The Right to Manage (RTM) regime has become an increasingly popular mechanism for leaseholders seeking more autonomy over the management of their homes. However, the process is not without legal and practical complexity. A strict set of statutory requirements governs eligibility, company formation, notice, notice procedures, dispute resolution and handover of management functions, and there are numerous traps for the unwary.
This new book provides comprehensive, practical coverage of the RTM regime and sets out the relevant steps taken in the process when exercising the right. It identifies the relevant pitfalls, providing a user-friendly guide to effective navigation of the process.
Fully up to date, the book examines the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 which impacts the cost regime and eligibility criteria for qualifying buildings, providing a practical, accessible guide to the whole statutory process. The book also includes coverage of significant recent cases such as: Avon Freeholds Ltd v Cresta Court E RTM Co Ltd [ 2025] EWCA Civ 1016 (on the validity of notices); FirstPort Property Services Ltd v Settlers Court RTM Company Ltd [ 2022] UKSC 27 1 (on the extent of property subject to the right to manage); and 56 Westbourne Terrace RTM Company Limited v Polturak [ 2025] UKUT 88 (LC) (Upper Tribunal exercising the jurisdiction to vary long leases under section 35(2)(e) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, varying a lease to allow an RTM company to recover legal costs of service charge proceedings against defaulting leaseholders).
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
Table of Statutory Instruments
1 INTRODUCTION
Law reform
Buildings with different freeholders
Multi-building right to manage
Notices
2 RTM COMPANIES, MEMBERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE
Summary
RTM companies
Commonhold association
Other RTM companies
Articles of association
Membership
Qualifying tenants
Membership of qualifying tenants
Membership of landlord
Withdrawal and cessation of membership
Directors of the RTM company
Voting rights
Quorum for general meetings
Voting rights if there are no landlord members
Voting rights where there are landlord members
Determination of votes available to be cast
Votes attributable to residential units
Votes attributable to non-residential units
Casting of the available votes
Errors and disputes over the voting system
3 QUALIFYING FOR THE RIGHT TO MANAGE
Summary
Qualifying conditions
An introduction
The first limb premises to which the right to manage applies
Self-contained building
Self-contained part of a building
Vertical division (section 72(3)(a))
Redeveloped independently (section 72(3)(b))
Has or could have independent services
(section 72(4))
The second limb number and proportion of flats
Meaning of flat
Qualifying tenants
Joint tenants
Trustees
Long lease (sections 76 and 77)
Sub-leases
Exceptions leases which do not qualify
Multiple premises
Appurtenant property
Premises excluded from the right to manage
Building with self-contained parts in different ownership
Resident landlords
Owned by local housing authority
Premises in relation to which rights previously exercised
Crown Land
4 CLAIMING THE RIGHT TO MANAGE GIVING NOTICE
Summary
Participation in the right Schedule
Who must be served with notice of invitation to participate?
Validity of notices
Consequence of failure to serve notice of invitation to participate
Form and content of the notice of invitation to participate
Basic requirements
Additional content of the notice of invitation to participate
Additional content prescribed by regulation 3
Schedule 1: Form of notice of invitation to participate
Checklist 4.1: Notice of invitation to participate contents
Preparation and service of the notice of invitation to participate
Identifying relevant lessees for service
Address for service
Method of service
Omissions or mistakes in the notice of invitation to participate
Statutory saving provisions: notice of invitation to participate
Serving fresh notices of invitation to participate
Right to obtain information
Commencing a claim by serving a claim notice
When can the claim notice be served?
To whom must the claim notice be given?
Missing parties
Form and content of the claim notice
Schedule 2: Form of claim notice
Checklist 4.2: Claim notice contents
Checklist 4.3: Claim notice relevant recipients
Premises and appurtenant property
Multiple premises
Counter-notice
Deadline for service of the counter-notice
Calculating the date for the counter-notice
Service of the claim notice
Service of the claim notice on intermediate landlords
Service of the claim notice on agents
Service on third parties
Address for counter-notice stated in the claim notice
Address for service on landlords
Who can sign the claim notice?
When is the claim notice given?
Inaccuracies in the claim notice
Failure to include the prescribed notes
Consequence of service of the claim notice
Is it necessary to withdraw an invalid claim notice?
Commencement date for acquisition
5 PROCEDURE FOLLOWING SERVICE OF THE CLAIM NOTICE
Summary
Right of access
Contractor notices and contract notices
Notices relating to management contracts
Meaning of management contract
Meaning of existing management contract
Meaning of existing manager
Meaning of determination date
Duties to give notice of contracts
Who must give notice and what type of notice is required?
Timing
Contents of the contractor notice
Regulation 6 of the 2010 England Regulations: additional content for
contractor notice
Regulation 6 of the 2011 Wales Regulations: additional content for contractor
notice
Form of contractor notice (property in England)
Checklist 5.1: Contractor notice contents
Existing management sub-contract(s)
Meaning of existing management sub-contract
Contents of the contract notice
Regulation 7 of the 2010 England Regulations: additional content for contract
notice
Regulation 7 of the 2011 Wales Regulations: additional content for contract
notice
Form of contract notice relating to an existing management contract (property
in England)
Form of contract notice for existing management sub-contracts
Checklist 5.2: Contract notice contents
Errors relating to contractor and contract notices
What happens to existing contracts?
Duty to provide information
Form of information notice pursuant to section 93 of the Commonhold and
Leasehold Reform Act 2002
The counter-notice
Who can serve a counter-notice?
