Expert Answers
RTM
2 September 2026What Can Leaseholders Do If RTM Directors Refuse to Respond?
The question - from a leaseholder
I have written to the directors of our RTM company several times and received no reply at all. What can I do next?
Short answer
Start by building a clear written record of what you asked and when. Then use the routes that do not depend on a reply: check whether you are a registered member of the company, read the articles, use service charge information rights, review the company's filings at Companies House, and use the managing agent's complaints procedure where the issue is service related. Members may be able to require a general meeting. Persistent silence combined with evidenced management failures can support further action, but poor communication alone will not necessarily justify a Tribunal appointed manager.
Build the record first
Before escalating, make the trail unambiguous. Send a short, dated summary listing each outstanding question, when it was first asked, and the response you are requesting. Ask for a reply within a stated reasonable period. Keep everything in writing, and avoid accusations, which tend to reduce the chance of a useful answer.
Check your membership and the articles
Whether you can use company law routes depends on being a registered member of the right to manage (RTM) company, which is not the same as owning a flat. Read the articles filed for your company, since they govern meetings, notice periods and voting. Most English RTM companies adopt the prescribed model articles, but you should confirm what your company actually filed. Our answer on seeing the register of members explains how to check.
Use meetings and resolutions
Members holding the required proportion of voting rights can require the directors to call a general meeting under section 303 of the Companies Act 2006, and the Act sets out what happens if the directors do not comply. A meeting puts questions on the record in a way correspondence does not. Resolutions can also be proposed, and director appointments or removals are subject to the Companies Act 2006 and the articles. These are collective procedures, and one member cannot simply replace the board.
Use routes that do not need cooperation
- request a summary of relevant costs and then inspect the supporting documents under sections 21 and 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985;
- check the company's filings, officers and accounts on the Companies House register;
- use the managing agent's written complaints procedure where the failure is service related, then any redress scheme it belongs to;
- report any safety issue immediately, without waiting for the governance dispute to resolve.
When silence becomes more serious
Repeated failure to account for service charge money, to maintain the building or to meet compliance obligations is different from slow correspondence. If evidenced failures of that kind persist, take legal advice on the options, which may include the Part II procedure explained in our answers on Section 24 and RTM companies and on Tribunal appointed management. Poor communication on its own will not necessarily meet the statutory grounds.
The full escalation sequence is set out in our hub answer on concerns about how an RTM company is being run.
This page provides general information about property management in England and is not legal advice. The appropriate steps will depend on the lease, the RTM company's articles, company membership, the available evidence and the circumstances of the building.
Important qualifications
- Company law routes depend on registered membership and on the thresholds in the Companies Act 2006 and the articles.
- Service charge information rights depend on who is entitled to enforce payment under the lease.
- Whether unanswered correspondence is material depends on what was being asked and what followed.
Practical steps
- Send a dated summary of outstanding questions and request a reply within a reasonable period.
- Confirm whether you are a registered member and read the filed articles.
- Check Companies House for filings, officers and accounts.
- Use section 21 and section 22 requests for service charge information.
- Consider requiring a general meeting if the statutory threshold can be met.
- Take legal advice if evidenced management failures continue.
What this means in practice
A board that does not reply can still be held to statutory and company law obligations that do not depend on goodwill.
If you are one of the leaseholders
- Keep every request short, dated and specific.
- Use the statutory information routes in parallel with correspondence.
- Speak to other members before attempting anything that needs a threshold of support.
If you are one of the rtm directors
- Acknowledge correspondence even when a full answer will take time.
- Publish a simple reporting cycle so most questions are answered before they are asked.
- Take advice early if a dispute is escalating.
Common mistakes
Escalating tone instead of escalating process
Stronger language rarely produces answers. Statutory routes and meetings do.
Assuming silence proves mismanagement
It may show poor governance, but the statutory grounds for Tribunal action require more.
Acting alone where a threshold applies
Requiring a general meeting needs the required proportion of members, so build support first.
When to seek professional advice
Most questions on this topic are management questions rather than legal ones, and the two are worth separating. A managing agent can tell you how something works day to day and what it will cost. A solicitor tells you what your rights are and how a Tribunal is likely to view them.
Speak to a managing agent when
- Setting up predictable reporting and a published meeting cycle.
- Taking over correspondence handling so residents get timely answers.
- Bringing accounts and compliance records up to date.
- Reviewing whether the current agent arrangement is working.
Take specialist legal advice when
- You are considering removing a director.
- You want to enforce a statutory information request.
- You are contemplating a Tribunal application.
- You believe funds or safety are at risk.
East Valley Properties provides management expertise, not legal advice. Where a matter turns on the wording of your lease or on formal proceedings, we will say so and work alongside your solicitor.
Primary sources
The official material behind this guide. We summarise it in plain English rather than reproducing it.
- Companies Act 2006, section 303
Members' power to require directors to call a general meeting.
- Companies Act 2006, section 168
Resolution to remove a director, subject to the Act's procedure.
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, sections 21 and 22
Service charge summary and inspection rights.
- RTM Companies (Model Articles) (England) Regulations 2009
The prescribed articles most English RTM companies adopt.
- Search the Companies House register
Filings, officers and accounts for the RTM company.
Running or setting up an RTM company?
We act as managing agent for RTM companies across Greater London and Essex, covering service charge accounting, compliance and contractor management on fixed fees.
Answered by Romain Maillard - Director, East Valley Properties
Romain manages residential blocks and estates for RTM companies, residents' management companies, share of freehold developments and freeholders across East London and Essex.
Published
This answer has been anonymised. Personal details, addresses and company names have been removed. Guidance is general and does not replace advice from a solicitor or surveyor on your specific block. East Valley Properties is a managing agent, not a firm of solicitors or legal advisers.
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