AI by NicheJob 1 of 10ChatGPTGemini
Draft a friendly reminder, then a formal arrears letter in the right order, with a stop if the leaseholder says they have debt advice
One director of an RTM company and the replies to it describe how awkward it is to chase neighbours for service charge, and LAS tells self-managing companies to write their own credit control policy and say what happens after an appropriate time such as 30 days. A sequence of a friendly reminder, a second reminder and a formal letter is routine wording that wears you out when it is a neighbour. AI can draft the three letters as blanks from the facts you give it. It cannot decide that a demand was valid, that the amount is payable or that you may add interest or fees: those depend on the lease and how the demand was served, and a managing agent or solicitor checks them before anything formal goes.
Time: About 45 minutes for the three letters, then about 10 minutes per caseTool cost: you can start with a free AI tool
Steps
- Before any letter, ask your managing agent or solicitor to confirm the demand was served properly and in line with the lease. In England and Wales the demand must have the summary of rights and obligations with it, and LAS says if it is missing the leaseholder may withhold payment. Do not send arrears letters until this is confirmed.
- Write down your credit control policy in your own words: how many days after the due date you send a friendly reminder, a second reminder and a formal letter, and who signs. LAS gives 'such as 30 days after a service charge demand' only as an example.
- Copy the lease wording about interest or administration charges (if there is any) into a document by hand. Do not paste the leaseholder's name, flat, address, amount or circumstances into the tool: the draft uses [LEASEHOLDER], [FLAT], [AMOUNT] and [DATE] blanks.
- Paste your policy and the clause wording into the prompt and ask for the three letters. Read each draft against your policy and fix any word that threatens or states a legal position.
- Fill the blanks by hand, add the date and payment details, and send each letter by the method your lease or agent uses. Keep a dated record of each step in your own system.
- Stop at once if the leaseholder says they have debt advice or are in breathing space, or if they write that they cannot pay or are unwell, and ask your agent or solicitor what to do next. Keep the reply short and polite and do not argue the debt.
The exact prompt
I am a volunteer director of a residents' management company or right to manage company for a block of flats in England or Wales. I need three template letters about overdue service charge: (1) a friendly reminder, (2) a second reminder, (3) a formal letter before the matter is passed to the managing agent or solicitor. You must NOT say that the money is legally owed, that the demand is valid, or that any interest or charge may be added; do not threaten forfeiture, court action or any other consequence; do not give legal advice and do not tell me what the lease says. Use ONLY the facts and wording I give below. Leave blanks in square brackets exactly as shown: [LEASEHOLDER], [FLAT], [AMOUNT], [DATE DEMANDED], [DUE DATE], [PAYMENT DETAILS], [DIRECTOR NAME]. Keep each letter short, calm and polite, in plain English, written from a neighbour-director to a neighbour. The formal letter states what the demand was, the date it was due, how to pay, how to get in touch to discuss, and the date by which we ask to hear. Add one sentence saying 'If you are getting debt advice or have told your advisers about this charge, please tell us so we can pause contact.' My credit control policy (days after due date for each step and who signs): [text]. The lease wording about interest or administration charges, copied by me (or 'none that I have found'): [text]. The next step I will take if there is no reply (as a neutral sentence for the formal letter only, for example 'we will pass this to our managing agent'): [text]. Produce: (1) the three letters with blanks; (2) a short checklist of what I fill in by hand; (3) a list of any wording in the letters that states a legal position, for me to check with my managing agent or solicitor.
✓ Check before you send
- Your managing agent or solicitor has confirmed the demand was served properly before any arrears letter is sent.
- No leaseholder name, flat, address, amount or personal circumstance went into the AI tool.
- The letters state only what you gave them and contain no legal conclusion, threat or interest or charge you have not confirmed from the lease.
- You fill in all blanks by hand and keep a dated record of each letter.
- You stop contact on that debt if the leaseholder tells you they have debt advice or breathing space, and ask your agent or solicitor what to do.
UK notes extra
- For England and Wales the service charge demand needs a summary of rights and obligations (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s21B), set by separate regulations for England and for Wales. legislation.gov.uk: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 section 21B, notice to accompany demands for service charges (England and Wales). legislation.gov.uk: Service Charges (Summary of Rights and Obligations, and Transitional Provision) (England) Regulations 2007 (England). legislation.gov.uk: Service Charges (Summary of Rights and Obligations, and Transitional Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2007 (Wales). Residential Property Tribunal Wales: leasehold service charges (Wales).
- LAS says, and the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (sections 96(6) and 100(3)) provides, that an RTM company cannot start forfeiture proceedings (the landlord holds that power); LAS also says to check the demand was served correctly before legal action. An RMC may be the landlord or a party to the lease, so its position depends on its lease and articles. LAS: dealing with breaches of the lease, including service charge arrears (England and Wales). LAS: format of service charge demands (England and Wales).
- England and Wales: if a creditor is told a debt is in a breathing space it must stop action on that debt. Whether your charge falls within the scheme is for your adviser. GOV.UK: Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) guidance for creditors (England and Wales).
- The Property Institute is a trade body whose members include managing agents, so its note speaks for that side; it is general guidance. The Property Institute: advice note on service charge arrears, revised January 2024 (England and Wales; a trade body whose members include managing agents; general guidance only).
- England: the government says it will bring in new rules from 2027, with no fixed dates: a standard service charge demand form, an annual report, a right for leaseholders to ask for building information and new rules on recovering legal costs. Its response says "landlords" here includes residents' management companies and right to manage companies, so check the current rules each year. Wales: the Welsh Ministers will decide their own approach. GOV.UK: stronger leasehold protections (England; published 15 July 2026; the government plans a new service charge demand form, an annual report, a right to request information and new rules on legal costs, starting from 2027 with no fixed dates).
- Scotland and Northern Ireland: none of these England and Wales rules apply. Scottish owners use their title deeds, the Tenement Management Scheme and any property factor; in Northern Ireland the arrangements are usually a management company, and a solicitor can say what applies. mygov.scot: the Tenement Management Scheme (Scotland). Citizens Advice Scotland: property factors (Scotland). Law Society of Northern Ireland: buying and living in a property with common spaces (Northern Ireland).
Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