Does your block qualify for Right to Manage? The 2026 eligibility checklist

One of the most empowering features of the Right to Manage is something that often surprises people when they first learn about it: you do not have to prove that your landlord or managing agent has done anything wrong. There are no grounds to establish, no track record of neglect to document, no formal complaint process to exhaust first. The Right to Manage is a statutory no-fault right, introduced by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. If your building qualifies and enough leaseholders want to act, you can take over.

That simplicity is one of RTM's great strengths. But "if your building qualifies" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The eligibility tests are specific, and a claim that fails on a technicality can be rejected by the freeholder and potentially cost the RTM company money in abortive professional fees. Getting the eligibility assessment right before you start is not bureaucratic caution — it is how you protect the leaseholders who are trusting you to lead this process.

This article walks through every test, updated to reflect the changes that came into force on 3 March 2025.

The building tests

1. The building must be self-contained

Your building (or the part of it you are claiming for) must be structurally detachable from the rest — meaning it can be managed independently without recourse to services or structure that it shares with another building. Purpose-built blocks of flats typically meet this test straightforwardly. Parts of larger buildings can sometimes qualify as self-contained parts if they have their own entrance and could in principle be managed separately, but this is more complex and worth taking specific advice on.

2. Two or more flats held by qualifying tenants

The building must contain at least two flats held by qualifying tenants. This is rarely the tricky test in practice — most blocks claiming RTM have many more than two flats — but it is a threshold condition. A conversion of a large house into two flats could technically qualify, provided the other tests are met.

3. At least two-thirds of flats held by qualifying tenants

Not all the flats in the building need to be held by qualifying tenants (see below for what "qualifying tenant" means), but at least two-thirds of them must be. If a freeholder or a third party holds a flat on a short lease, or if some units are entirely freehold, those flats do not count towards the qualifying total. Calculate this threshold carefully against the total number of flats in the building, not just the ones you know about.

4. Non-residential floor space must be no more than 50%

This is the test that changed on 3 March 2025, when new provisions from the Leasehold & Freehold Reform Act 2024 came into force. Before that date, the non-residential limit was 25% — meaning that any block where more than a quarter of the total floor space was taken up by shops, offices, or other commercial uses was excluded from RTM. That excluded a significant number of mixed-use blocks, particularly in town centres and high streets where flats sit above shops or restaurants.

The limit is now 50%. A block with ground-floor commercial space can qualify for RTM provided the commercial element does not exceed half of the total internal floor area of the building. This has opened RTM to many blocks that previously had no route to self-management.

If your building has commercial tenants or a ground-floor retail unit, you will need to measure the floor space carefully — typically gross internal area — and establish whether the residential element (the flats and their associated residential common parts) exceeds the commercial element. A surveyor can help with this assessment if the split is not obvious from the plans.

5. Houses do not qualify

RTM is for flats. A building comprising a single house, even a converted one with a single flat and nothing else, does not qualify. The right under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 applies specifically to buildings containing flats held on long leases.

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What is a "qualifying tenant"?

The concept of a qualifying tenant is central to RTM eligibility. The definition is more specific than it might appear:

A qualifying tenant is a leaseholder whose lease was originally granted for a term exceeding 21 years. The critical point is the length at which the lease was granted — not how many years are left on it today.

So a leaseholder with 15 years remaining on a lease that was originally granted for 99 years is a qualifying tenant. A leaseholder who was granted a two-year assured shorthold tenancy is not.

Most ordinary long-lease flat owners in England and Wales will meet this definition. Ground-floor retail tenants on commercial leases almost certainly will not — which is relevant when you are calculating the two-thirds threshold above.

One complication: if the same person or company holds leases on three or more flats in the building, they count as a qualifying tenant for only one of those flats. This prevents a situation where a freeholder who has leased back multiple flats could dominate the qualifying tenant count.

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The participation threshold: 50% of flats

Establishing that the building qualifies is only half the picture. For the RTM claim to proceed, the RTM company's membership must include qualifying tenants of at least half (50%) of the flats in the building.

This is not 50% of qualifying tenants — it is 50% of all flats. If Marlborough Court has 20 flats, the RTM company must have members who are qualifying tenants in at least 10 of those flats before the claim notice is served.

This participation threshold is frequently the hardest part of an RTM campaign. Leaseholders can be hard to engage: some are investors who rent the flat out and have little day-to-day contact with the building; others are simply apathetic, especially if conditions are not terrible. Reaching 50% requires genuine community organising, and a separate article covers that challenge in detail.

