Question 1

Lack of a Majority

Accepted Answer

Lack of a Majority Q: Are there any recognised associations where the landlord was happy to grant recognised status without attaining the 51 per cent majority vote from leaseholders? Is it a legal requirement that 51 per cent of leaseholder votes must be attained? We have 825 apartments and many of the owners do not live in the development, many live abroad and do not speak English as their first language making communication with these groups very difficult. We have almost 300 leaseholders signed up and would like to approach the landlord for recognition now. FPRA Hon Consultant Roger Hardwick replies: Recognition as a "recognised tenants association" (or "RTA"), for the purpose of s.29 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, can be obtained in one of two ways: either the landlord can grant recognition, or the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) can grant recognition, following an application by the tenants' association. The term "landlord" is defined in s.30 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and "includes any person who has a right to enforce payment of a service charge". The word "includes" would suggest that the "landlord" includes both the reversioner (the freeholder, in this case) and any third party management company, or RTM company, as the case may be. Where an application is made to the FTT, the FTT must now have regard to the tenants’ associations (Provisions Relating to Recognition and the Provision of Information) (England) Regulations 2018, which came into force on 1 November 2018. Regulations 3 and 4 specify those matters which an FTT must have regard to when deciding whether or not to grant a certificate, and those circumstances in which a certificate may not be given. By Regulation 4(1), the FTT "must not give a certificate to a tenants' association in relation to a premises where the tenants' association represents fewer than 50 per cent of the qualifying tenants of dwellings situated in the premises". So the FTT could not currently grant recognition, but the landlord could, although that is a matter for the landlord's discretion. [Submitted July 2019]

Question 2

Lack of a Majority

Accepted Answer

Lack of a Majority Q: Are there any recognised associations where the landlord was happy to grant recognised status without attaining the 51 per cent majority vote from leaseholders? Is it a legal requirement that 51 per cent of leaseholder votes must be attained? We have 825 apartments and many of the owners do not live in the development, many live abroad and do not speak English as their first language making communication with these groups very difficult. We have almost 300 leaseholders signed up and would like to approach the landlord for recognition now. FPRA Hon Consultant Roger Hardwick replies: Recognition as a "recognised tenants association" (or "RTA"), for the purpose of s.29 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, can be obtained in one of two ways: either the landlord can grant recognition, or the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) can grant recognition, following an application by the tenants' association. The term "landlord" is defined in s.30 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and "includes any person who has a right to enforce payment of a service charge". The word "includes" would suggest that the "landlord" includes both the reversioner (the freeholder, in this case) and any third party management company, or RTM company, as the case may be. Where an application is made to the FTT, the FTT must now have regard to the tenants’ associations (Provisions Relating to Recognition and the Provision of Information) (England) Regulations 2018, which came into force on 1 November 2018. Regulations 3 and 4 specify those matters which an FTT must have regard to when deciding whether or not to grant a certificate, and those circumstances in which a certificate may not be given. By Regulation 4(1), the FTT "must not give a certificate to a tenants' association in relation to a premises where the tenants' association represents fewer than 50 per cent of the qualifying tenants of dwellings situated in the premises". So the FTT could not currently grant recognition, but the landlord could, although that is a matter for the landlord's discretion. [Submitted July 2019]

Lack of a Majority

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