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Right to Manage in Bournemouth

2 published tribunal decisions from in and around Bournemouth, with what each one actually decided.

Ingleside, a managed residential development

Local authority: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
Service: Right to Manage
County: Dorset
Published decisions: 2 tribunal decisions
From our Plymouth office: Approx. 126 miles

Right to Manage Cases Decided in and Around Bournemouth

Delton House, 7 Church Road, Southbourne

CHI/00HN/LRM/2021/000410 August 2021

The building: Six flats and six qualifying tenants, together with appurtenant property within a single registered title.
What was applied for: A determination of entitlement to exercise the right to manage, decided on the papers.
The figures: Six flats and six qualifying tenants, four named in the claim notice. Application fee 100 pounds.
Costs: The tribunal was minded to order the freeholder to reimburse the 100 pound fee, the applicant having succeeded and the respondent having filed no statement of case, giving seven days for representations.

What Happened

The RTM company was incorporated in August 2020, admitted further qualifying tenants, served notices of invitation to participate on the two non-participating tenants and served the claim notice in March 2021. The freeholder served a counter-notice raising three grounds and then filed no statement of case and took no further part.

What the Tribunal Held

Entitled. The tribunal recorded that the respondent had failed to specify the basis on which the membership requirement had not been complied with, and found the threshold met: four of the six qualifying tenants were named in the schedule to the claim notice, against a statutory minimum of not less than one half of the total number of flats. Compliance with the qualifying tenant requirement was shown by the office copy entries, the membership application forms accorded with the model articles, and the evidence showed the claim notice contained the required particulars and complied with the prescribed form.

What it means for a block here. A freeholder that serves a scattergun counter-notice and then files nothing to support it loses, and can be ordered to reimburse the application fee for putting the leaseholders to the trouble.

Lansdowne Manor, 55 Lansdowne Road

CHI/00HN/LCP/2022/00039 June 2023

What was applied for: A determination of the landlord's costs under section 88(4) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, after a right to manage claim was deemed withdrawn.
The figures: Solicitors 1,210 pounds plus VAT at 275 pounds an hour, postage 6.85 pounds plus VAT, managing agent 450 pounds plus VAT. Total 2,000.22 pounds including VAT.

What Happened

The RTM company served a claim notice, the landlord served a counter-notice, and the RTM company then took the matter no further and made no application to the tribunal. The claim notice was deemed withdrawn, which triggered the landlord's entitlement to its reasonable costs. The RTM company filed nothing in the costs proceedings despite directions requiring it.

What the Tribunal Held

All three heads allowed in full. The tribunal was satisfied that 1,210 pounds plus VAT for solicitors' fees in a specialised and technical area of law was warranted, that an hourly rate of 275 pounds is reasonable for this type of work and the hours proportionate, and that the managing agent's fee was warranted because the agent provides not only liaison but more importantly the details on which the claim notice can be scrutinised. Postage was warranted given the importance of ensuring the counter-notice was served. The decision describes the building not at all.

What it means for a block here. An RTM company that serves a claim notice, meets a counter-notice and then lets the claim lapse still pays the landlord's reasonable costs, including the managing agent's time. Not engaging with the costs application means the figures go through unchallenged.

What We Do About Right to Manage in Bournemouth

The Delton House, 7 Church Road, Southbourne decision above is the kind of thing this work is for. Right to Manage in Bournemouth is part of a full management service, not a standalone product, and in practice it means:

Confirm the building and the participation qualify before notices go out, which is where these claims are usually lost.

How This Works, in General

The law here is the same in Bournemouth as it is anywhere in England, and it is set out in full on our Right to Manage page rather than repeated on this one. What changes locally is above: the authority, the figures, and what the tribunal has actually done with cases nearby.

Other Services in Bournemouth

Service charge disputes

Right to Manage Elsewhere

Bristol Weymouth Swindon Bridgwater Penzance Somerset

Everything else we do in the area is on the Bournemouth page, and the full matrix is at services by area.

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