Serving the RTM claim notice: a step-by-step guide

If you have been following the RTM process step by step, you will have already incorporated your RTM company at Companies House and served the notice inviting participation on every qualifying tenant who is not yet a member. Those two steps are prerequisites. The claim notice is what comes next — and it is the document that sets the clock running.

Where the claim notice sits in the RTM sequence

It helps to see the whole journey before zooming in on this particular moment:

1. Incorporate the RTM company — a company limited by guarantee, using the prescribed model articles, filed at Companies House.
2. Serve the notice inviting participation — every qualifying tenant who has not yet joined the RTM company must receive one. This gives them the chance to become a member before the formal claim is made.
3. Serve the claim notice — the formal statutory notice served on the landlord and all parties with management responsibilities. This is the document we are looking at in detail below.
4. Counter-notice window — the landlord has one month to respond. If no counter-notice arrives, the claim is deemed admitted.
5. Acquisition date — at least three months after the counter-notice deadline (longer if the claim has been disputed and goes to tribunal).

The claim notice is your declaration of intent, backed by statute. Once it is correctly served, the process has a momentum of its own. Conversely, a defective notice can bring the whole claim crashing down.

What the claim notice does

In legal terms, the claim notice is the RTM company's formal assertion of its right to manage the building, served under section 79 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002). It notifies the landlord — and any other relevant party — that the RTM company intends to acquire management functions on a specific date in the future.

Those management functions are substantial. Once the RTM company takes over, it becomes responsible for:

• Service charge collection and expenditure
• Repairs and maintenance of common parts
• Buildings insurance
• Statutory compliance across the building
• Section 20 major works consultations

It is worth being clear about what RTM does not do. The RTM company does not acquire the freehold, cannot set or collect ground rent, and cannot grant lease extensions. If those are your goals, you are looking at collective enfranchisement — a separate, more costly process.

Who the claim notice must be served on

This is one of the details that catches people out. The claim notice must be served on:

• The landlord (freeholder) — the person or company who owns the freehold.
• Any other party with management responsibilities — for example, a head leaseholder who holds a lease over the whole building and sub-lets individual flats, or an existing managing agent who holds management functions by virtue of a management agreement rather than just as an agent.

If the building's management structure is straightforward — a freehold company above a set of long-leaseholders — then you will usually just be serving the freeholder. But many blocks have more complex structures: head leases, intermediate landlords, or historic arrangements. It is essential to identify every party correctly before you serve.

Serving the wrong parties, or failing to serve a party who should have received the notice, can give grounds for a successful counter-notice disputing the claim.

Strict content requirements

The CLRA 2002 and the associated regulations are prescriptive about what the claim notice must contain. The required contents include:

• The RTM company's name and registered address — your Companies House details.
• The address of the building — clearly identified.
• Details of the qualifying tenants who are members of the RTM company — enough to demonstrate that the 50% participation threshold is met.
• A statement that the RTM company intends to acquire management functions.
• The proposed acquisition date — which must be at least three months after the date by which a counter-notice could have been served (i.e. at least three months after the one-month counter-notice deadline).
• An invitation to the landlord to respond within the statutory period.

The courts and tribunals have taken a strict approach to defective claim notices. Errors in the prescribed content — including, in some cases, minor errors in how qualifying tenants are listed — have been found to invalidate claims. This is not an area to improvise.

Service of the notice

Physical service matters too. The notice must be served in accordance with the relevant provisions — typically by hand, first-class post, or (depending on what your lease or the relevant statutory rules permit) electronically. If you are serving by post, you will need evidence that it was sent. A solicitor will advise on the most robust method for your specific situation.

Keep dated, documented records of every notice you serve. If a dispute arises later, you will need to prove not just that the notice was sent but that it was received or deemed received under the applicable rules.

The one-month counter-notice window

Once the claim notice has been correctly served, the landlord has one calendar month in which to serve a counter-notice. The counter-notice must either:

• Admit the claim — confirming that the RTM company is entitled to acquire management functions, or
• Dispute the claim — on one of the prescribed grounds set out in the CLRA 2002 (for example, that the building does not qualify, that the RTM company's membership does not meet the participation threshold, or that the claim notice was defective).

