General Queries
This section addresses the initial questions raised by the community regarding the transition to local management. We aim to keep this updated as new topics arise.
1. What is the Right to Manage (RTM)?
The RTM is a legal right under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. It allows qualifying leaseholders to take over management responsibilities from the freeholder or their managing agent by forming an RTM Company.
2. Why has Newham’s Yard formed an RTM Company?
To give leaseholders more control over how our development is run - including decisions about service charges, maintenance, and the overall standard of care. It’s a move toward leaseholder-led, transparent, and cost-effective management.
3. How much does it cost to join?
Nothing — it is completely free to become a member of the RTM Company. By joining, you help strengthen the collective voice of leaseholders and move us closer to better oversight and resident-focused decisions. RTM may also lead to lower service charges and may increase the resale value of your property.
4. Who can join the RTM Company?
All qualifying leaseholders can, and are encouraged to, join the RTM Company.
5. What are the benefits of RTM?
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Greater Control – Leaseholders make key decisions about how buildings are managed.
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Transparency – Clear oversight of budgets, service charges, and maintenance
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Cost Efficiency – Ability to appoint better-value contractors and agents.
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Accountability – Decisions are made by people who have a stake in the property.
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Improved Communication – A stronger collective voice and quicker action on issues
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Eliminate potential conflicts of interest owing to Galliard Estate Management (a sister company of the freeholder and developer Galliard Homes) managing the estate.
6. What does becoming a member involve?
Becoming a member shows your support for the RTM Company and gives you a say in the management of your building. There are no financial commitments, and no ongoing responsibilities unless you choose to be more involved - such as attending meetings or becoming a director.
7. Will this affect my lease or ownership?
No. Your lease and property ownership remain exactly the same. RTM simply gives leaseholders control over management decisions.
8. Will the RTM company replace the current managing agent?
Yes. Once the RTM process is completed, the RTM Company will have the legal right to appoint a new managing agent. The current agent, Galliards Estate Management (acting for freeholder) will be replaced by Sterling Estates Management, which has been selected by the RTM company. Sterling Estates Management will manage the development under the direction of the RTM Directors, all of whom are leaseholders at Newham’s Yard, for an initial term of two years.
9. Who manages the RTM Company?
The RTM company is led by a board of directors, all leaseholders at Newham’s Yard. They act in the best interests of the wider leaseholder community, supported by professional advisers as needed.
10. Can I help beyond becoming a member?
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Yes - if you'd like to be more involved, you can:
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Stand as a director.
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Attend meetings and stay engaged.
Leaseholders’ queries
We hope the following will help answer most common questions leaseholders have sent to the RTM company. It’s designed to provide clear, straightforward information about our role, plans, and how we work on behalf of all leaseholders at Newham’s Yard. We will update it and adding new questions as they arise.
1. Could GEM challenge the RTM process, and if that happens, could Sterling Estates Management withdraw? If so, who would cover the costs?
Sterling Estates Management is not the applicant for the RTM – the applicant is the Newham’s Yard RTM Company, which is made up of resident leaseholders. Sterling Estates Management is simply the managing agent chosen by the RTM company.
Galliard/GEM can challenge the RTM, but under current law such disputes are now heard at the First-tier Tribunal rather than the County Court. Importantly, following the Leasehold Reform Act 2024 (effective 3 March 2025), the freeholder cannot recover their legal costs from leaseholders in these cases. This change was introduced specifically to make it easier and less risky for leaseholders to achieve RTM.
Under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 and the Leasehold Reform Act 2024, Galliard/GEM cannot ultimately block the RTM if the legal requirements are met — they can only delay it temporarily through an appeal.
Sterling Estates Management is not charging leaseholders for the RTM process.
2. If the RTM is successful and Sterling Estates Management is appointed, what happens if GEM delays handing over important records such as service charge accounts, contractor information, warranties, or legal dispute files?
By law, GEM must hand over all relevant records and documents within three months of the RTM taking effect. If they fail to do so, the RTM company can apply to the First-tier Tribunal to compel compliance.
However, such delays are unlikely. GEM is a member of The Property Institute (TPI), which has strict rules for the timely transfer of documents during a handover. Failure to comply can result in disciplinary action by the TPI, as demonstrated in January 2025 when Firstport was suspended for not transferring records to a new managing agent.
