Though not a trading company, a property management company must meet all the requirements of the Companies Acts. For full details of requirements to comply with the Companies Act, we recommend visiting the Companies House website.
If the company does not keep its records up to date, it runs the risk of being struck off the register. This can be disastrous if the company owns the freehold of the property. It will have to be restored to the register (an expensive procedure) and often flats in the property cannot be sold because the purchaser’s solicitors will not accept the transfer until the company has been restored. A summary of the main tasks needed to be undertaken by the directors/secretary are as follows:
Maintaining Statutory registers
Maintain a record of the names and addresses of the members (the shareholders, unless the company is one limited by guarantee), directors and company secretary Maintain a record of the number and class/classes-of-shares held by each member, distinguishing each share by its number so long as it has one, the amount paid, or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares and the date at which the person was registered as a member, and the date at which he or she ceased to be a member.
The register must be kept at the company’s registered office, or some other office notified to Companies House.
Filing the annual return
Every year a company is required to make an annual return to Companies House. This sets out the registered details of the company: its name, number, registered office address, business activities, details of directors, secretary and shareholders, etc.
Maintaining Accounting Records
The Companies Act 2006, section 387 requires all companies to keep accounting records which are sufficient to show and explain the company’s financial transactions. They need to disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the company and need to be sufficient to enable the directors to ensure that the annual accounts meet the statutory requirements. Please note that merely retaining copies of bank statements does not constitute financial records.