Every RTM or RMC company has three filings to keep up to date: the confirmation statement (annually), the accounts (annually), and director changes (within 14 days). Missing any of them triggers penalties. Missing them persistently triggers strike-off and the company losing the building.
Three filings, four if there are director changes. All can be done online via Companies House WebFiling. The only hard part is remembering when each is due.
Confirmation statement £34 online. Accounts free (filleted micro-entity) or £300-£600 if using an accountant. Director change filings free.
If records are kept. More if starting from scratch for the first time.
Confirmation statement (anniversary of incorporation). Accounts (9 months after accounting reference date). Director changes (14 days from change).
What must be on file at all times. Registered office (can be the director's home or a service address). Current director list with correct dates of birth, addresses, and appointment dates. Persons with Significant Control (PSC) register. Articles of association. Most recent accounts. Most recent confirmation statement. Any special resolutions filed. All of this is accessible via Companies House's public register.
Pick the one that matches you.
Good governance position. Maintaining it is about calendar discipline.
Late penalties are accruing. Strike-off risk increases the longer delays continue.
Companies House has placed a notice in the Gazette giving 2 months before the company is struck off. This happens after the confirmation statement has been outstanding for a sustained period.
This is the practical order: check what is due, log in, file. Copy the checklist into your board calendar and work through each item at the appropriate deadline.
The penalty structure is designed to force compliance. Each stage gets worse.
Accounts late by 1 month: £150. Up to 3 months: £375. Up to 6 months: £750. Over 6 months: £1,500. Penalties double if late in two consecutive years. Confirmation statement does not attract direct penalty but failure to file triggers stage 2.
If the confirmation statement has been outstanding long enough, Companies House publishes a first notice in the London Gazette stating intent to strike off. 2 months from publication. Objections can be filed.
If no objection or remedy, a second notice is published and the company is struck off shortly after. The company ceases to exist.
Any property held by the struck-off company (the freehold, bank balances, reserve fund) passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. Restoring the company requires an administrative application (within 6 years, if struck off for failure to file) or a court application. Typical restoration cost is £500 to £2,500 plus any outstanding penalties. During this time, the building has no legal management.
Small numbers. Tidy process.
The confirmation statement (£34) and any accountant fee for filleted accounts are service charge expenses for an RMC or RTM. Include in the annual budget under professional fees.
If the company incurs accounts filing penalties, those are the consequence of director failure and should not be recovered from leaseholders. The directors or the company absorbs them. This is specific to penalties; the underlying filing fee remains recoverable.
If the company has been struck off and needs restoration, legal and administrative costs may be recoverable through the service charge if the lease permits, but take advice first. Leaseholders may reasonably refuse to pay for directors' failure to maintain the company.
Maintain the company's statutory books (register of members, register of directors, PSC register) alongside Companies House filings. These may be inspected by Companies House or leaseholders.
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