3. If GEM holds financial records, service charge accounts, or supplier contracts, what legal safeguards ensure a full and transparent handover?
Under Section 90 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, the outgoing managing agent must hand over all necessary records within 90 days of the RTM taking effect.
In addition to this legal requirement, GEM’s membership in The Property Institute (TPI) means they are bound by strict professional rules. Failure to comply can lead to disciplinary action, as happened in January 2025 when Firstport was suspended by the TPI for not transferring documents within the required timeframe. Such failures can also damage a company’s reputation, leading property developers and clients to withdraw business.
4. Will major repairs be paid for from the service charge reserve (sinking fund), and will these funds remain ring-fenced during the RTM transition?
Yes. Major works are funded from the reserve (or sinking) fund, which is built from leaseholder contributions. These funds are legally ring-fenced for their intended purpose and will remain so during and after the transition.
Once the RTM company takes over, it will manage the reserve fund and oversee planned works. This could include reviewing or changing contractors to ensure better value for money.
The new RTM company will operate differently by striving to be far more transparent, ensuring leaseholders have clear visibility over reserve fund use, major works planning, and contractor selection.
5. How will the governance of the Newham’s Yard RTM Company work once it takes over management?
The RTM Company is governed by its Articles of Association, which set out the rules for how it operates. The board is currently made up of three directors. Once the RTM takes over, it will be responsible for managing services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance, and other landlord functions as defined under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.
The RTM Company intends to appoint Sterling Estates Management as its managing agent on an initial two-year contract. Sterling Estates Management will act under the board’s instruction and will be responsible for day-to-day estate management, while strategic decisions and oversight will remain with the directors.
The directors are currently preparing a detailed governance framework that will include examples of how decisions will be made, how leaseholders can raise concerns, and how transparency will be maintained. This will be shared with all members so they can clearly see how the RTM is run and how their voices can be heard.
All qualifying leaseholders are entitled to become members of the RTM Company. Membership gives you the right to attend general meetings, vote on key issues, and even stand for election as a director. The Articles of Association outline how to apply for membership and how members can formally influence decisions, ensuring the RTM remains accountable to the people it represents.
Sterling Estates Management Specific Q&A with Philip Sherreard
(Head of Property & Systems)
1. What is the size of estates managed?
Our portfolio varies from small 2 flat conversions through to large multi-tenure estates of several hundred units. We look after blocks through the UK however most of our portfolio is concentrated within and around the M25.
2. What is your experience with leading developers/freeholders?
We are experienced in taking over blocks on behalf of RTM Companies from multiple developers and agents of varying sizes, including the larger firms such as Galliard, Berkley, Bellway, Firstport, Rendall & Rittner, Estates & Management.
Sterling Estates Management was recently successful in taking RTM at Riverdale House in Lewisham which was managed by GEM (under the current Newham’s Yard property manager George Georgiou). Riverdale House has 154 residential units.
3. What personnel resources would be dedicated to running the blocks and can you identify them upfront?
There would be two personnel elements dedicated to the block. Firstly, you would have a handover and onboarding team, who would work with the RTM Company and the outgoing agent to facilitate a smooth and successful handover of management. This is also an opportunity to learn the block. This would be comprised of a Project Delivery Manager, Senior Property Management personnel including myself and my director and the direct Lead Property Manager. This would then transition into the day-to-day team as at commencement of management, being the Lead PM, assistant PM, under the oversight of senior management.
4. What is the management fee proposed?
We can confirm that we would charge a fee within the range of £295 - £350 plus VAT per unit per year. We would be happy to fix our fees for the first 2 years of management.
5. What is the length of any minimum contract term applicable for absorbing RTM cost? Are there any key clauses that lock leaseholders into any management agreement?
Given that we absorb a large amount of the initial setup and acquisition costs, our business model is such that we would look to agree a 2-year management term post-successful RTM acquisition. Our standard management contract would then run on a normal annual rollover, with a 3 month notice period required prior to each annual renewal.
