Leaseholders' Associations Explained: RTAs, RMCs and What They Can Do For You

Why organising as leaseholders matters

In most leasehold buildings in England, individual leaseholders have limited power. Your lease is a contract between you and the freeholder, and the freeholder - or their managing agent - makes the day-to-day decisions. But when leaseholders organise collectively, the legal landscape shifts considerably. You gain consultation rights, access to information, and in some cases the ability to take over management entirely.

There are three main structures available to leaseholders in England: an informal residents' association, a Recognised Tenants' Association (RTA), and a Residents' Management Company (RMC). Each has different legal standing, different rights, and different levels of formality. This guide explains what each one is and when to use it.

Informal residents' associations

Any group of leaseholders can form an informal association - there are no legal requirements to set one up and no registration process. You simply agree to meet, communicate collectively, and act together when raising concerns with the freeholder or managing agent.

The practical value of an informal association should not be underestimated. A collective letter from fifteen leaseholders carries more weight than fifteen individual complaints. Shared record-keeping, coordinated attendance at AGMs, and pooled knowledge about the building's history all give leaseholders a stronger position.

However, an informal association has no special legal rights. The freeholder is not obliged to consult it, share accounts with it, or negotiate with it. For that, you need formal recognition.

Recognised Tenants' Associations (RTAs)

The statutory term is a recognised tenants' association, and Section 29 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 defines it as an association of qualifying tenants that has been recognised in one of two ways: by notice in writing given by the landlord to the secretary of the association, or by a certificate. In England the certificate is given by the First-tier Tribunal; in Wales, by a member of the local rent assessment committee panel. Recognition attaches to an association that already exists - it is not a way of forming one - and the association has officers, not directors.

Who can apply for RTA status?

Section 29(4) sets the test for who counts: a number of tenants are qualifying tenants if each of them may be required under the terms of his lease to contribute to the same costs by the payment of a service charge. For a First-tier Tribunal certificate in England there is then a hard floor in regulations - the Tribunal must not give a certificate where the association represents fewer than 50% of the qualifying tenants of the premises (the Tenants' Associations (Provisions Relating to Recognition and Provision of Information) (England) Regulations 2018, regulation 4). Beyond the floor, the same regulations tell the Tribunal what to have regard to: the composition of the membership; the rules on membership, decision making and voting; whether any membership fees apply equally to all members; whether the constitution takes account of the interests of all members; how independent the association is of the landlord; whether it has a chairperson, secretary and treasurer; and whether the constitution can be amended by resolution of the members. A landlord granting recognition voluntarily can do so regardless of membership numbers or formal rules - but a constitution is strongly recommended in every case.

What rights does an RTA give you?

Once formally recognised, an RTA has a range of statutory rights, mostly under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and one under the Housing Act 1996:

• Right to be consulted on managing agent appointments - Section 30B is started by the association, not the landlord. The association serves a notice on the landlord "requesting him to consult the association"; only then do the landlord's duties bite. If no managing agent is employed at that point, the landlord must, before appointing one, serve notice naming the proposed agent, the obligations it would discharge on his behalf, and a period of not less than one month for observations. If an agent is already employed, the landlord must serve notice within one month of the association's request setting out the obligations the agent discharges and a reasonable period for observations, and must then do the same at least once every five years and whenever he proposes to appoint a new agent. The landlord must have regard to observations received within the period specified (though is not bound by them).
• Right to inspect documents - once a Section 21 summary has been obtained, Section 22 lets the tenant, or the secretary of the association with that tenant's consent, require reasonable facilities for inspecting the accounts, receipts and other documents supporting the summary and for taking copies. The request must be made within six months of obtaining the summary, and the landlord must make the facilities available "for a period of two months beginning not later than one month after the request is made". Inspection itself is free of charge.
• Right to appoint a surveyor - under Section 84 of the Housing Act 1996, an RTA can appoint a qualified surveyor, with statutory powers to inspect documents, to advise on service charge matters.
• Right to be consulted on major works - under Section 20, when a landlord proposes works where any one leaseholder's contribution would exceed £250, they must consult qualifying leaseholders. Where a recognised tenants' association represents some or all of the tenants, every consultation notice must go to the association as well as to each tenant. Under the ordinary works procedure the notice must also invite the association to propose the name of a person from whom the landlord should try to obtain an estimate. Not every procedure carries that invitation: where the works have to be put out to public notice, the regulations instead require the notice to state that the reason no nominations are being invited is that public notice is to be given.
• Right to a summary of service charge costs - a written summary must be supplied on request under Section 21, within one month of the request or six months of the end of the accounting period, whichever is later.
• Right to be consulted on long-term agreements - Section 20ZA(2) defines a qualifying long term agreement as an agreement entered into by the landlord for a term of more than twelve months, and the consultation regulations bring one into consultation where any one leaseholder would contribute more than £100 in an accounting period. As with works, the notices go to the association as well as to each tenant.

