The leaseholders who are taking over management of their homes – and saving thousands

More leaseholders are using a legal process to take over management of their building from a freeholder – with experts predicting this will increase further in the future. Leasehold is a type of home ownership – usually for flats – where you own the right to live in or use a property for a fixed number of years, but you do not own the land it is built on – which is owned by a freeholder. A freeholder is traditionally responsible for managing the building and maintenance, but under a system know as Right to Manage (RTM), some leaseholders assume responsibility for management of their building, without taking over the freehold. Shorts This let’s them have more control over how the building is run, and can save thousands of pounds if done properly. Nearly a thousand groups of leaseholders took the step to become RTMs in 2025, the highest number ever recorded, according to property management firm Placekeeper Management, which analysed Companies House data. The number of new RTM companies have climbed steadily across England and Wales in recent years, up from 552 in 2019 to 694 in 2023, 800 in 2024 and 986 in 2025. Early figures for 2026 also indicate a further increase – after reforms made last year made the process easier – with 578 new RTM companies formed by the middle of the year, Placekeeper said. There can be some variations in the figures depending on the search terms used, a spokesperson for Companies House said. Trevor Adey, a director at Placekeeper said: “Leaseholders are more aware of their rights and are no longer willing to accept poor management.” How to do RTM – and why you would Leaseholders often face expensive service charges – sometimes thousands of pounds a year – which they must pay, and sometimes have little say about who is contracted to complete communal work such as roof repairs or cleaning. RTM allows leaseholders to take control of the management of their building from the freeholder, and can be useful when residents believe costs are too high and maintenance is poor. In order to qualify for RTM, the building must contain two or more flats and no more than half of the building can be non-residential. At least two-thirds of the flats must be leasehold. Leaseholders first need to set up a RTM company and invite other leaseholders in the building to join, and at least half of the flats must be represented before the company can take over. It then serves a formal notice on the freeholder claiming the right to manage Leaseholders then have more say over how their building is maintained, how service charge money is spent and which contractors or managing agents are appointed. Shabnam Ali-Khan, a partner at law firm Russell-Cooke, said: “For many blocks, it can be an effective middle ground between doing nothing and collective enfranchisement.” But leaseholders should not go into RTM with rose-tinted glasses. Ali-Khan said: “RTM is not a solution to every problem. Taking control of the management of a building brings significant responsibility. “Directors of the RTM company must make decisions on behalf of all leaseholders, deal with contractors and advisors, comply with legal obligations and often navigate different views within the building.” Appointing an external managing agent can help alleviate some of the strain. The solicitor added: “One of the main misconceptions is that RTM automatically reduces costs. “Good management still comes at a price and leaseholders remain responsible for maintaining the building, complying with building safety requirements and planning for major works. Leaseholders may find themselves facing the same difficult decisions that they previously criticised the landlord or managing agent for making. “Or leaseholders may find certain costs increase if they are taking their block out of a multi block estate. It does help to have engaged leaseholders and good directors.” We opted for RTM Dympna Pettitt, 67, and her husband, Bill, 69, live in Pembrokeshire and opted for RTM last year for a flat they rent out. The couple purchased a two-bedroom top-floor flat in a block of 20 flats in Warrington, Cheshire, in 2016 for £166,000, using a £46,000 deposit. Dympna told The i Paper: “My knowledge of leasehold dated back to my years living and owning property in London. I had two leasehold homes in London and neither had ground rents. One of the flats did not even have a service charge. I believed there was nothing wrong with leasehold property. How wrong I was!” After buying the flat, escalating costs and poor maintenance of the block became the norm. Dympna said: “The condition of the block was awful. Security cameras didn’t work, leaks were not fixed and parking was not monitored. For the last three years with the old managing agents, each leaseholder had a £1,000 overspend bill.” The service charge on the flat rose to close to £4,000 a year. Leaseholders were being charged for ground maintenance, but there were no green spaces, just parking spaces and a bin store. They were charged for window cleaning but the windows were never cleaned, Dympna said. In May 2025, Dympna started talking to other leaseholders in the block about RTM. She said: “Every leaseholder was fed up with rising costs and one of the owners had letters sent to every flat to get the 50 per cent of owners on board.” Dympna and other leaseholders decided to go for RTM with the help of a solicitor, utilising a new small managing agent. The process took about a year to complete. Dympna said there were pros and cons of RTM. She said: “We have much more control over what works are required, organised and completed with the advice and assistance of the managing agents. We can all discuss things rationally and make sensible decisions rather than be at the financial behest of a large faceless corporation. Being able to have a say in which firm we used for the block’s insurance helped us collectively save £10,000 in the first year.” But Dympna admitted there was “greater responsibility and stress involved” as a director of the RTM company. She said: “We have to take decisions that were previously out of our hands. We also have to worry about how we manage the financial implications of someone not paying their service charge on time.”