WHAT - Change the current managing agent

• As leaseholders, we have the legal right to form an RTM (Right to Manage) company to change the current managing agent

WHY - To improve the service and reduce the costs

• Reduce the cost of ownership by addressing management charges and improving building durability

• Improve the appearance and functioning of our building 

• Have a say in the maintenance and care of our apartment buildings 

HOW - Exercise the ‘Right To Manage (RTM)’

• Join the RTM Company - a simple step for leaseholders to take control

WHY WE WANT TO CHANGE

For several years, we have been engaging with the current managing agent in an attempt to improve their performance and get the spiralling costs under control. Efforts have been intensified in the last three years but resulting in limited improvement.

A group of us have now taken the initiative to exercise our rights as leaseholders under the Common Law and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 to form an RTM Company. By joining the RTM, you will enable leaseholders to take building management control from the Freeholder and appoint a new managing agent.

Under the current agent..

Leaseholders have been hit with unexpectedly high electricity bills because the management company overlooked a billing error caused by a faulty meter. As a result, emergency tariffs were implemented. Over a year later, reimbursement has still not been provided. The lack of an adequate sinking fund has also contributed to this charge.

Poor communication has not only led to inefficient management of the building but has also resulted in increased charges. For instance, leaseholders recently discovered that we have been paying extra for insurance to cover the financing that allows some leaseholders to pay their service charges monthly. The leaseholders were never informed of the impact of allowing monthly payments.

Failing to adhere to appropriate regulations has disadvantaged leaseholders. Management initially pursued the most expensive EWS1 certification process, overlooking that we qualified for a far less costly and immediately available lower category of certification. This oversight was only corrected after leaseholders pointed it out. The more expensive EWS1 process would have cost us tens of thousands more and taken years to complete, delaying mortgage renewals and property sales.

Currently, under the threat of legal action by a leaseholder, the management company has conceded that the freeholder, not the leaseholders, is liable for the cost of upgrading the fire safety features of the building's doors.

The common areas are not well maintained. Residents frequently report a build up of discarded items and waste in the communal parts of the building, indicating that the building is not regularly inspected.

Slow and uncoordinated responses to building security concerns have left us vulnerable to repeated security breaches, resulting in trespassing, drug use on stairwells, criminal damage, and theft. The management has relied on residents for solutions, which are implemented slowly, if at all, and lack a coordinated program. The current solutions remain temporary fixes.

Proposed costs for works are frequently shown by residents to be much higher than independently sourced quotes. Additionally, persistent inefficient budgeting decisions, such as repeated call-outs and temporary fixes instead of service contracts and part replacements, result in considerable excess costs.

With 50% of leaseholders joining the RTM, we can finally address these issues.

Join the RTM to help us make things right.