For now, note that the threshold must be met at the time the claim notice is served. You also have a legal obligation to invite every qualifying tenant to join the RTM company — whether or not you expect them to. That invitation is served as a notice inviting participation, which must go to all qualifying tenants who are not already members, before the claim notice is served. Leaseholders who decline to join are not an obstacle to the claim; they simply remain outside the company. But the obligation to invite them is not optional, and failing to do so could invalidate the claim.

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A worked example: Marlborough Court

Marlborough Court is a purpose-built block of 18 flats above a ground-floor estate agent's office. The block has three commercial units on the ground floor.

Step 1: Self-contained building? Yes — the block has its own entrance and services separate from the neighbouring buildings.

Step 2: Two or more qualifying tenants? Yes — 17 of the 18 flats are held on long leases originally granted for 99 years. One flat is owned by the freeholder, who holds it on a short licence. Qualifying tenant count: 17.

Step 3: Two-thirds threshold? Two-thirds of 18 flats = 12 flats. We have 17 qualifying tenants. Test passed.

Step 4: Non-residential floor space? The three commercial units occupy roughly 380 square metres. The 18 flats and associated common areas occupy approximately 1,450 square metres. Commercial proportion: around 21%. Well below 50%. Test passed.

Step 5: Participation? 50% of 18 flats = 9 flats. The residents need at least 9 qualifying tenants signed up as members of the RTM company before they can serve the claim notice.

Marlborough Court qualifies on the building tests. The next task is reaching that 50% participation threshold.

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Self-assessment checklist

Use this before investing time in the formal process:

• The building is a self-contained block (or self-contained part) of flats
• The building contains two or more flats held by qualifying tenants
• At least two-thirds of all flats are held by qualifying tenants (leases originally granted for more than 21 years)
• Non-residential floor space is no more than 50% of the total floor area
• The building is not a house
• I have a realistic path to signing up qualifying tenants from at least 50% of the flats in the building

If you can tick every box, your block is likely eligible. If you are unsure about any test — particularly the floor-space calculation or the structure of any unusual leases — take advice before serving any formal notice.

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What RTM does and does not give you

It is worth being clear about the scope of what you are gaining. An RTM company takes over the management functions under the leases: service charges, repairs and maintenance of common parts, insurance, compliance, and Section 20 consultations. The money — service charge contributions and reserve fund — belongs to the leaseholders and is held in the block's own trust account, not by any managing agent or software platform.

What RTM does not give you: the freehold, the ability to set ground rent, or the right to grant lease extensions. Those require collective enfranchisement — a separate and more expensive process. If your goal is ultimately to buy the freehold, RTM can be a practical stepping-stone, but they are distinct rights.

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Reeve Start includes a free eligibility checker that walks you through these tests and flags any issues worth exploring before you take formal advice. It will not replace a solicitor's opinion on a complicated building structure, but it is a useful way to get oriented before your first meeting.

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FAQ

Our block has a basement car park used by all residents. Does that count as residential or non-residential floor space?

Car parks serving the residential occupants of the building are generally treated as residential for this purpose. Purpose-built commercial car parks let to third parties are different. If you are unsure, get a surveyor to assess the floor-space split.

We have a managing agent who refuses to share information about which flats are held on long leases. How do we find out?

The Land Registry title register for the building (or individual flat titles) will show the lease lengths. You can access these online at GOV.UK for a small fee per title. The leases themselves should confirm the original term.

Can a buy-to-let landlord who lives elsewhere be a qualifying tenant and join the RTM company?

Yes. "Qualifying tenant" refers to the terms of the lease, not whether the leaseholder occupies the flat. A leaseholder who owns a flat and lets it out on an assured shorthold tenancy can still join the RTM company as a member.

What happens if we get the two-thirds calculation wrong and the freeholder challenges the claim?

The freeholder can serve a counter-notice disputing the claim on the grounds that the building does not qualify. If the matter goes to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), the RTM company may incur costs. Under the reforms in force since 3 March 2025, the RTM company is no longer liable for the freeholder's process costs in a non-contentious claim — but a disputed claim is a different matter. Getting the eligibility assessment right first is the best protection.

Does a freeholder-owned flat count towards the participation threshold?

No. The participation threshold requires qualifying tenants from at least 50% of the flats. A flat owned outright by the freeholder (with no qualifying tenant holding a long lease on it) does not count in either direction — it is simply not in the pool of qualifying flats for participation purposes.