Statement in the counter-notice
Timeframe for service of the counter-notice
Extension of time for service of the counter-notice
Late service of the counter-notice
Form and content of the counter-notice
Regulation 5 of, and Schedule 3 to, the 2010 England Regulations: additional
content for counter-notice
Regulation 5 of, and Schedule 3 to, the 2011 Wales Regulations: additional
content for counter-notice
Counter-notice disputing entitlement
Grounds for disputing entitlement to the right to manage
Validity of claim notice itself
Challenging the acquisition of the right to manage in the absence of service
of a counter-notice
Schedule 3: Form of counter-notice
Checklist 5.3: Counter-notice contents
Case law relating to the validity of counter-notices
Who can serve a counter-notice?
Service of the counter-notice
Costs
6 APPLICATIONS TO THE TRIBUNAL, WITHDRAWAL AND COSTS
Summary
Section 84(3) of the CLRA 2002 applications following a challenge to the
entitlement to the right to manage
When an application can (and should) be made
Effect of the application and the issues which may be raised
The application to the Tribunal
Form and content
Calculating time
Making the application to the tribunal
Withdrawing an application
Withdrawal of a claim notice
Deemed withdrawal
Costs of the application to acquire the right to manage
Costs in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
7 ACQUISITION AND HANDOVER
Summary
Manner of acquisition
Acquisition date
Registration of the right to manage
Transfer of the management responsibility
Transferred management functions
Untransferred tenants covenants
Limitations on management functions
Effect on an employee
The duty to provide information
The duty to pay accrued uncommitted service charges
Consequences of historic breach of covenants on acquisition
Breaches by leaseholders
Service charges incurred before the right to manage was acquired
8 EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT TO MANAGE
Summary
Transfer of management functions
function
relating to
management functions
services
repairs, maintenance
improvements
insurance
management
a person who is landlord under a lease of the whole or any
part of the premises ...
under the lease
are instead functions of the RTM company
Release of landlord from liability under the lease
Transfer of functions operates to exclude the landlord from management
functions
Pre-existing Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 manager
Exceptions
Partial exception for business leases and short leases
Re-entry
Whole or any part of the premises
Shared appurtenant property
Newly developed parts
Implied right of entry but no transfer of possession of all
retained parts
Aggregative transfer of functions
Short leases
Transfer of third party functions
Management functions under collateral agreements
Nature of obligation owed to landlord
Damages
Enforcement of tenant covenants
Transferred covenants
What is a transferred covenant?
Set-off
Examples of transferred covenants
Untransferred covenants
Set-off
RTM companys duty to monitor and report
Ground rent
Problems
Functions relating to approvals
Premises to which section 98 applies
Transfer of functions
Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927
Requirement to give notice before granting an approval
Notice
Objection
Grounds of objection
Examples
What if the RTM company refuses consent and the landlord wants to give
consent?
Landlord contributions to service charges in respect of excluded units
Building Safety Act 2022
Remediation orders under the Building Safety Act 2022
Section 161 of the Building Safety Act 2022: liability of officers of body
corporate partial exemption for relevant company
Liability of the landlord and the RTM company under other statutes
Defective premises
Service charges
Right to request information on insurance
Managing agents
Right of first refusal
Appointment of a manager under Part II of the Landlord
and Tenant Act 1987
Right to acquire landlords interest
Variation of leases
Service charges to be held in trust
Information to be furnished to tenants
Landlord and Tenant Act 1988
Tenants right to management audit
Right to appoint surveyor
Administration charges
Lease variation to permit cost recovery
9 CESSATION OF THE RIGHT TO MANAGE
Summary
Cessation by agreement
Cessation on winding up, etc of the RTM company
Struck off company restored
Cessation on the appointment of a manager under the Landlord and Tenant Act
1987
Cessation on the RTM company ceasing to be an RTM company
Consequences of cessation
Immediate consequences
Frustration of contracts
Cooling-off period
APPENDICES
1 The Right to Manage (Prescribed Particulars and Forms) (England)
Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/825)
2 The Right to Manage (Prescribed Particulars and Forms) (Wales)
Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/2684)
Index
Piers is a barrister at Tanfield Chambers. His practice covers all areas of property law and clients include property development companies, local authorities, government agencies and private companies and individuals. Piers is a co-author of Service Charges & Management (3rd ed), Leasehold Enfranchisement: Law and Practice, and Megarrys Manual of the Law of Real Property (9th ed).
Harriet Holmes is a barrister at Wilberforce Chambers, Lincolns Inn. She is a specialist property litigator, whose practice covers real property, landlord and tenant, trusts of land and settled land, and property-related professional negligence. She is a contributor to Hill & Redmans Law of Landlord and Tenant and is ranked as a leading junior barrister in real estate litigation by the leading directories, Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.
Swita Kothari is a Senior Associate in the Real Estate team at CMS Legal. She has over 13 years experience in all aspects of residential transactions. Swita advises on initial structuring of PRS and BTR schemes, legislative changes such as the Renters Rights Act and leasehold enfranchisement matters. She acts for landlords and tenants on sales and acquisition transactions, lettings and general management work and for Banks on real estate finance work involving residential assets.
Eleanor Murray is a Partner at CMS and heads the firms enfranchisement and residential disputes team. She is an expert in all aspects of residential disputes, specialising in enfranchisement, residential service charges and right to manage instructions. She acts for a range of residential and mixed-use landlords including landed estates, investors and developers.
Hugh Rowan is a commercial chancery barrister at Tanfield Chambers, specialising in property law, with particular expertise in leasehold enfranchisement and the right to manage. He has appeared in a number of leading cases on building safety and service charges, and is a regular contributor to property law publications.
