The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 is the legislation giving you the chance to control and manage the way your block is run. This will involve making independent decisions about the service and general maintenance of the flats; it will include insurance premiums, repairs, areas such as lighting, cleaning and gardening and the service charges.
The key is RTM - or right to manage. You could always go one step further than the 'right to manage' and opt for collective enfranchisement? To apply for the right to manage you do not have to prove any kind of mismanagement by the landlord or the agent. The landlord's consent is not even required and even if the landlord is absent, the leaseholders should be able to secure the freehold management via RTM.
But, one more step to collective enfranchisement means that the tenants, collectively, once eligibility has been ascertained, set up shared ownership of the freehold. So you can manage and own the flat!
It may be that the landlord has collected service charges in advance or has funds in reserve which he is holding in a trust account. In this case he is required to return them to you. You will need to comply with statutory requirements relating to the management but you may find that you can manage maintenance much more efficiently. You will save money on the maintenance and day-to-day running of your flat. At the same time you are increasing the value and saleability of the premises with the enfranchisement.
Frequently landlords take more service charges than is necessary which costs the tenants extra money. In addition to this practice, the landlord may have carried out completely unnecessary repairs - or may have ordered repairs to be done which were inappropriate or simply sub standard. The overly high charges have crept up on some unaware tenants which then has cost them up to thousands of pounds!
Isn't it good news that the RTM company can actually force the management to be taken away from the landlord? And further good news that if you satisfy fairly standard criteria you can own the freehold together, instead of the landlord.
It is much more sensible to get these things done, when, where and how they should be and in a way which is decided by you? Wouldn't it be so much better to own the freehold and know that you can raise the value of your flat and benefit from this from potential purchasers?
Get in touch with a solicitor who is experienced in enfranchisement or the right to enfranchise; it can get complicated and it is not something to tackle in a DIY fashion, no matter how astute or assertive you may be.