Commonhold And Leasehold Reform Right To Manage Essentials

If you own a flat and the management of the shared parts of the development is under the control of your freeholder, then you can take that control away. The law allows you to follow a detailed process and set up your own body which has responsibility for things such as cleaning the windows, cleaning the hallways, garden maintenance, roof repairs, electricity in the shared areas and many other amenities.

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Why would anyone want to do that? Well under The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 you do not need to tell your freeholder a reason. It is thus called a 'no-fault' right and the process is called Right to Manage. As such, there is no need to prove negligence by the organisation in charge of the management -you can go ahead and do it.

The maintenance and other elements of the shared parts of the development are usually looked after by a company referred to as a managing agent. It is important to distinguish between this and a residents' management company or management company. The managing agent will be a third party company that is contracted to look after agreed aspects of the management. They are usually contracted by the development's management company.


The operating models do vary and some smaller blocks handle the maintenance themselves and share the jobs between the flat owners. It is agreed who will liaise with the contractors and how they will be paid. Or even some work such as the garden maintenance might be undertaken by the leaseholders themselves, although the lay person may not know the full legal obligations of management that still need to be observed.

Most blocks will need a managing agent who specialises in negotiation with suppliers, handling compliance, scheduling works, quality control and the many varied aspects of looking after a large building and its grounds.

The motivators for making the big change and exercising the Right to Manage can be drawn from a number of options. These include the perception that you are being overcharged. It is very common for leaseholders to feel that they are not getting value for money from their managing agent. This is especially true if the managing agent is either controlled by or even owned by the freeholder of the development. Some might argue this leads to a conflict of interest, particularly if the freeholder might benefit financially from the maintenance charges imposed on leaseholders.


Even if the managing agent is independent of the freeholder - although still appointed by them - in many cases lessees cannot change the provider. RTM changes all that. Where quality of service issues are identified, flat owners can now determined their own destiny and appoint a managing agent that may improved the standard of gardening, for example.

If there is friction between owners and the freeholder, unfortunately RTM won't solve this. The reason is that the freeholder has a right to have membership of the RTM company, so they will still need to be consulted and involved in all aspects of the development's maintenance.

Communication between all parties is key. However poor your existing managing agent, recognise that a huge amount of consultation between the contractors, short-lease tenants, freeholders and managing agents needs to constantly take place. It is very time consuming, emotionally draining and demands good organisational and negotiation skills. Additionally, the lessees involved in liaising with the managing agent will change as the ownership of the flats change, so there is ever-changing needs and demands. Whether you decide to exercise your Right to Manage or not, the important thing is to weigh up the options and understand all the implications. Speak to your local managing agents, especially if they are members of professional groups, and get their advice.