Leaseholders who are unhappy with how their block of flats is managed usually assume their only option is to prove the landlord has done something wrong. In England and Wales there is a statutory alternative that requires no such proof: the Right to Manage. This guide covers England and Wales, where the right derives from the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002; the equivalent options in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different and are not covered here.
What Right to Manage actually changes
The Right to Manage lets qualifying leaseholders take over certain management responsibilities from the landlord without having to show bad management or any wrongdoing at all. An RTM company, formed by the leaseholders, acquires the functions relating to services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance and management of the building. What it does not do is transfer ownership: the freeholder keeps the freehold, and keeps rights connected with enforcing the lease against a defaulting tenant, including forfeiture. Right to Manage changes who runs the building day to day, not who owns it.
The eligibility test
To qualify, the building must be a self-contained building or a self-contained part of a building, containing at least two flats held by qualifying tenants, and it must be at least two-thirds residential, meaning any non-residential floor area such as shops cannot exceed 50% of the total from 3 March 2025, when a change introduced by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 took effect; before that date the non-residential limit was 25%. At least two-thirds of the total number of flats in the building must be held by qualifying tenants, and a qualifying tenant generally needs a long lease, originally granted for a term of more than 21 years, that is not a business tenancy.
Forming the RTM company and giving notice
The process runs through a company set up specifically to acquire and exercise the right, known as an RTM company. Leaseholders who are not yet members are first sent an invitation notice inviting them to participate. The RTM company then serves a formal claim notice on the landlord, and on any other parties with an interest such as an intermediate landlord or existing managing agent, at least 14 days after the invitation notice. That claim notice has to include prescribed explanatory information; leaving it out can invalidate the notice and force the process to restart.
What the landlord can do in response
A landlord or other recipient who disputes the RTM company’s entitlement can serve a counter-notice objecting to the claim. Where that happens, the dispute over whether the statutory conditions are genuinely met is resolved by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), not by further negotiation between the parties. If no valid counter-notice is served, or the Tribunal finds in the RTM company’s favour, management passes to the RTM company on the date set out in the claim notice.
Why leaseholders use it instead of other routes
The main alternative to Right to Manage is applying to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager, which does require leaseholders to prove the landlord or existing manager has failed in some respect, a higher bar with a slower, more adversarial process. Right to Manage’s no-fault design is precisely why it has become the more commonly used route for leaseholders who simply want more direct control over service charges, contractors and building decisions, rather than needing to build a case against anyone.
FAQs
Do all the leaseholders in the building have to agree to Right to Manage?
No. The claim can proceed once enough qualifying tenants participate to meet the statutory thresholds; leaseholders who choose not to join are simply not members of the RTM company, though they remain subject to its management.
Does Right to Manage let leaseholders buy the freehold?
No. It transfers management functions only; the freeholder retains ownership of the freehold and enforcement rights such as forfeiture.
What happens if the landlord disagrees the building qualifies?
The landlord can serve a counter-notice, and the dispute is then decided by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), not resolved informally.
Did the rules recently change?
Yes. From 3 March 2025, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 raised the permitted level of non-residential floor area in a qualifying building from 25% to 50%, widening eligibility for buildings with ground-floor shops or commercial units.
The bottom line
Right to Manage lets qualifying leaseholders in England and Wales take over the management of their building through a dedicated RTM company, without needing to prove the landlord has done anything wrong, though ownership of the freehold stays exactly where it was. Eligibility turns on the two-thirds qualifying-tenant threshold and the building’s residential proportion, which was relaxed by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 from March 2025. This is general information, not legal advice on a specific building; the formal notice requirements are technical and getting them wrong can restart the whole process.