Communication is key
There’s a variety of different reasons why leaseholders have swapped from other agents to us; overpriced maintenance fees, not attending to issues, or a failure to adhere to their initial promises. These are common factors why leaseholders decide to switch their managing agent, but most common complaints about their current service relates to a simple lack of communication. At Silverkey, we listen and we act. After all, communication is key to successful management.
Most leaseholders tend to remain with their managing agent even if the service isn’t particularly desirable. So why do leaseholders remain with their managing agents if the management service simply isn’t to their expected standards?
Many leaseholders, don't want the hassle of changing agents, and often suffer for years with inadequate management, poor communication, and a deteriation of their block.
The reality is that changing managing agents isn’t as difficult as you might expect; it can be quite a simple process if your freeholder approves the switch.
Silverkey Property Management will guide you through the process of switching over to our reactive, pro-active, modern management where you will also benefit from access to your own personal leaseholder portal. The portal allows you to view your service charge invoices, all of your statements, payment information, annual budgets, safety certificates and buildings insurance policy.
Right to Manage - Prepare to take over the management of your property
If you need to take the control of your block away from the Freeholder/Landlord, you will need to set up a Right to Manage Company. You will need at least 50% + 1 of the leaseholders to agree to the takeover. You will need someone to act as a director of the company and register the company with HMRC. Once leaseholders have obtained consent to acquire the Right to Manage, they usually have around three months in which to prepare for handover ahead of the acquisition date. We recommend that leaseholders do the following in this time:
- Decide whether to use a managing agent, or to self-manage.
- Discuss the level of service required, e.g. weekly, bi-weekly or daily cleaning.
- Issue a Section 93 information request to the landlord for important information associated with the block. This ensures that leaseholders have at hand all pertinent information with which to run their block after having acquired the Right to Manage.
- Sign up relevant contractors to ensure that they are in place to provide services from the date of Right to Manage acquisition.
- Arrange for insurance to be put in place as of the date of Right to Manage acquisition.
Please note that the landlord is required to hand over all uncommitted service charge funds on the Right to Manage acquisition date or as soon as practically possible thereafter.
The costs involved in Right to Manage acquisition can be split into two groups:
- Your direct costs – The cost of administering the process. A sum paid to a company for the service of administering and overseeing the entire Right to Manage process. Recommended in that this virtually ensures that acquisition will progress without legislative infringements. There will be a per unit charge for this service, which is often in the region of £30 - £60 with a minimum fee of around £400 - £500 for any one block.
- The landlord’s reasonable costs for which the RTM company are responsible – These commonly come in at around £500 for blocks of ten units or under, and can reach £1500 to £2000 for larger blocks.
Please ask us for any information you require to assist you in starting your Right to Manage Company.
