I wanted to get others’ advice on an issue I am experiencing in a block of flats. An organising committee was set up to pursue RTM, which they have since achieved, and is going ahead. I am not in agreement since this flat is less than 10 years old, and the only reason I have been given for seeking RTM is a “take back control” message away from Galliard Homes / “the greedy, profit-seeking big company”. On a cost / sq.ft basis, relative to the services offered, I don’t see the service charges I pay as being out of whack with by other properties.
I called The Leaseholder Advisory Service who were pretty useless and clueless about the intricacies of RTM, and basically said there is NOTHING I can do, once a voter threshold has been achieved. I also do not get a vote in how it will be run under the new structure, since I didn’t agree to it as part of the RTM vote.
I appreciate if this requires specialist legal advice, but just wanted to see if others’ had any views based on their experiences
I’m not against RTM per se, but Im not sure how a committee can proceed and convince others without making a compelling argument FOR it?
They have appointed a management company, seemingly with no tender or transparent process to arrive at this decision - how can this be?
Not sure if anyone else has experienced these things, but Im not sure how a leaseholder like me can be railroaded into being forced under a management structure I didn’t agree to, under a management company I didn’t select, with people (leadership) in a committee who act as directors that I never selected?
Well, if you don’t join them in managing your building, you have no say at all in where your service charge is spent. That’s why community is a good thing.
Very interesting to see that people seem to blindly trust people they don’t know to make decisions on their behalf…it’s a modern societal construct it seems that runs deeper than I thought.
if you join them you will not be blind.You do not seem to be aware of what happens in a block of leasehold flats where maintaining the structure is run by a group of people. Not the tenants but the leaseholders , some landlords are happy to leave the running to this group others want to be involved. Meetings to inform and financial accounts must all be in place
In a leasehold block the Majority want it? The majority win. That is democacy. I have not misunderstood that you are disgruntled . So join them. .Money has to be put aside also for future works , It is a good method
Kel,I think people are trying to be helpful but you maybe don’t fully understand the situation you are in. It is up to you to join with the other leaseholders to make joint decisions, that’s just how it works.
Im not sure what your definition of helpful is. But messages like “stop complaining” cant exactly be construed as advice, unless you live on a different planet. Please don’t patronise me and have a bit more respect when you reply to people - or don’t reply at all.
My coments are how blocks are run by leaseholders. is by voting… Having a say yourself . Sometimes a poster can have a point of view and no one gives him the answer he wants ,then they get stroppy. If you think the other guys are "rag tag " well if you join them ,you could be bobtail. Then it would be Rag tag and Bobtail. (older viewers will get this).
I made a post. Your first piece of so-called advice was “If you do not want to join in then stop complaining”. When people make comments in this manner, that cannot be construed as constructive advice, and is otherwise taken as a personal attack - for no reason. You simply could have not responded to the post, but you clearly couldn’t resist a dig.
I’m not sure if that’s your raison d’etre, but when I have nothing nice to say about someone, I just don’t say it, rather than resorting to flippant comments like this. So expect people to blow back at you when you engage with them in this way.
Having residents involved with the running of a building and overseeing how money is spent is a positive thing from my experience. I’m part of an RTM resident’s committee and all of us volunteer a substantial amount of time – which other residents/leaseholders benefit from. I’d be surprised if your building running costs don’t decrease because of this. I’d be thankful for the leaseholder/s that put in the work to accomplish this, speaking from firsthand experience – I know it’s a lot of work, and I’m sure they care about the building more than Galliard Homes. Seeing “specialist legal advice” seems like a surefire way in wasting money.