Right to Manage

If you’re a leaseholder, the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 gives you the right to take over the management of your property. This is known as the Right to Manage, and is done by leaseholders setting up a Right to Manage (RTM) company.

The RTM company can manage the building directly, or pay a managing agent to do it. The Leasehold Advisory Service (also known as LEASE) has published guidance on how to set up an RTM company.  You can download the guidance from the Leasehold Advisory Service website.

If you want to set up an RTM company, you don’t need to prove any mismanagement by Network Homes, or get a court order. However, there are some criteria which the RTM company and the building you wish to manage must meet.

To qualify for the Right to Manage:

• The building must be made up of flats (houses don’t qualify)
• At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be leasehold – with leases that were for more than 21 years when they were granted
• At least 75% of the building must be residential – for example, if there’s a shop in the building, it can’t take up more than 25% of the total floor area
• The number of members the RTM company has must be equal to at least half the total number of flats in the building.

A building will not qualify for RTM if:

• it was converted to residential use rather than being a purpose-built block
• it contains at most four flats
• one of the flats is the main home of the freeholder or an adult member of their family.