RIGHT TO MANAGE
BLOCK takeover If you and your fellow flat owners are considering taking on the responsibility for managing your block, first you will need to understand the Right to Manage process
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Right to Manage or RTM is a
right granted to flat owners under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. As long as your block and your fellow residents meet the criteria (see The rights and wrongs of RTM p57 for more on this) you are free to take up the right to manage at any time. As RTM is a formal process that requires specific actions to be taken at the right time, flat owners are strongly advised to use the services of a professional adviser specialising in the leasehold sector to help them negotiate RTM successfully. Both the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) and the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) have lists of suitably qualified specialists on their websites (see p56). The first step for flat owners is to set up a Right to Manage Company (see Getting the most out of RTM, p58 of this issue). Once the
RTM company has been registered, it must then formally invite the rest of the qualifying leaseholders to join using a Notice Inviting Participation. This must be in writing and in the prescribed form (Statutory Instrument (2010 No 825)) which can be obtained from the Stationery Office or downloaded from the website at www.legislation.gov.uk. The form must state that the RTM company intends to acquire the right to manage, state the names of the members of the RTM company
The first step for flat owners is to set up a Right to Manage company
and invite the recipient to become a member of the RTM company. It must also include a range of other information required by law. The notice may be served by post, or by simply delivering it to all the flats. If a leaseholder is living permanently abroad, the secretary of the RTM company should make reasonable attempts to send the notice but is not obliged to serve it outside England and Wales. All of those qualifying leaseholders who respond to the notice and who ask for membership must be enrolled as members of the RTM company and the membership noted in the company records. The way in which the Notice Inviting Participation is served is important, which is why it is vital to take specialist advice. The RTM process is then started by serving the landlord with a document known as a ‘Notice of Claim’. In order to do this, you don’t have to prove that your landlord is at fault or that your block is being badly managed and there is no requirement for approval by
Under RTM the RMC is ultimately responsible for maintenance whether or not a managing agent is employed
Flat Living
Summer 2012
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