How to get formal recognition

The process has two routes:

1. Voluntary recognition by the landlord - write to the freeholder formally requesting recognition. Provide the name of the association, a list of members, and confirmation that at least 50% of qualifying tenants are members. Many landlords will grant recognition without resistance. What actually confers it is a notice in writing given by the landlord to the secretary of the association, so make sure you get that notice and keep it.
2. Application to the First-tier Tribunal - if the landlord refuses or fails to respond within a reasonable time, the association can apply to the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for a certificate of recognition (form TA1). The application fee is £114, with a further £227 hearing fee if the Tribunal lists a hearing; fee remission (Help with Fees) may be available.

Recognition granted by the landlord can be withdrawn by notice in writing to the secretary of the association, given not less than six months before the date on which it is to be withdrawn; if that happens the association can apply to the Tribunal for a certificate instead. A Tribunal certificate is not given a fixed duration by the regulations, so it runs until cancelled - and the Tribunal can cancel it, for example if membership falls below 50% of the qualifying tenants.

Residents' Management Companies (RMCs)

An RMC is a company - usually a private company limited by guarantee - whose members are the leaseholders in the building. Unlike a recognised tenants' association, an RMC typically has formal management responsibilities written into the leases themselves: the leaseholders are its members, and the company is responsible for managing the building. The wording matters. Where the company is limited by guarantee, as an RMC usually is and as an RTM company must be, there is no share capital and nobody owns it: its members' liability is limited to "such amount as the members undertake to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of its being wound up" (Companies Act 2006, section 3(3)). Leaseholders control it through membership and votes, not through shares.

RMCs arise in two main ways. In some new-build developments, the developer structures the leases so that the management functions pass to an RMC from the outset - often with leaseholders as automatic members. Alternatively, leaseholders can take over management via the Right to Manage, forming a statutory RTM company - a close cousin of the RMC, but created under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 rather than by the leases - that takes over management from the freeholder.

RMC vs. RTA: what's the difference?

• An RTA is a lobbying body - it has consultation rights and information rights, but it does not manage the building. The freeholder retains management control.
• An RMC actually manages the building. It appoints contractors, sets the service charge budget, holds the reserve fund, and is accountable to its members (the leaseholders).
• An RTA can be formed quickly and informally. An RMC requires company incorporation and, in the RTM context, a formal legal process.

Which structure is right for your building?

The right choice depends on what you're trying to achieve and how much formal control you want to take on.

• Start with an informal association if you want to coordinate quickly, share information, and raise collective concerns without any legal formalities.
• Seek RTA recognition if you want formal consultation rights - particularly around managing agent appointments, Section 20 works, or access to accounts. This is usually the right next step once an informal association is established.
• Pursue Right to Manage or an RMC if the existing management is failing and you want actual control over who runs the building and how the service charge is spent. This is a bigger commitment but gives leaseholders direct accountability.

Practical steps to form a leaseholders' association

1. Identify other interested leaseholders - even a small core group can get started. Notice boards, email lists, and building WhatsApp groups are common starting points.
2. Hold a founding meeting - agree a name, a basic constitution (governing rules), and elect officers: typically a chair, secretary, and treasurer.
3. Keep a membership register - you'll need this to demonstrate the 50% membership threshold when applying for RTA recognition.
4. Write to the freeholder - notify them of the association's existence and, if you meet the threshold, formally request RTA recognition.
5. Open a bank account - even a basic account allows you to collect small membership contributions to cover stationery, postage, or legal advice costs.

Using a tool like Marklet alongside your association

One of the most common frustrations for newly formed associations is the lack of a shared record of communications, complaints, and service charge history. Emails get lost. Directors change. The institutional memory of what was agreed - and what wasn't - disappears.

A shared platform gives your association continuity: a log of every communication with the managing agent, a record of issues raised and resolved, and visibility into service charge line items. When you exercise your RTA right to inspect documents or engage in a Section 20 consultation, having that history at your fingertips makes you significantly more effective.

References and further reading

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 - Sections 29 to 30B govern Recognised Tenants' Associations and consultation rights
• Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 - establishes collective enfranchisement and lease extension rights
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 - Part 2 establishes the Right to Manage
• LEASE - Tenants' Associations - covers RTAs, recognition applications, and how associations can exercise their rights
• National Leasehold Campaign - advocacy organisation with practical guidance and active communities for leaseholders in dispute
• First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) - handles applications for RTA recognition, service charge disputes, and appointment of a manager

Whether you're running an informal association, a recognised RTA or a fully constituted RMC, Marklet's block management software gives your directors a structured way to track issues, scrutinise service charges, and maintain a permanent record of every communication with your managing agent. Request access to get started, free of charge.