Appointment of a manager – a ‘fault-based’ right for leaseholders
Appointment of a manager is a ‘fault-based’ right, which means individual leaseholders can exercise their right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a manager if they consider the management of the block to be unsatisfactory.
The FTT has the power to appoint a manager in place of the freeholder or the RTM company, so long as the statutory grounds can be established and it is “just and convenient” to do so.
Ready to get started with your application? Contact our team today.
To apply to the FTT for appointment of a manager, leaseholders need to show at least one of the following ‘statutory grounds’:
- The “relevant person” (usually the landlord or RTM company) is in breach of their obligations under the lease relating to the management of the building; or
- Unreasonable service charges have been made or are proposed to be made; or
- Unreasonable variable administration charges have been or are proposed to be made; or
- Any relevant person has failed to comply with a code of management practice.
Plus, in all cases, it must be ‘just and convenient’ to appoint a manager.
The process
Before making an application to the FTT, leaseholders are first required to serve a Section 22 notice on the landlord (or any other person who has management duties under the lease), giving them the opportunity to put right the areas of concern. If the issues are not resolved and you can demonstrate a statutory breach, you can then proceed with the application asking the FTT to appoint a manager. At this point leaseholders should also put forward a potential candidate for the manager role.
How to appoint a manager
The property management experts at Brady Solicitors can take you through the appointment of a manager process, including serving the correct notice to the landlord to put right your areas of concern, establishing whether a statutory breach has occurred and making the application to the FTT.
