The Commonhold and Leaseholder Reform Act 2002 gave leaseholders the right to manage the block of flats they live in.
It does this by transferring the responsibilities and decision making from the landlord to a Right to Manage (RTM) company, which can be set up by a leaseholder.
You don’t need to prove any mismanagement by Peabody or get a court order to set up an RTM company. However, there are some criteria the building you wish to manage must meet.
To qualify for the Right to Manage, the following conditions must be met:
- The building must be made up of flats (houses don’t qualify)
- There must be at least two flats in the block
- At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be leasehold. The leases must have been 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.
Further information and support
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.
Changes to legislation
The government is proposing further changes to Right to Manage. We recommend you seek your own independent legal advice if you wish to pursue this.