The Right to Manage is the right for the leaseholders of a building containing flats to take over most of the management functions from their landlord, via an RTM company.

From 3 March 2025, the Right to Manage became available to a greater number of mixed-use buildings (that is, buildings that contain both residential flats and business premises such as shops and offices).

Secondary legislation has brought into force certain sections of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 which change the qualifying criteria for the Right to Manage so that, from 3 March 2025, it became available to buildings where the floor area of the non-residential part exceeds 50% of the floor area of the building taken as a whole. The threshold was previously 25%.

This means that the Right to Manage now applies to many more mixed-use buildings than before, possibly even to some buildings that were specifically designed with the intention that leaseholders would not be able to take over the management from the landlord.

Provisions have also come into force that mean that landlords and tenants will now generally bear their own costs in connection with Right to Manage claims, except in limited circumstances.

In addition, landlords will not be able to pass on non-litigation costs through the service charge to leaseholders who have not participated in a Right to Manage claim.

These changes implement the next phase in a package of reforms that are intended to give long residential leaseholders greater rights in relation to the buildings in which they live, and to make it cheaper and easier for them to exercise those rights.