The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 gave leaseholders the right to manage the block of flats they live in, by transferring responsibility and decision making from the landlord to a Right to Manage (RTM) company.
This is a no fault right to manage, so you don't need to prove mismanagement by Hightown.
To qualify for the Right to Manage, the following conditions must be met:
- The building must be made up of flats (houses don’t qualify).
- There must be at least two flats in the block.
- At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be leasehold. The leases must have been for more than 21 years when they were granted.
- At least 75% of the building must be residential – for example, if there’s a shop in the building, it can’t take up more than 25% of the total floor area.
The number of members the RTM company has must be equal to at least half the total number of flats in the building.
Further information can be found at the Leasehold Advisory Service website.
