 |
Putting the property management pieces in place |
|
Right To ManageUnder the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 the Right To Manage (RTMcame into force at the end of September 2003 and Commonhold was introduced in September 2004. Right To Manage gives qualifying lessees the right to take over the management of their building without having to prove that the freeholder is at fault. It is not a step lessees should take lightly as responsibilities come with the powers, including an ongoing responsibility to the freeholder. There are prescribed qualifying rules and procedures that have to be strictly followed. In addition, qualifying lessees through their RTM company (a special company that is limited by guarantee) will need to thoroughly research the current status of the property, eg. arrears, ongoing building works etc, and its future needs eg. day-to-day management, cash flow, major cyclical maintenance etc. Do you qualifiy for RTM? To assist leaseholders assess whether they, as a group, qualify for RTM Consumer Focus has produced an online tool to help establish whether they and thier fellow leaseholders might be able to exercise Right To Manage. LEASE has published a guidance booklet on the rules and procedures. Please see our Useful Links page for details. In terms of the practical aspects of managing your building if you are going to exercise RTM, just remain on this site and contact our members via the Search for Members page. CommonholdCommonhold is unlikely to be either of interest or a possibility for most leaseholders as conversion to Commonhold requires 100% agreement of all parties involved with a particular building. Furthermore, owing to the current legislation needing certain practical amendments it is unlikely that developers will choose this route when building new developments. The introduction of Commonhold is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. Details on Commonhold are available on the Ministry of Justice's website. Please see our Useful Links page. |
|