A guide to leasehold retirement living
Right to manage for retirement housing
This is a statutory right for residential leaseholders of flats (not houses and bungalows) to take over the responsibility for the management of the building from the landlord.
Leaseholders are not required to prove any fault with the present management, and there is no payment of compensation to the managers or the landlord. Although the leaseholders are required to form a company to exercise the right to manage (RTM), the procedure simply requires the service of a notice.
In order to qualify for RTM the building must contain 2 or more flats and no more than 50% of the building can be non-residential (offices or shops). At least two-thirds of the flats must be leasehold. The leaseholders must form a special company, which must include at least half of the qualifying leaseholders of the flats contained in the building.
Taking over the management will not affect the terms of the leases; the RTM just transfers the decision-making process and the responsibilities of management to the flat-owners, who then have the total control of all functions relating to the management, upkeep and servicing of the building.
This is a powerful right for leaseholders, but the procedures are a more complicated than described here, so further advice should be sought before you contemplate RTM.
- Last updated:
- 9 January 2025
- Next review:
- 22 December 2026