Resident management company directors

A director's job is not to know everything. It is to keep the decision honest.

Start with the company, the lease and the decision in front of the board. Advice and delegation help, but they do not replace an informed board decision.

A real building decision needs a record that survives the meeting.

Start here

Put the right responsibility in the right place.

The company

Check the company's articles, members, directors and formal powers. A director acts for the company, not simply for their own flat or one group of neighbours.

The building documents

Identify what the leases, titles and contracts require the company to do. Company authority and lease obligations answer different questions.

The board decision

State the issue, evidence, options, interests, advice and authority. Record who decided what and what must happen next.

Work through it

Make the board record do some work.

01
Name the decision
Write the question before debating solutions. Separate a company decision from an operational task or a leaseholder dispute.
02
Show the authority
Link the relevant article, lease clause, contract, budget or statutory duty. Do not rely on how the previous board handled it.
03
Expose interests and uncertainty
Record conflicts, missing evidence and advice still needed. A unanimous room does not remove a weak evidence base.
04
Close the loop
Give each action an owner, deadline and reporting route. Keep the decision and the later evidence that it was implemented together.

The board record

Six records the board should be able to find before it needs them.

A long compliance list is not the same as control. Start with the records that show the company, the building, the money, the decision and the follow-through.

Authority

Company and decision powers

Keep the current articles, director and member record, filing access, bank mandate and any reserved matters together. Record which power supports each material decision.

Building

Leases, titles and contracts

Know which executed leases, transfers, deeds, titles and supplier appointments govern the issue. A folder name or previous board practice is not a source.

Money

Balances and commitments

Reconcile service-charge and reserve balances, arrears, unpaid invoices, existing contracts and work already authorised. Keep forecast, approval and actual spend distinct.

Building evidence

Current reports and insurance

Keep the latest applicable assessments, inspection records, action logs, policy wording, schedule and live claims visible. Record missing or expired evidence rather than marking the building safe by assumption.

Decision

Minutes, interests and advice

Record the question, options, evidence, conflicts, advice and resolution. The minutes should show why the board decided, not only that a vote happened.

Delivery

Actions and handover

Give each action an owner, date and reporting route. Keep the evidence that the action happened beside the decision so the next board does not have to reconstruct it.

Take the next step in LEASE-iQ

What must this board control, and which records are missing?

Use this when taking over an RTM, RMC or share-of-freehold building.

Ready to copy

Questions to paste into LEASE-iQ

I have uploaded a lease from a resident-led building. The board is dealing with: [describe the handover or live decision]. Please identify what this lease says the landlord, management company, board and leaseholder must each do.

Please:
1. Identify the parties, their roles and the clauses that allocate repair, insurance, services, charges, consent and access.
2. Quote the short relevant wording and give the clause and page.
3. Identify decisions the lease reserves to one party and functions that may have been delegated to a managing agent.
4. List the accounts, policies, contracts, notices, certificates, plans and decision records the lease refers to or requires.
5. Separate the lease from company articles, titles, the management agreement, law and operational practice.
6. Identify any missing document or role assumption that could reverse the answer.
7. Finish with a board action list containing: source to obtain, person responsible, decision required, evidence of completion and any point needing professional advice.

Keep checking: One lease may not represent every flat or the company's authority. Check the full document set and company records.

Open the sources

Show the authority behind the board decision.

This guide is for resident management and right-to-manage company boards. It does not turn every building failure into personal director liability. Personal exposure depends on the company structure, the duty, the conduct and the facts.

LegislationCompanies Act 2006, sections 171 to 177

The general duties of directors

Government updateGOV.UK

Current official overview of a limited-company director's responsibilities

Government updateGOV.UK Director Information Hub

Official explanation of the general duties

Independent guidanceLeasehold Advisory Service

Current independent guide to running a right-to-manage company

Sources and current company-law status checked 18 August 2026. The company's articles, leases and appointment documents remain essential to the particular board.