Managing the building. Supporting the board. Navigating the dual role. Specialist RMC management across North, East London and Essex — with professional distance where the structure demands it.
A residents' management company is a company in which the leaseholders of a building hold shares and which has management responsibilities built into the leases from the point the block was developed. Unlike an RTM company — which is formed by leaseholders specifically to take control away from the freeholder — an RMC is part of the building's legal structure from the beginning.
The directors of an RMC are typically leaseholders themselves. They live in the building they are responsible for managing. They pay service charges into the accounts they approve. They have neighbours who are also fellow shareholders. This creates a set of dynamics that straightforward corporate governance does not fully prepare anyone for — and that a managing agent who understands leasehold management needs to navigate carefully.
Neon Property Services manages residential blocks on behalf of RMCs across North, East London and Essex. We handle the day-to-day management, the financial accounts, and the compliance obligations on behalf of the company. Directors govern. We manage. And when the relationship between those two roles gets complicated — as it sometimes does in buildings where directors are also leaseholders are also neighbours — we handle it professionally.
The defining characteristic of an RMC directorship is the dual role. The same person who sits on the board and approves the annual budget is also a leaseholder who pays that budget through their service charge. The same person who has to enforce a lease breach against a neighbour may also see that neighbour in the car park every morning.
This creates tensions that a well-structured managing agent relationship can help manage. It also creates situations where directors need professional distance — where the right answer needs to come from the managing agent rather than from a fellow leaseholder who happens to hold a directorship.
A director wants a repair that benefits their flat more than others
Directors have a duty to act in the interests of the company, not just their own interests as leaseholders. Decisions that disproportionately benefit one director need careful handling.
How we handle it: We advise on whether proposed expenditure is a proper service charge cost, draft the agenda for the board decision, and ensure the decision is minuted correctly. Where a director has a conflict of interest, we flag it.
A leaseholder challenges the service charge and one of the directors is their neighbour
The director cannot be seen to be acting personally against a neighbour. But the RMC has a legitimate interest in recovering properly demanded service charges.
How we handle it: We manage the challenge formally through the correct process — the director's name is not the face of the response. The RMC's position is put by the managing agent, not by whoever lives next door.
A lease breach needs to be enforced against someone who socialises with the directors
Informal conversations between neighbours are not the right channel for lease enforcement. They create ambiguity, precedent, and personal animosity.
How we handle it: We issue the formal breach notice, manage the timeline, and handle the follow-up. The process is correct, documented, and independent of personal relationships.
Directors disagree among themselves about how to manage the building
Director disagreements in an RMC can become leaseholder disagreements. The managing agent sits in the middle.
How we handle it: We operate on the basis of board decisions, not individual director preferences. We prepare clear papers for board meetings, minute decisions accurately, and implement what the board decides. We do not take sides in director disputes.
Our RMC management service covers everything the building needs and everything the board needs to fulfil its responsibilities to the company and to its shareholders.
Service charge accounts managed to RICS Service Charge Code. Designated client account per block. Annual budget prepared and presented to the board. Annual accounts prepared and certified.
Agenda prepared, papers circulated in advance, minutes taken and issued. AGM managed including statutory notice requirements, proxy forms, and shareholder register. Companies House filings managed where required.
Full compliance calendar maintained on BlocksOnline. Fire risk assessment, insurance, safety certificates, and building safety obligations tracked and managed. Nothing expires without advance notice and action.
Breach notices issued in the company's name. Formal process followed correctly — notice, remedy period, further action. Directors are not expected to manage lease enforcement against their neighbours personally.
Section 20 consultation managed correctly from notice of intention through to contractor appointment and works completion. Works supervised on the board's behalf. Supervision fee 10% of contract value, agreed and disclosed in advance.
Where a director has a personal interest in a board decision, we flag it, advise on how it should be handled, and ensure the board process is correct. We do not allow personal interests to contaminate board decisions.
The board governs. We manage. The table below sets out exactly where authority sits and where day-to-day responsibility begins.
| Area | RMC Board | Neon |
|---|---|---|
| Annual budget | Approve before demands are issued | Prepare, present, issue demands on approval |
| Major works | Approve scope and contractor selection | Manage S20, tender, supervise, final account |
| Service charge accounts | Review and approve annual accounts | Prepare, manage, certify |
| Lease enforcement | Instruct action where board decision needed | Issue notices, manage process, report outcomes |
| Buildings insurance | Approve policy at renewal | Arrange, monitor conditions, manage claims liaison |
| Board and AGM meetings | Attend, chair, vote on resolutions | Prepare papers, minute, file at Companies House |
| Leaseholder queries | Available for escalated matters | Handle day-to-day, escalate where needed |
| Companies House filings | Sign where director signature required | Prepare and file confirmation statement, annual accounts |
| Conflict of interest situations | Declare interest, withdraw from decision if required | Advise, document, ensure process is clean |
An RMC is a registered company at Companies House. This means it has legal filing obligations that are separate from the property management obligations — and that many directors are not aware of until they receive a reminder from Companies House or, worse, a penalty notice.
Filed annually to confirm the company's registered details are correct.
Small company accounts prepared and filed at Companies House on the required schedule.
When directors change, Companies House must be notified. We manage the filings.
The company must have a registered address. We provide this for every RMC we manage.
Missed deadlines attract automatic penalties and persistent non-compliance can result in Companies House striking the company off the register — which creates significant problems for a company that has management responsibilities written into the leases of every flat in the building. We manage the Companies House obligations for every RMC we are instructed by, as part of our standard management service.
RMC directors are not usually looking for the cheapest managing agent. They are looking for an agent who understands the complexity of what they are managing and who can be trusted to manage it properly — professionally, transparently, and without creating more problems than they solve.
We have been managing residential blocks across North, East London and Essex for over 20 years. We are accredited by The Property Institute at IRPM Level 3. We hold Client Money Protection and are members of The Property Ombudsman scheme. Every block we manage has a designated client account, an online portal for director access, and a compliance calendar that means nothing is missed.
We are a team, not a call centre. Directors can reach us by phone, WhatsApp, or email. When something needs to be dealt with, we deal with it. When something complicated comes up — a director conflict, a leaseholder challenge, a lease enforcement matter that has become contentious — we handle it with the professional distance and procedural correctness that the situation requires.
We manage residential blocks on behalf of RMC boards across North, East London and Essex. Whether you are looking for a new managing agent or reviewing your current arrangement, start with a conversation.
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