© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
Britain has long been victim to the myth that all Tenants were the great oppressed and all Landlords were the terrible oppressors, characterised as Rachmans. After the war, legislation in favour of Tenants became flavour of the month. Traditional landlords disappeared and council estates took their place as the great hope of Socialist society. Citizen voters controlled the councils. So council estates would become havens of best practice. Decades on, who would choose to live on a council estate?
Yet, still today, commercial landlords are seen as oppressors and the new flavour of the month is Enfranchisement. Residents Management Companies have become the great hope of the current New Socialist society. Residents owning the freehold of a block of flats will banish the traditionally perceived exploitation of leaseholder by freeholder. Blocks of RMC flats will become havens of RICS recommended best practice.
I live in a block of 50 flats which became an RMC several years ago. Before, the community was united against the oppressive landlord who really was only oppressive in our imaginations. But this imagined oppression created a community spirit in the residents.
Now, we own the freehold and are a corrosive community of goodies and baddies riven by incompatible doctrines. The goodies are perceived as the majority who regard their command of the majority vote as democratic authority to do whatever they decide is appropriate. The baddies are those who say the block is not a commune, we knowingly bought our flats as leasehold, and the lease and the LTAs authorise what can and can’t be done.
Inexperienced and incompetent RMC directors have become infected by hubris and wreak ruin on those who elect them in the same way rule by inexperienced and incompetent councillors have wreaked ruin on council estates throughout the land. Council owned blocks of flats finished up having to be blown up. The same may well happen to some RMC blocks?
Normally, one would expect the Courts to enforce lease and law but they do not want to upset ruling majorities. In our area there seem to be many blocks run on the same, improper lines as ours. The problem for the local court could be immense. The minority here are hoping to put these issues to an LVT in the near future. Do you have any comments or tips to offer prior to the submission? Can you suggest any other organisations who would be interested in this matter?
Park Place, Harrogate
The organisations that would be interested in your trials and tribulations and which will be able to offer useful information are the Federation of Private Residents’ Associations (www.fpra.org.uk; Tel 01206 855888) and the Leasehold Advisory Service www.lease-advice.org; Tel 0207 374 5380)