Supreme Court ruling ends 5-year case affecting 4 million leaseholders’ Right to Manage

For the last 20 years obstructive landlords have been able to sabotage genuine RTM claims by exploiting procedural failures that are of no prejudice to themselves, and of no adverse consequence. The Supreme Court has ruled that only those affected by a procedural failure can complain about it and in any event, it does not invalidate a qualifying RTM claim.

Dudley Joiner is the founder of RTMF, a leading RTM facilitator that has acquired RTM for around 1,600 buildings and has been conducting the RTM claim for Cresta Court leaseholders and instructed barristers Winston Jacob and Christian Fox on their behalf. Dudley says “The first thing landlords request when receiving an RTM Claim is proof that all leaseholders have been sent Notices Inviting Participation (NIPs). They then scrutinise the list looking for errors. Until now a failure to send a NIP to just one leaseholder out of hundreds was deemed fatal to the claim. This Decision changes that and massively reduces the arsenal available to obstructive landlords”.

There are estimated to be over 4 million leaseholders in England & Wales, many of them suffering high charges and poor services from exploitative landlords. This ruling will restore confidence in the RTM process. It should make it easier and reduce delays. Further, it will remove thousands of cases from backlogged tribunals that have previously had to adjudicate these inconsequential disputes, leaving more time for serious issues.

The Right to Manage was introduced under the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002, giving leaseholders in qualifying buildings the ability to take over management functions from their landlord without having to prove fault or pay compensation.