Page 5 - right_to_manage

A step by step guide to right to manage 4

Assuming the landlord does not resist your claim (by serving a Counter Notice) the
acquisition date for RTM is four months after the date of your Claim Notice. Therefore it
may be worth considering the timing of your initial Claim Notice to avoid busy periods,
bank holidays and so on.

If the Landlord does not resist your claim, then congratulations, you can take control of
your property and the way its services are managed.

Step 5 - The landlord resists your claim

Print all 6 RTM steps

Ok, so you have a difficult landlord who disputes your claim. Now what?
The good news is that leaseholders do not need to prove any fault on behalf of the landlord to
exercise RTM.

To dispute the claim, the landlord must prove that your RTM application does not comply with
the 2002 Act, for example, claiming there are:

• Errors in the initial application;
• That your block is not a self-contained building, or part of a building;
• Any commercial element exceeds 25% of the floor area; or
• There are not enough flats owned on long leases.

If the block is not detached, three sub-tests must be met:

Test 1 - there must be vertical divisions with the adjoining buildings.
Minimal deviation may not render your claim invalid – see the
Finland Street case
Test 2 - the block must be capable of being redeveloped
independently; and
Test 3 - there are shared facilities or services, they must be capable
of being provided independently without significant interruption, ie,
• Can the services not provided independently be identified?
• Can they be provided independently?
• If so what works are necessary?
• What interruption would this entail?
• Is this disruption “significant”?

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