Mark Chick explains how to get the most out of Right to Manage. As with any project, the key to success where the Right to Manage is concerned is proper preparation. While exercising the ‘right to manage’ itself might sound straightforward, if you have a large number of people in your block it may not be quite as clear-cut as you think. Good communication is vital and you will need to have a clear way of keeping in touch with and informing those involved in the process.
This could be by way of using a notice board in the communal hallway, or perhaps by establishing an email circulation list. (If you do this, don’t forget to get consent from everyone to disclose email addresses to everyone else, before you send a group email).
You will also need a few ‘leaders’ to act as the channel for communication between you and your advisors.
Be prepared
The best way to get the RTM process off the ground is often to call a meeting. If possible set an agenda beforehand and time limit the meeting. Do not let any one person hog the limelight or the agenda. If there are further questions then these can be dealt with by way of written answers, perhaps circulated by email.
You will need to decide who the directors of the RTM company will be. They will need to be available to give direction to the managing agent when required. If there are insufficient interested parties to run the company on day one, then you really do need to consider whether you should be doing this at all, as a poorly managed building and could damage the value of your property.
Delivery
The next important thing to do is to select your managing agent. The whole point of taking over the management of the block is to take the decision making power into your own hands. You may need to have a ‘beauty parade’ of the possible managers and the leaders of the process will probably need to meet with them to make sure that they feel happy recommending them to the remainder of the group (see pages 49-53 for more on appointing an agent).
Once a manager has been selected (or you have taken the decision to self-manage) you need to consider other matters such as long term contracts (such as lift maintenance) that the current manager has established and which will need to be dealt with as part of the process. As part of understanding the process you will need to get a good handle on your current service charge budget, so that you can understand what the impact of any changes might be, once the management is transferred. Remember, the service charge might not necessarily go down, particularly if the quality of the services improves.
Don’t forget that the RTM Company can also serve ‘information notices’ requesting information from the landlord about the current maintenance and other contracts.
Once the notice claiming the RTM is served, you need to ensure that the advisors encourage the managing agents talk to each other in the run up to the handover. You should not assume that all of the contractors who receive notification from the landlord after the determination date will want to renew their services with the RTM company. Often, in a case where there are a large number of contracts to deal with it may make sense to pick a slightly more distant ‘acquisition date’ (the date on which the management functions will hand over) than the minimum three months after the determination date.
Maintaining Contact
Once you have taken over the management of your block, whatever the new management has planned for the building needs to be communicated and this may mean holding another meeting. Regular updates to the flat owners will help with this.
The best run blocks are those where there is regular dialogue between the managers and the residents. They also tend to be those where if the RTM Company calls an annual meeting there is not an enormous turn out. This is because if the block is well run, the majority of people will be happy, and also silent!
Mark Chick is a solicitor and head of the landlord and tenant team at Bishop & Sewell LLP. He is also a committee member and director of ALEP (The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners). www.bishopandsewell.co.uk 0207 631 4141.
