How to Serve an RTM Claim Notice on Your Landlord (2026): Leasehold Reform Step by Step

The right to manage (RTM) lets leaseholders of a qualifying block take over management from their landlord without proving fault, paying compensation, or going to court — provided they follow the statutory procedure under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002). The process turns on one document: the RTM claim notice. Serve it correctly and the landlord has at least one month to give a counter-notice; serve it defectively and the whole exercise collapses.

What the right to manage actually is

RTM is a no-fault collective right created by CLRA 2002, Part 2, Chapter 1. A group of leaseholders forms a dedicated RTM company, and that company acquires management functions — maintenance, insurance, service charge collection — from the freeholder. The landlord cannot object on the merits; the only grounds for a counter-notice are that the qualifying criteria are not met.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 expanded RTM access by raising the non-residential floor-space limit from 25% to 50%, meaning mixed-use blocks where commercial space previously exceeded 25% can now qualify. That change came into force on 3 March 2025, meaning many buildings that were previously ineligible now qualify.

Qualifying criteria under CLRA 2002

Before a single notice goes out, the RTM company must confirm that all four conditions under section 72 are satisfied:

1. Building structure. The premises must be a self-contained building or part of a building containing at least two flats, with at least two-thirds of flats held on long leases (more than 21 years at grant).
2. Leaseholder participation. At least 50% of the total number of flats in the building must be members of the RTM company. There is no minimum number of participating leaseholders in absolute terms — a two-flat building needs just one of the two to join.
3. Non-residential space. Following the 2024 Act (in force 3 March 2025), the commercial floor-space limit has been raised from 25% to 50%. Blocks where non-residential space exceeds 50% of the total internal floor area remain ineligible, but many mixed-use buildings that previously failed the old 25% test now qualify.
4. The RTM company itself. The company must be a private company limited by guarantee, incorporated specifically for the building in question, with articles of association that comply with schedule 6 of CLRA 2002.

If the building has a resident landlord — a freeholder who lives in one of the flats — RTM is not available.

Setting up the RTM company

The company must exist before the claim notice is served. Form IN01 at Companies House handles incorporation; the articles must follow the prescribed model in schedule 6. Each qualifying leaseholder becomes a member, and the memorandum of association must specify the address of the relevant premises.

The company must also give each qualifying leaseholder a notice of invitation to participate (section 78) at least 14 days before the claim notice is served. Getting this step wrong — whether the notice is missing required information or the 14-day gap is not observed — invalidates the subsequent claim notice.

What the RTM claim notice must contain

Section 79 of CLRA 2002 sets out the mandatory contents. A defective notice is a nullity; it cannot be amended after service.

The notice must state:

• The address of the relevant premises
• The name and registered address of the RTM company
• The name of every member of the RTM company on the date of the notice, together with their flat numbers
• The date on which the RTM company intends to acquire the right to manage — which must be at least three months after the last date specified in the notice for the landlord to give a counter-notice

The notice must also be accompanied by a copy of the RTM company's certificate of incorporation. Omitting this document is not just a procedural slip; it goes to the validity of the claim.

A free RTM claim notice template for England and Wales sets out these required fields in the correct statutory order and includes a checklist of what must be attached.

Who the notice must be served on

Section 79(5) requires the claim notice to be given to each person who is a landlord under a lease of the whole or any part of the premises. In a block with head lessee structures — common in converted Georgian or Victorian buildings — that means every intermediate landlord, not just the ultimate freeholder. Missing an intermediate landlord invalidates the claim.

Management companies and managers appointed under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 must also receive the notice. The safest approach is to serve on every party who receives service charges.

Delivery must comply with section 111: the notice must be in writing and may be sent by post. The Act specifies the address to use for landlords by reference to sections 47–48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. Recorded post is standard practice to establish proof of delivery and the date.

The landlord's counter-notice

After service, the landlord has one month (from the date specified in the claim notice) to serve a counter-notice under section 84. The counter-notice must either admit the RTM company is entitled to acquire the right to manage, or allege that it is not — specifying the grounds.

