Potential Right to Manage for housing estates?

The Law Commission published its Annual Report 2025-26 on 2nd June. For the property sector, the report announces a project to investigate how Right to Manage (RTM) legislation that already benefits leaseholders may work for freehold owners of properties on managed housing estates.

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 gives power to leaseholders in flats to take over management of their building by setting up an RTM company. Leaseholders do not need to prove fault by the landlord or management company. The driver for doing so is, however, most often to control service charge costs.

On managed housing estates, houses are sold on a freehold basis with the benefit of use of private roads and footpaths and other communal facilities such a parks, playgrounds, and visitor parking spaces. A management company owns, maintains, and repairs those communal facilities and homeowners must pay management charges much in the same way leaseholders pay service charge.

Homeowners currently have limited powers to challenge excessive management charges. 

The Law Commission seeks to address this and consider what options are available to allow homeowners to take over management of these estates, and a timeline of early 2027 for a consultation paper is given.

Stone King will track developments, and announce when this consultation is open.