IT'S TAKEN four years and a battle of David and Goliath proportions, but the owners in No.1 Deansgate have finally won the 'right to manage' the building.
"We would have had to seriously consider withdrawing our application. Imagine if we spent close to £50,000 and then lost our case on a technical argument?"
At the elventh hour, with a Court of Appeal hearing just days away, the landlord - global investment giant TRW Pensions - finally threw in the towel.
The sweetness of the victory is tempered by the fact it has cost around £30,000 in legal fees, caused untold stress and was utterly unnecessary in the first place.
The case all hinged on whether or not the landmark apartment block on the corner of Deansgate and St Mary's Gate, still one of the most prestigious in the city, stands detached and whether, according to one judge: 'one could notionally drop a pebble so that it fell vertically to the ground between the buildings.'
It’s almost a full twelve months since we broke the story and in that year it has been great to see more and more residents across the city flexing their legal muscle, however puny it may be, to get some control of the buildings they call home.
They all have Confidential's admiration and support because wresting control of your home if you live in a leasehold property is not easy.
No1 Deansgate
The No.1 Deansgate fight has been led by the charming and ever-patient Steve Birkbeck, a man who knows his way around the Manchester property scene. Birbeck is unimpressed with the Leasehold Law as it stands and the lack of support available to residents.
He said: “It's been a very long and in many ways unnecessary fight for something which we have a legal right to obtain and one which is enshrined in law.
“The frustrating bit about the whole legal process is that nothing really changed from the very first decision. It had to run through a very slow and complicated legal system.
“Firstly, an upper tribunal appeal should never have been allowed. It was blatantly obvious that the landlord’s lawyers were constructing a technical argument in an attempt to prevent us from pursuing our rights. Cases of Right To Manage (RTM) where residents are invoking their legal rights should be fast-tracked through the system.
“Secondly, there should be funds made available from central government to help residents pursue their rights. We were very fortunate in that we had a small number of very persistent people who were absolutely committed to the cause.
“If I'm completely honest, had the Court of Appeal decision been different and a hearing was allowed, we would have had to seriously consider withdrawing our application. Imagine if we spent close to £50,000 and then lost our case on a technical argument?
Steve Birkbeck
“I fully understand that the legislation is new and that there's no case law to refer to, however, we have now funded a test case which no doubt will be referred to by many thousands of other residents and have had no help from government.
“Many other residents finding themselves in the same position as ourselves may not be in a position financially to fight well funded landlords. That's very wrong."
The defining moment came back in October when a week before an oral hearing on whether they would be granted leave to appeal (TRW had already been told in writing that they would not - that’s how long-winded this process is) they withdrew their application.
There followed a 90 day cooling-off period and then finally on January 25 residents acquired the RTM.
Management of the building was handed over the same day to Block Property Management which is now in charge of the service levels and charges.
It was the sky high charges – up to £6,000 per year and a total bill of £550,000 per annum - which prompted the RTM in the first place.
Birbeck said: “Owners were frustrated that service charge costs were spiralling out of control and others worried that the high service charges were putting some buyers off purchasing.
“It’s a misconceived perception that No.1 Deansgate is home to the rich and famous, the vast majority of owners are normal hardworking people.
"Pressure from these residents back in 2010 resulted in a reduction and a change in management in 2012. However, we continued to fight for the RTM because ultimately we wanted this to be a decision in the hands of resident's hands.
"If the landlord sold their financial interests in the building any new landlord could change the management and the residents wouldn't have a say.
"Since the change in 2012 service charge costs have reduced and stabilised, however, we're confident further reductions can be made. We also believe further reduction in costs will return buyers’ confidence leading to stronger values within the building.
"We are looking forward to working closely with Mark Habib at Block Property Management over the next twelve months and our ultimate goal is to ensure that No.1 Deansgate maintains its position as arguably the most prestigious, desirable and well known address in the city."
No1 Deansgate from Market Street
Mark Habib, is delighted to have the building in his portfolio and said: “The residents of No.1 Deansgate want a building that is safe and fully maintained, but want to be able to have their say on important matters affecting their home and wallet. They now have the power to do this.
Although there are many companies that promote RTM, I would always advise that in the first instance, landlords should be given the opportunity to engage with their lessees and listen to what they want. This promotes trust. As RTM is still largely untested in many areas, my view is that it should only be considered as a last resort, as was the case with No.1 Deansgate.
“The building is now over twelve years old and I believe that the next twelve to 24 months will be very important in developing a sustainable strategy. We have made a solid start by making quick savings by breaking up larger contracts and employing individual ‘cost effective’ suppliers.
"Owners of No.1 can now be comforted in the knowledge that they have the autonomy of managing their building as they see fit, and have an agent that will look after their interests.”
This is another important win for owners in Manchester, and while the city had its own task force set up recently to deal with such problems, nothing much has come of it. With the current wave of construction, now's the time for it to kick-in.
The No.1 Deansgate case has been picked up by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, a boring name for an interesting campaign site dedicated to 'keeping the wolves from your door'.