If the counter-notice denies entitlement, the RTM company must apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) within 2 months of receiving the counter-notice for a determination. There is no extension to this window. Missing it means the claim lapses and the company must restart the entire process.

If the landlord serves no counter-notice by the date specified in the claim notice, the RTM company acquires the right to manage on the acquisition date stated in the claim notice. The landlord is deemed to have admitted entitlement.

The acquisition date and transition

The acquisition date in the claim notice must be at least three months after the last date specified in the notice for the landlord to give a counter-notice. Because the counter-notice deadline must itself be at least one month after service, the practical minimum from service to acquisition is roughly four months. This period is not arbitrary; it gives the landlord time to transfer management contracts, hand over service charge accounts, and provide building information under schedule 4 of CLRA 2002.

In practice, most RTM companies build in additional time beyond the statutory minimum, particularly in larger blocks with active maintenance contracts. The landlord must hand over existing service charge accounts and contractor information (under section 92 of CLRA 2002) before or on the acquisition date.

Service charge implications

RTM does not extinguish the landlord's rights under the lease. Ground rent (where still payable under pre-2022 leases), forfeiture, and any lease covenants remain intact. What transfers is the management function — the right to collect variable service charges, arrange insurance, and engage contractors.

The RTM company steps into the existing management structure and takes on the unexpired management contracts unless those contracts contain exit clauses. Section 92 requires the landlord to give notice of existing management contracts to the RTM company; contracts not properly notified under that section cannot bind the company.

Common errors that sink RTM claims

Members list out of date. The claim notice must name every RTM company member as at the date of service. If a member transferred their lease the week before and the list is not updated, the notice is defective.

Acquisition date too soon. The acquisition date must be at least three months after the counter-notice deadline specified in the notice, which itself must be at least one month after service. Drafting the acquisition date as if "90 days from service" is sufficient will almost always produce a date that is too early. Calculate forward: add at least one month to the service date to get the counter-notice deadline, then add at least three further months to get the earliest permissible acquisition date.

Wrong landlord. Serving on the freeholder alone when there is a superior leaseholder or property management company that also holds an interest fails the requirements of section 79(5). A title register search before service is not optional.

No invitation to participate. Section 78 requires each qualifying leaseholder who is not yet a member to be given an invitation before the claim notice. Skip this and the claim notice is invalid, regardless of whether those leaseholders subsequently join.

Defective articles. RTM companies formed with off-the-shelf limited guarantee articles — rather than the schedule 6 form — are not qualifying RTM companies under CLRA 2002. Some conveyancing solicitors have made this error, particularly for earlier claims. Check the articles before assuming the company was properly constituted.

After RTM: what changes and what stays the same

The RTM company takes over day-to-day management. Residents who were unhappy with the former managing agent can switch providers immediately after the acquisition date. The company appoints its own surveyors, decides maintenance priorities, and approves service charge budgets.

The freeholder retains the freehold and can still enforce lease covenants — including the right to forfeit for serious breaches. Leaseholders should not mistake RTM for commonhold or collective enfranchisement (buying the freehold). RTM secures control; enfranchisement, governed by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, transfers ownership.

For blocks where enfranchisement is the eventual goal, RTM is sometimes a tactical first step — it builds collective organisation and generates the financial records (accounts, contractor invoices, reserve fund history) that inform the enfranchisement valuation.

Practical checklist before serving

• RTM company incorporated with schedule 6 articles: confirmed
• Title register checked for all intermediate landlords: confirmed
• 50% membership threshold verified against total flat count: confirmed
• Section 78 invitation notices served at least 14 days ago: confirmed
• Acquisition date calculated at least three months after the counter-notice deadline, and at least four months from service date: confirmed
• Claim notice signed by a director of the RTM company: confirmed
• Certificate of incorporation attached: confirmed
• Service addresses confirmed for all landlords: confirmed

RTM claims succeed or fail on documentary precision. The forms-legal.com template and this checklist cover the statutory minima, but buildings with complex title structures or ongoing disputes with their landlord should take legal advice before service.