At Drayton Park, many leaseholders share the same concerns: rising service charges, limited transparency, lack of accountability, and uncertainty around future remediation works. Right to Manage (RTM) gives leaseholders the legal right to take control of the management of their building — without having to buy the freehold.

RTM is about ensuring that decisions affecting your home, your finances, and your future are made in the interests of residents — not external freeholders or developers.

Greater Control Over Your Building

Under the current structure, leaseholders have very limited influence over how the building is managed. Decisions on budgets, contractors, insurance, and managing agents are largely made without meaningful resident oversight.

RTM changes that.

By acquiring the Right to Manage, leaseholders gain the ability to:

• Appoint and oversee the managing agent

• Retender services competitively

• Approve budgets and major expenditure

• Scrutinise costs and contracts

• Ensure higher standards of accountability and communication

Importantly, this does not mean residents must manage the building themselves day to day. A professional managing agent continues to handle operations, compliance, maintenance, and administration, while resident directors provide oversight and direction.

Fairer and More Transparent Costs

One of the biggest concerns raised by residents is the level of ongoing costs. Many leaseholders feel that service charges, insurance premiums, and management fees are significantly above market levels and not always clearly justified.

RTM gives leaseholders the opportunity to:

• Retender cleaning, maintenance, insurance, and other major contracts

• Benchmark costs against the wider market

• Review historic spending and reserve fund use

• Ensure money is spent efficiently and transparently

• Reduce unnecessary commissions and overheads

Insurance in particular has been identified as a major area of concern. Leaseholders would have the ability to commission an independent reinstatement valuation and retender the insurance policy immediately following RTM acquisition. If a more competitive policy is secured, any pro-rata refund from the existing policy would return to the service charge fund for the benefit of residents.

A Stronger Voice on Remediation and Fire Safety Works

With significant remediation and fire-safety works expected, many residents understandably want greater oversight of the process.

Acquiring RTM before works commence would give leaseholders visibility and influence over how projects are delivered. In our experience, where developers retain full control, there is often a focus on achieving the most cost-effective outcome rather than necessarily the best long-term solution for residents.

RTM would allow leaseholders to:

• Monitor remediation works closely

• Ensure works are carried out to the correct standard

• Appoint independent consultants or clerks of works where appropriate

• Improve transparency and communication during the process

• Help protect the long-term value and safety of the development

Importantly, RTM does not usually delay remediation projects. Instead, it gives leaseholders a meaningful seat at the table during a critically important period for the building.

Transparency and Accountability

Many leaseholders have expressed frustration about limited visibility over historical charges, reserve funds, and financial decision-making. Some residents have also experienced unexpected or retrospective charges with limited supporting information.

RTM creates a far more transparent structure where leaseholders can:

• Access clearer financial reporting

• Understand how funds are being spent

• Challenge unreasonable expenditure

• Improve governance and oversight

• Ensure decisions are properly documented and accountable

A Practical and Achievable Solution

RTM is a well-established legal process used successfully by thousands of leaseholders across England and Wales.

At Drayton Park, it is anticipated that 71 and 73 could proceed as separate RTM companies, while any shared estate services would remain under the freeholder’s control unless RTM is acquired across all blocks. In many developments, once RTM is established, the freeholder often instructs the RTM-appointed managing agent to manage shared areas on their behalf as well.

Directors’ responsibilities are also often far less burdensome than many residents initially fear. The day-to-day operational obligations are delegated to the managing agent, and directors are typically protected by company liability insurance.

In Summary

Right to Manage is about creating a better future for Drayton Park.

It gives leaseholders:

• Greater control over how the buildings are run

• Better transparency and accountability

• Stronger oversight of remediation works

• The ability to secure better value for money

• A direct voice in decisions affecting their homes

Ultimately, RTM ensures that Drayton Park is managed in the interests of the people who live there and invest in it — the leaseholders themselves.