RIGHT TO MANAGE whAtAreyourrightsAndresponsibilities?
Ifyouarethinkingabout takingonresponsibility formanagingyourblock, firstyouneedtoknow what’s involved. nicholAs kissen explains
if youhAve recently established a Right toManage (RTM) company, the chances are that you have taken over the running of your landlord’s building fromamanagerwhofellshort of the ideal.However,replacing theformer managermaynotmean the end of your problems. Unless you proceed with caution – and understand the rights and responsibilities that you have taken on - it could be the start of awhole set of newchallenges. Taking over the management of a building,whether it is a purpose-built block or a converted house carries with it a number of responsibilities. Right tomanage is exactly that – you
have theright tomanagethe block you live in – butwhether or not you decide to exercise that right is entirely up to you. SomeRTMcompanies choose to self-manage and others appoint an externalmanager.However,evenif day-to-day responsibility is out-sourced to a professional firmofmanaging agents, the buck stops with theRMC orRTMcompany. The responsibilities which are likely to be imposed are the obligation tomaintain and repair the building, provide services and generallykeepitingoodcondition. It is also important that any officers of an RMCorRTMcompanymanaging the building, should have a decentworking knowledge of company law(see p54 formoreonthis).Overand abovethat, themenu of statutory rights given to leaseholders,for examplechallenging unreasonable service charges, and proper consultationovermajorworks, must be addressedbytheRMCor RTMcompany if they are to ensure a harmonious relationship betweenall flatowners.
Another issue that concerns anyone
managing a building is health and
safety.TheARMALeasehold Advisory Note dealing with this subject (go to theARMAwebsite formoreonthis) emphasises: “Health and Safety should never be ignored or dismissed because it requires additionalexpenditure”. Periodic assessments for the
presence of asbestos should be considered to comply with statutory regulations. The samegoes for fire risk assessments. Electrical equipment should be safe andwater systems tested.Aprofessional can advise on the relevant legislation to followand howto comply with it. Whetherornot thecostof
commissioning an assessment report andimplementingany necessary works is recoverable fromthe flat owners throughthe service charge, will depend on the lease terms. Hopefully therewillbeafavourableprovision in the lease such as allowing for the recovery of thecosts of complyingwith parliamentary regulations.However,an inability to recover the costs fromthe flatowners is not an excuse to skimp on compliance with health and safety obligations and itmaybe necessary to consider a lease variation to insert aclauseallowingthe recovery of this expenditure. Other important aspects of building
managementincludeinsurance, security andmaintenance.●
nicolaskissenis an adviser withLEASE
www.leasehold-advisoryservice.org
Proper consultation overmajorworks must be addressed
by theRMC or RTM company
Getting themost
out of rTM
MArk chicklooks at the best waytoapproachwhat can be a confusing process
AswithAnyproject,the keytosuccess wherethe RighttoManageisconcerned is proper preparation.Whileexercising the ‘right tomanage’ itself might sound straightforward, if youhavealarge number of peopleinyourblock itmaynot be quiteas clear-cutasyou think. Good communication is vitaland youwillneed to have aclear way of keeping in touch with and informing those involved in the process. This couldbebyway of usinganotice
boardinthe communal hallway, or perhaps by establishinganemail circulationlist. (If you do this, don’t forget to get consent fromeveryone to discloseemail addresses to everyone else,beforeyou send agroupemail). You will also need a few‘leaders’ to act as
thechannel forcommunication betweenyou and your advisors.
Be prepared Thebest waytoget theRTMprocessoffthe ground is oftentocallameeting.Ifpossible set an agenda beforehand andtimelimit the meeting. Do notlet anyone person hogthe limelightorthe agenda.Ifthere arefurther questions then thesecan be dealtwithbyway of writtenanswers, perhapscirculatedby email. You will need to decidewho the directors of
theRTMcompanywillbe. They will need to be availabletogivedirection to themanaging agentwhen required. If there are insufficient interested parties to run the company on dayone,thenyou really do need to consider whetheryou should be doingthisatall,asa poorlymanaged building andcould damage the value of your property.
delivery Thenextimportant thingtodoistoselect yourmanaging agent. Thewhole pointof taking over themanagementofthe blockisto take the decisionmaking power into your own hands. Youmay need to have a‘beauty parade’ of the possiblemanagers and the leaders of theprocesswillprobablyneed tomeet
58 Summer 2012 Flat Living
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