London block management firm LRPM London expects a sharp rise in leaseholders taking control of their buildings in 2026 as reforms to leasehold law and growing resident awareness reshape the sector.
The company predicts three trends will dominate next year’s block management market: a wave of Right to Manage (RTM) applications following regulatory reforms introduced in March 2025, the continued rollout of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act.
It also reckons increasingly informed leaseholders pressing managing agents for transparency and accountability.
Letitia Randell (main picture), Chief Executive of LRPM London, says: “We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how leaseholders view their relationship with managing agents.”
POOR SERVICE
And she adds: “They’re realising they don’t have to accept poor service or inflated costs – they have the power to take direct control, and 2026 will be the year many choose to use it.”
One of the most significant changes is the scrapping of rules that previously required leaseholders to pay freeholders’ legal fees when pursuing RTM – a financial risk that often deterred challenges even where service levels were poor.
FINANCIAL DETERRENT
Randell says: “Previously, the threat of paying both sides’ legal costs made many leaseholders hesitant to proceed, even when management was clearly substandard.
“That financial deterrent is gone. We’re fielding enquiries from buildings that would never have considered RTM a year ago.”
LRPM London recently supported residents in a 24-storey Stratford development through the RTM process, working with specialist advisers The RTM Company.
TAKING CONTROL
The firm now manages the building and says residents have already identified more than £100,000 in annual savings since taking control.
She adds: “What’s striking about that building is how quickly residents mobilised once they understood their options.
“One resident did the research, spoke to neighbours, and suddenly there was critical mass for change. We’ll see that pattern repeated across London in 2026.
“The government has signalled its commitment to swift implementation. We’ve already seen the two-year ownership requirement scrapped and RTM reforms go live. The machinery is moving, and leaseholders should expect further changes throughout 2026.”
