimate from a person wholly unconnected with the landlord. The regulations describe circumstances in which a connection is assumed, including specified company, management, partnership and family relationships. A trading name, separate letterhead or existing place on a contractor list does not answer that legal question. Obtain the information needed for the responsible adviser to assess it.
Keep a simple declaration and verification trail in the procurement file, identifying the parties and the basis of the check. Treat this statutory question separately from HCS's own conflict policy. Where HCS specifies, tenders or administers the programme, it will not also tender as contractor. Those separate boundaries should remain visible in the client appointment and in the explanation of who prepared the technical comparison.
Give each tenderer the same technical basis
Use a controlled set of drawings, schedules, specifications and access information. Number revisions and circulate material clarifications consistently. Ask tenderers to identify qualifications explicitly, including exclusions, substitutions, provisional items and programme assumptions. An apparently cheaper estimate may cover less work, while a longer programme may depend on access restrictions that were never explained in the invitation.
For an occupied block, identify the information needed about scaffolding, deliveries, flat access, temporary protection and resident communication. These are briefing questions, not a claim that every project needs the same arrangements. Keep specialist design and statutory duties within the appropriate appointments. A surveyor comparing prices should not silently assume responsibility for a design package that no one has been commissioned to prepare.
Assemble the statement and supporting inspection pack
Under this route, the statement identifies amounts from at least two estimates, with the required treatment of a nominated estimate that has been obtained. It also addresses observations from the earlier stage. All estimates must be available for inspection in accordance with the regulations. The landlord or agent should check the statement, accompanying notice, recipients, access arrangements and dates with its legal adviser where necessary.
Present the technical comparison alongside the original returns. Explain allowances and alternatives without turning the comparison into a replacement for the estimates residents are entitled to inspect. An index can identify where a reader will find the roof scope, access costs or tenderer's qualifications. Preserve the original version and record later clarifications separately, so an observation can be matched to the information available at the time.
Consider observations before the appointment decision
Log questions on the estimates against the relevant work item or qualification. Distinguish a request for information from a proposed change to the scope, and record who will answer each. Where a resident supplies useful condition evidence, pass it to the technical adviser for consideration. The client needs a reasoned record of its response, not merely a count of messages received during the observation period.
A recommendation should identify the proposed contractor, comparison basis, material qualifications, unresolved points and the authority needed to proceed. If the chosen contractor is neither a nominee nor the lowest estimator, the ordinary procedure's conditional award notice must be considered. That notice explains the decision; it is not an automatic extra observation period or a substitute for properly considering the estimates-stage representations.
Define HCS support without transferring notice responsibility
The major works specification and tender support service provides technical inputs under an agreed scope. A useful instruction identifies whether HCS is preparing the specification, inviting and comparing tenders, advising on observations, or administering a later contract. State what documents the client will provide and which decisions remain with the landlord, board, managing agent and legal adviser.
HCS does not prepare or serve statutory Section 20 notices and does not give legal advice. For an enquiry, send the proposed scope, notices already issued, nominations received and current programme. Identify any missing estimates or disputed technical item early. A complete document trail makes a technical review more useful; it does not, by itself, establish that the consultation or a subsequent service-charge demand is legally valid.