Manage your block

The right to manage your block
The Commonhold and Leaseholder Reform Act 2002 gives homeowners the right to manage their block themselves. There are certain conditions that must be met before this can happen and rules that must be followed. The freehold is still owned by CBHA, who continues to manage any flats that do not qualify for the right to manage.

Under the right to manage, leaseholders either set up a management company or appoint a managing agent to carry out many of the landlord functions that are carried out by CBHA, including:

• managing all contracts, contractors and repairs and paying all the relevant costs
• setting out estimated and actual service charge bills and invoicing and collecting the money from leaseholders in the block
• meeting all laws relating to leases and managing housing, including going to the leasehold valuation tribunal if challenged by other leaseholders in the block

To qualify for the right to manage the following conditions must be met:

• there must have been more than 21 years left on your lease when it was granted
• if you have a shared ownership or home-equity lease, then you must have bought 100% of your lease
• you don't have to live in your property
• there must be at least two flats in the block
• at least three quarters of the block must be flats
• two thirds of the flats in the building must be owned by qualifying leaseholders
• at least half the qualifying leaseholders must be part of the management company, which is a private company run under rules set out in the Act