Abuses of power by RTM directors

[Ratsoffasinkingsauage]

Evening!

Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with RTM (Right to Manage) directors who are abusing their powers? My elderly mum is in a situation where she lives in a block a retirement flats and the directors of the newly set up RTM are actively discriminating against the elderly and disabled residents.

Bit of background: mum’s next door neighbours are a couple who rabble roused the block into getting rid of the old management company and setting up an RTM with, surprise, surprise themselves as the main directors.

We were incredibly worried about this at the time because they had a history of making complaints against other people in the building and banging on mum’s door and telling her off about things they felt she was doing wrong. She’s 89 and lives alone and of course had become increasingly upset by this and very fearful of them.

Then they switched to being ultra friendly and won her over again so that she would support them by voting for the RTM

But once they were in place they essentially became mini hitlers- telling off the old ladies who wanted to help out with the gardening, banning coffee mornings, taking away the birthday card rack in the foyer and, most appallingly, telling a man who has caters that they are going to issue a warning notice to him if his carers don’t stop parking in the unused residents space. He has asked for a space but has been denied, even though he has carers in every day.

Is there anything that can be done? Mum has kept much of this from us until recently when she was sent a pretty upsetting letter accusing her of being a nuisance, which was sent to all the directors in the flats. It was issued by her neighbours as directors and is over a
minor issue that could have been easily sorted by the house manager. She is distraught.

Carers, not caters

Bump. Is there anyone with any advice?

Is there a warden that could intervene on your Mum's behalf? I suggest you talk to them to discuss it all and show them the letter.

They are fairly stupid directors as there is now written proof of what they are saying to your Mum.

Could you have her post diverted to you so, unless delivered by hand, post doesn't reach her?

You could take the letter to a lawyer and see if they can suggest anything?

There is no such thing as "main directors". They may be the most vocal directors, but all directors are equal. The members can remove any director at a general meeting. There is a procedure laid down in the Companies Act 2006 for doing this.

If the actions of these directors amount to harassment, that should be reported to the police.

Thanks for the advice. We’ll have to see what we can do. We’ve looked at moving her but there are currently 7 flats for sale that have been on the market for nearly a year. We did wonder why and when we approached a local estate agent we were told that flats are getting offers but the two directors have taken over all the lease paperwork from the managing agent and are refusing to process it unless the buyer meets their criteria- which is essentially no one over the age of 70 or with any kind of disability. So potential sales are falling through.

So unless we can find a way to get them removed then mum can’t move and is stuck being essentially bullied by her neighbours. She is terrified that they are going to find a way to remove her from her own flat. They are very definitely trying to make her so uncomfortable that she leaves.

And the warden/ house manager was hired by them and is essentially very fearful on them because they have made noises about sacking her. So she will often be sent with messages on their behalf. There is no way that she’ll support mum at all if the directors are being agressive.

She has two options - firstly, under the RTM legislation there is scope to collapse the RTM company in specific circumstances (like if they're not acting in accordance with the lease), by taking it to FTT (more details here), or alternatively she could force an AGM of the RTM co in conjunction with some of her neighbours and either propose an ordinary resolution for their removal which will go to vote, or, if they have to retire by rotation, ensure that a full vote is carried out to reappoint and more people vote against than for. That depends on the company mem and arts, which are available on the companies house website for free.

Thanks will look those up.

You could go down a legal route if you wanted to sell. You would be seeking to force the courts to instruct the directors to stop unlawfully discriminating against buyers which is a consrtaint on the property rights of the flat owners.

But the cheapest and quickest way to solve the problem is removing them from the role.

How many units are there in total in the block
Because your mum plus the 7 flats plus the man with the carers would give a strong base to change the directorship.
The estate agent should not give you the contact details of their clients but should be able to pass a letter inviting them to contact you.

You need to look at the company documents and call an EGM and have an ordinary resolution to remove and replace them with others willing to act.

If the documents dont restrict the directorships to residence or shareholder put yourself forward as replacement.

If would be helpful if you had the register of voters to see if you can get the votes lined up and that you are appointed to vote on behalf of people who will not attend or otherwise cast a vote to remove the directors.

If you can spend the money get a solicitor or someone involved in organising shareholder meetings involved in reading the specific company documentation and drafting anyspecific notification as the existing directors may try to avoid calling the meeting.

Thanks @AnSolas will look into that. I just feel so angry that these people have essentially conned the elderly residents into creating the RTM and are now using it as their own personal fiefdom to control everyone’s lives. Most of the residents are over 70 and live alone. They are the only couple and the only people under 65. I think it gives them a lot of power.

There are 40 units in total. The empty flats are held either by relatives of deceased occupants or occupants who have had to move on for care and have been unable to sell. There should only be 39 leaseholders but they decided to seek the managers flat to increase the number of people contributing to the service payments.

However, they are quite cunning about how they go about things. I attended an AGM and they appear to be either terrifying residents or bamboozling them with how much they are saving them money by handling all the paperwork themselves. They made a big deal of this and how they’d save money on the electric bill.

They did threaten to step down at one point but it was all grandstanding to make people feel sorry for them.

Is such an odd situation.

If you think they're pulling the wool over the eyes of the residents as well, they could make a request under section 22 of the LLTA to view all the financial documentation - this can be done within 6mo of the accounts issue (which also have to be issued within 18mo of the start of the financial year they relate to).

Alternatively, I believe there's a provision in the LLTA to have the accounts reviewed by an appropriately qualified person but I can't remember which section it is.

Thanks. I think I’ll start looking for a solicitor to help us out and begin testing the waters with the other residents about how they feel about the management.

It does feel like Right to Manage isn’t that well regulated because the idea is freedom of the people. It doesn’t take into account that it is actually a bad idea to give some residents so much power over their neighbours!