The Memorandum contained in the Statutory Instrument stipulates that the name of the Company must end with “RTM Company Limited”. The Articles specify that there must be at least two directors and at least two members at all times. Other than the subscribers, a member must be a “qualifying tenant” of a flat contained in the premises. A person is a qualifying tenant if he or she is a tenant of a flat under a “long lease”, i.e. one that is granted for more than 21 years. From the date on which the RTM company acquires the right to manage, landlords under leases of the whole or any part of the premises are entitled to become members.
To qualify for RTM, the building must be self-contained or, if part of another building, it must be capable of being redeveloped independently. The building may be part-commercial but the non-residential part must not exceed 25 per cent of the total floor area. The total number of flats held by qualifying tenants must not be less than two-thirds of the total number of flats contained in the premises.
Qualifying tenants representing at least 50 per cent of the flats in the building must become members of the RTM company before it can exercise the right to manage the premises. If there are only two qualifying tenants, both must become members of the RTM company.
It is vital to the RTM process that the company’s Statutory Registers are written up prior to the service of the Claim Notice.
The Act specifies detailed rules relating to the right to manage. Supplementary regulations prescribing the content of notices to be served under the Act are contained in the Right to Manage (Prescribed Particulars and Forms) (England) Regulations.
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