The recent Upper Tribunal case of Baron Estate Management Ltd v Wick Hall (Hove) RTM Co Ltd [2023] UKUT 62 (LC) considered the validity of a claim by the leaseholders to acquire the management of a block of flats.
Right to Manage claims under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 have often been before the Tribunal and Courts, usually on technical points of validity of notices and procedure.
Before a Right to Manage claim can be made, all the qualifying tenants in a block of flats must first be invited to participate in the claim. This is a key part of the procedure, in order to gain as many participants in the claim as possible and have a fully represented Right to Manage company to make the claim.
In the above-mentioned case, invitation notices were served but two tenants were missed, rendering the process defective. One tenant did not receive a notice due to it being addressed to a previous owner, the second tenant did not receive a notice as at the time of serving the invitations their lease had not been registered at Land Registry. At the point the claim notice was served, being at least 14 days after the invitations, the additional tenant had become registered. Prior to serving the claim notice, a new invitation notice should have been served, but had not been.
The Tribunal considered that lack of service of an invitation to participate on all qualifying tenants meant that a claim notice could not be served, the point having been settled in a previous Tribunal decision.
It is therefore key to a valid claim notice that the up-to-date title is reviewed prior to service, ensuring that all tenants with the right to be part of a claim have been given the opportunity.
If you would like more information or have any questions on the right to manage or enfranchisement, please contact William Bethune.