Block Management Software UK: Comparing the Options

The UK block management software market is built mostly for professional managing agents running portfolios of many blocks. If you're a volunteer RTM or RMC director managing a single development of 8-30 flats, most of these platforms are overbuilt for the job and assume knowledge you don't have.

This guide maps out the kinds of tool available, what volunteer directors actually need, and how to test whether a platform does it — without naming specific products. It is written for blocks in England.

The kinds of tool on the market

Block management software in the UK falls into a few broad groups. Prices are set by each vendor and change often, so check current pricing pages rather than relying on a figure in any guide — including this one.

Agent platforms

Built for property management companies running many blocks. Portfolio dashboards, contractor management, compliance modules, integrations and multi-user access controls, usually priced for a business rather than a single building.

For volunteer directors: Usually the wrong fit. The cost is set for a firm managing dozens of blocks, and the workflow assumes trained staff.

Small-agent and mid-market tools

Aimed at smaller managing agents. Service charge accounting, resident portals, maintenance tracking and reporting.

For volunteer directors: Often still priced and designed for a professional user. Many present the tools and expect you to know the process.

Tools for self-managed blocks

A newer group aimed at RTM companies and RMCs. Some focus on oversight — keeping records, documents and votes in one place. Others issue service charge demands and run consultations. Pricing is usually either per unit or a flat fee per development.

For volunteer directors: The right category, but check what each one actually does. The difference between a tool that stores your documents and one that produces a valid demand is the difference that matters most.

Free / DIY

Spreadsheets, Word templates and manual bank reconciliation. This is what most volunteer directors start with.

The reality: Free works until it doesn't. The first time you miss the 18-month rule or a Section 20 consultation goes wrong, the cost of "free" becomes very real. On £40,000 of works at a 12-flat block, a failed consultation caps recovery at £250 a flat — £3,000 — leaving a £37,000 shortfall unless the tribunal grants dispensation.

Built for an agent vs built for a director

The useful question is not "which has the most features?" but "which assumes the person using it is me?"

	Agent platform	What a volunteer board needs
Who sets it up	Trained staff, once per client	A director, once, from the leases
Apportionment	Configured by the agent's accounts team	Each flat's share for each schedule, entered from the lease and checkable
Demands	Generated from the agent's templates	The statutory contents built in, so a non-expert cannot leave them out
Section 20	A task list for someone who knows the process	Each stage, its notice and its deadline, explained as you go
Year end	Feeds the agent's own accounts team	Clean records and an income and expenditure statement by fund for your accountant
Price basis	A firm's portfolio	One development

What volunteer directors actually need

Based on the core responsibilities of an RMC director, here's what to prioritise.

Must-have features:

Demands calculated from the lease — each flat's share for each schedule or cost centre, not one percentage applied to everything. Estates with more than one building almost always need this.
The statutory contents of a demand, built in — the landlord's name and address under section 47 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, and the prescribed summary of tenants' rights and obligations required by section 21B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, word for word.
Section 48 notices — a dedicated notice giving each leaseholder an address in England and Wales for serving notices on the landlord, under section 48 of the 1987 Act.
A Section 20 consultation workflow with the stages and deadlines of the England regulations, not just a checklist.
Arrears tracking with ageing and chase letters.
Records your accountant can work from — every cost recorded against its fund and each payment once it is matched to a demand, reserve money kept separate, and an income and expenditure statement by fund plus a full export at year end. Your accountant still prepares the company's statutory accounts; the point is that they check your records rather than rebuild them. Nice-to-have features:
Reminders for Companies House filing dates
Leaseholder communication portal
Document storage for leases, insurance policies and certificates
Bank feed integration for payment matching

Usually unnecessary for a single development:

Portfolio management for many blocks
Contractor procurement platforms
API integrations

See our detailed evaluation checklist for more on each.

Per-development vs per-unit pricing

This distinction matters more than most directors realise.

Flat fee per development: You pay the same whatever the number of flats within a band. Predictable cost, and better value as the block gets larger.

Per-unit pricing: Sounds affordable per flat — until you calculate the total for your block.

Block size	Flat fee (e.g. £15/month = £180/year)	Per unit (e.g. £100/unit/year)
6 flats	£180/year	£600/year
12 flats	£180/year	£1,200/year
15 flats	£180/year	£1,500/year

The figures are examples to show the arithmetic, not quotes. A flat fee often steps up above a certain number of flats, so check where the bands fall for your block, and check whether there are extra charges per director or per building.

What to test before you commit

If a platform offers a free trial, use it on your real block. Make the most of it:

Enter your actual block — every flat, with the real shares from the leases, across every schedule. Don't test with two dummy units.
Generate a demand and read every page. Does it carry the landlord's name and address? Is the prescribed summary of rights attached, under the title "Service Charges – Summary of tenants' rights and obligations", word for word, in at least 10-point print as regulation 3 of the 2007 England regulations requires? Does it show how the flat's figure was worked out?
If you are an RTM company, check who it names. Under Schedule 7, paragraph 12(2) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, references to the landlord in section 47 "include the RTM company" — but the freeholder is still the landlord under the lease. A tool that puts only one party on the demand without asking which you are has made a legal judgement for you.
Run through a Section 20 scenario — can you set up a consultation and see each stage's notice and deadline? Or is it just a checklist?
Ask what your accountant gets. Look for categorised, fund-designated records and an income and expenditure statement by fund, with an export. Be wary of a tool that claims to replace the accountant: your company still has to file statutory accounts.
Check access for the whole board. Can more than one director see the records, and is there a per-seat charge?
Check support — is there documentation and a named email address, or just a chatbot?
Check you can leave. Can you export all your data, including after cancelling?

The regulatory direction

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains provisions that will change what a service charge demand must look like. Section 55 will replace the section 21B summary with a new section 21C, under which a landlord "may not demand the payment of a service charge unless the demand— (a) is in the specified form, (b) contains the specified information, and (c) is provided to the tenant in a specified manner", with the details set by regulations. legislation.gov.uk records section 55 as not yet in force.

When it is brought into force, the format of every demand will need to change. It is a fair question to ask any vendor how it will handle that.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need block management software at all?

Not legally. Many small blocks run on spreadsheets. The case for software is that the statutory parts of a demand, the Section 20 timetable and the fund records are easy to get wrong by hand, and expensive when you do.

Does software replace a managing agent?

It replaces the administrative part of what an agent does — demands, notices, records. It does not replace the judgement: the directors still decide, and still need professional advice for disputes and major works.

Does block management software produce year-end service charge accounts?

Be careful with the claim. Good software produces the records and an income and expenditure statement your accountant works from. The statutory company accounts, and any accountant's report your leases or guidance call for, are still prepared by an accountant.

How LevyBoard compares

LevyBoard is block management software for volunteer RMC and RTM directors: demands calculated per cost centre from the lease shares, with the prescribed summary transcribed verbatim; section 48 notices; Section 20 consultation for major works; arrears and chase letters; and a fund-designated ledger with an income and expenditure statement by fund at year end. It costs £15 a month for a development of up to 15 flats and £25 a month for 16 to 40, however many buildings, with no per-unit charge. You can open the sample documents before you decide anything.

Sources

This guide is for general information only and covers blocks in England. Always check the specific requirements of your lease and the current legal position before making software decisions; for advice on your own block, start with the free service at the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE).