Right to Manage and Leasehold Bill
What is the Right to Manage and Leasehold Bill (2025)?
Introduced by Rachel Blake MP on 19 June 2025 under the Ten-Minute Rule, this Private Members’ Bill aims to make it easier for leaseholders to exercise the Right to Manage (RTM).
What is a Private Members’ Bill?
Private Members’ Bills are bills that are introduced by backbench MPs or Lords, rather than Government ministers. They are mainly used as tools for highlighting issues and influencing policy. Few actually become law – especially those that are introduced under the Ten-Minute Rule (meaning they are introduced by the MP to Parliament in a 10-minute speech).
Key Proposals in the Bill:
Lowering the Participation Threshold:
- Current threshold: On the date of the notice, the number of qualifying tenants that are members of the RTM Co must be at least 50% of the total number of flats in the building.
- Proposed change: Reduce the threshold so only 35% of ‘qualifying leaseholders’ need to participate in the RTM claim.
New definition of ‘Qualifying Tenant’
- Only a leaseholder who responds ‘positively or negatively when asked to vote’ can be a qualifying tenant (presumably this means a leaseholder who responds to the Notice of Invitation to Participate (NIP)). Accordingly, an RTM Co would only need 35% membership from leaseholders who respond to the NIP to qualify.
- This is designed to prevent claims being blocked by unresponsive leaseholders.
Landlords’ Duties
- Landlords will be obliged to help leaseholders contact their fellow tenants.
Next Steps
The Bill’s second reading is scheduled for 4 July 2025, and the full text will be published then. The Bill’s proposals are contentious, and most practitioners do not expect them to become law.
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