The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 is legislation which provides an opportunity for the flat owners, to run their own affairs and to make own decisions about the management and upkeep of their flats, including the insurance, repairs, service charges etc. by means of The Right To Manage.
'RTM'
The landlord's consent is not required & even where Landlords may be absent the Leaseholders should be able to secure the management via RTM. There is no need to prove mismanagement by the landlord or the current managing agent to implement the right. Basically it means that the lessees (via what is known as an RTM Company we would set up on their behalf) have control & in a number of cases will no doubt save considerable sums on repairs, maintenance, management fees, insurance premiums etc, & possibly enhance the saleability & value of their property.
Where there are multiple blocks within the development a separate RTM Company would be formed & Notices served separately in respect of each block as this is the requirement of the legislation
Where the landlord has collected service charges in advance but not yet spent them all and is hold remainder in a trust account, he is under an obligation to hand over all the unspent sums including any reserve account or sinking fund, so any monies that you have are held by the Landlord are required to be returned to you. 'Management functions' are 'functions with respect to services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, ins and management'. These would usually include;
Repairs, redecorations and maintenance of the structure of the building and the common parts
Services such as lighting, cleaning, gardening etc. where appropriate
Insuring the building
Collection of service charges, accounting etc
Complying with statutory requirements relating to the management
The day-to-day running & management of the block
Most leases contain provisions requiring the consent of the landlord to which can include sub-letting, assigning the lease and making alterations to the flat. Such approvals passes to the RTM company, although the company must keep the landlord informed and give notice to the landlord
Existing residents management company
If there is already a company in place it may not be necessary to create and RTM. We work closely with our property solicitor to look at if the existing company can be utilised to help leaseholders take control of their building. This process very much depends on the articles of the particular company and the compliance of the existing directors.
If you are a director of an RMC and wish to change managing agent or seek advice, we will be happy to let you know your options. We work closely with many directors of RMCs and a building works best when the RMC and managing agent are in sync. For us it’s a huge asset to have directors / leaseholders that share the same vision of making the building the best it can be.