Make sure you have the support of your fellow leaseholders.

Arrange a meeting for leaseholders to discuss their views about the management of your block. Make sure you invite the directors if they are leaseholders.

Tip: hold it in one of the flats. The 1st rule of apathy dictates that

1. Not many will turn up.
2. No one will turn up if they have to travel or England is playing!

Stick invitations through doors and put flyers in communal areas so that everyone knows about it. Ask tenants who are renting to pass details on to their landlords.

Tip: Do not ask your agent to call an EGM or mail leaseholders as you do not want them to know what you are up to at this stage.

Make a note of the names and details of all who attend and find out whether any of them are the directors of your management company. You may have found that the only directors listed are proxy directors. That means they are not leaseholders but the agent themselves. If this is the case, you will need to appoint at least two directors (your Articles of Association will tell you how many you need) and resign the proxy director(s), this is where it gets a little complicated if you do not have a co-operative agent.

Fill out a form 288a from Companies House for each director. Providing your articles of association allow it, your present directors (the agent) can sign them and send them to Companies House for registration. Ask the agent to resign their own directorship using form 288b. If the agent is also the Company Secretary you will need to send all forms through them. You will now have control of your company and can move to the next step.

If you do not have a co-operative agent, i.e. they refuse to appoint your choice of directors and won't resign themselves, you will have to force the issue. Click here for more details.

Tip: Print off, fill in and sign several copies of these forms as they frequently get "lost in the post", especially in the Southend area.

If you are all in agreement, go to step 3.