6. What is the expected cost per flat for the RTM process, and would this be reimbursed via the service charge?
We absorb the RTM costs up to the point of service of the claim notice (so no cost to the leaseholders based on agreed terms). This is simply due to matters beyond then being dependent on how the freeholder/landlord responds to the claim notice i.e. to accept the same or to challenge the process. Therefore, whilst any challenge would be initially dealt with by us in house to the greatest extend possible, insofar as liaising with and seeking to agree matters with the freeholder, ultimately it may be that a Tribunal application would be required in order to seek a determination. In this event, we would liaise directly with the RTM Company client in order to specifically agree in advance parameters and costs. Nevertheless, please rest assured that we are committed and motivated to working with the RTM Company to achieve your goals, for example a recent RTM we acted for against GEM required FTT action which we did not charge for.
7. What are the key areas of savings you believe you can make for this specific case?
Having reviewed the available documentation, we maintain the savings could be made in the key areas of staff provision and insurance, as these are the largest cost centres and therefore most open to efficiency/competitiveness checks. There is also a potential for savings for costs noted for the Building Safety Act; this is subjective to current status and what works are anticipated. We are also certain we would save monies on our services (although we have not seen details of current services), we have strong relationships with various suppliers and service providers and are able to command competitive pricing.
8. Can you be specific about what the expected service charge could be for a 2-bed flat of say 800 sq. ft within the development?
Every development is different and has its own requirements and idiosyncrasies. As a general rule however, we would expect an annual service charge in the region of £3500-£4500 for a unit like this. This is of course highly subject to the age, amenities and services at the development, and what future works are being planned for/included in current service charge levels. An important point to note is that it is not always about cost; the level and transparency of services can sometimes be a greater point of contention for leaseholders.
9. How are potential issues with prior years accounts / service charges dealt with? (If you for example identity material fire safety expenditure mismatch/overcharging).
The RTM takes over management responsibility from the RTM commencement date onward. Therefore, depending on when exactly this occurs in comparison to the service charge period, there will conceivably be a handover of expenditure for the initial part of the service charge period. If when reviewing the records provided it became apparent that material issues existed, then in the first instance this could be raised with the former agent in order to elicit a detailed response/reasons for such. In circumstances where such response is insufficient or unsatisfactory, then guidance can be given to the leaseholders as to their options for challenging the same, for example at a First-tier Tribunal. In the latter respect, given this would be dealing with historical periods, this would not normally be covered by our management fee proposal. However nevertheless we would be more than happy to provide guidance to the leaseholders / RTM Company and or agree a separate scope of services for any such historical material anomalies. We aim to assist our clients as best possible and in general go beyond the norm.
10. How is interim invoicing dealt with? I.e., RTM takes place in a period for which leaseholders have already paid their service charge in advance. We pay 6months ahead.
This would depend on when the RTM actually takes over. The RTM would be able to levy any service charges under the leases for periods commencing post-handover. For example, in a situation where the RTM takes over in say April, then if service charges were demanded normally in January and July, and the former agent had already demanded for January, the RTM would be able to demand the charges for July. The former agent would be expected to hand over any unspent funds they had collected for the January demand, up to the point of handover, thereby providing the RTM with cashflow until it can levy its own demands.
11. Can you confirm your work is free of commissions or referral fees and any conflict of interests are declared to the Directors without request.
Yes, this is confirmed.
12. Can you confirm you are prepared to: (1) cover all the costs of the RTM including setting up the company; (2) act as the company secretary; (3) Getting the Leaseholders names posting out the request and the notice and (4) dealing with the current managing agent?
Yes, this is confirmed.
13. What is the timeline for takeover of block should vote conclude successfully tomorrow (for example)?
A: The timeline for the takeover of RTM varies greatly depending on 2 factors. Firstly, the length of time taken to achieve the required 50% membership threshold i.e. leaseholders signing up for RTM membership.
Secondly, the response (if any) from the landlord following service of the claim notice. The incorporation of the RTM Company is relatively quick, normally only 1 to 3 weeks. We would then obtain details of all units from Land Registry and issue the Invitation Notice to everyone. It can then take anything from a few weeks to a few months to reach the threshold, depending on both general desire of the block and also leaseholder engagement in pushing the process forward with fellow leaseholders.
Once 50% is reached, the Claim Notice is served, and the landlord has one month to respond. If the RTM is accepted (which include receiving no response at all) then the RTM takes over 3 months thereafter. If the process is challenged however, then the Tribunal must be engaged which can be anything from 6-12 months depending on the level and technicalities of the challenges and also the timetable given by the Tribunal. Once the Tribunal delivers its decision, then the RTM would take over 3-4 months thereafter.