A landlord cannot dispute a claim simply because they do not want to hand over management. The grounds are statutory and limited. This is part of what makes RTM a genuinely powerful right for leaseholders — it is a no-fault mechanism, and a well-prepared claim based on solid eligibility is difficult to defeat.

If the landlord serves no counter-notice within the one-month window, the claim is deemed admitted by operation of law. You do not need the landlord's active agreement — silence counts as admission. This is an important protection for leaseholders.

Working out the acquisition date

The acquisition date — the date on which the RTM company formally takes over management — must be at least three months after the date on which the counter-notice period expires. In practical terms:

• Day 0: claim notice served
• Day 30 (approx.): counter-notice deadline
• Day 120 (approx.): earliest possible acquisition date (three months after the deadline)

If the landlord disputes the claim and the matter goes to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), the acquisition date will be later — it cannot occur until the tribunal has resolved the dispute.

Some RTM companies set the acquisition date further out than the minimum to give themselves time to prepare: to set up bank accounts, take on insurance, transfer service charge records, and notify suppliers. This is sensible. You are inheriting a live building, and the handover needs to be managed carefully.

Common reasons claims fail at this stage

Years of practice and tribunal decisions have identified some recurring pitfalls:

• Inadequate service — serving the wrong entity, serving the right entity at the wrong address, or not keeping evidence of service.
• Defective content — missing required information, naming the RTM company incorrectly, or setting an acquisition date that falls short of the three-month minimum.
• Premature service — serving the claim notice before the notice inviting participation has been properly completed.
• Wrong building description — particularly in converted buildings or those with complex ownership structures.

Thorough preparation before service is the best insurance against all of these.

How to get the notice right

The most straightforward advice is: do not draft or serve the claim notice without professional input. This is a statutory notice with prescribed content, and the consequences of getting it wrong — a failed claim, wasted costs, potentially having to wait before you can try again — are significant.

In practice, many RTM companies use a solicitor to draft and serve the claim notice, or at minimum to review a draft before it is sent. A specialist leasehold solicitor will know the current requirements, the current case law on defects, and the quirks that apply to your specific building.

Reeve can help you track where you are in the process and drafts notices for director review, but we are clear that statutory notices are for approval by you and, where appropriate, by your solicitor — Reeve never auto-files anything, and any litigation arising from a disputed counter-notice is handled by a qualified solicitor, not us.

FAQ

Can we serve the claim notice and the notice inviting participation at the same time?

No. The notice inviting participation must be served first, and there is a minimum period before the claim notice can follow. The two notices are distinct steps in the statutory sequence.

What if the freeholder has sold the freehold since we started the process?

You should serve the claim notice on whoever currently holds the relevant interest. If the freehold has changed hands, check Companies House and Land Registry records to identify the current freeholder before service.

Do all RTM company members have to be listed on the claim notice?

The claim notice must include enough information to demonstrate that the participation threshold — qualifying tenants of at least 50% of the flats — is met. The precise requirements are set out in the regulations; your solicitor will ensure the list is complete and correctly presented.

What happens if the landlord claims they never received the notice?

This is why documented service matters. If you served by post, keep the proof of posting. If you served by hand, have a witness or use a process server. A solicitor can advise on the method most likely to withstand challenge.

Can we withdraw the claim notice if we change our minds?

Yes, but be aware that withdrawal has consequences. Withdrawing a claim notice, or having it deemed withdrawn, can affect the RTM company's ability to bring a further claim within a certain period. Take advice before withdrawing.

---

The claim notice is the pivot point of the whole RTM process. Everything before it is preparation; everything after it is response and completion. Serving it correctly, on the right parties, with the right content, is what transforms your RTM company from a formation exercise into a live claim. Take the time to get it right.

For further free guidance on RTM, the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) offers a helpline and detailed online resources.