The appeal is being heard alongside another appeal from the Upper Tribunal. Both appeals will wrestle with issues of statutory interpretation within the context of the right to manage.
The Appellants, three right to manage companies, have challenged the Upper Tribunal decision that they were not entitled to acquire the right to manage three blocks of flats in a development in Liverpool. The Appellants contend that the Upper Tribunal wrongly interpreted the test of “vertical division” in s. 72(3)(a) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (“CLRA 2002”) as requiring a physical division, such as a wall, separating the premises from the rest of the building. As such, the Upper Tribunal held that an open plan basement car park that extended under the footprint of each of the blocks precluded acquisition of the right to manage.
In response, the Second Respondent has invited the Court of Appeal to uphold the Upper Tribunal decision but for different and/or additional reasons than those given by the Upper Tribunal. In particular, it argues that the premises fail to satisfy the test in CLRA 2002, s. 72(3)(b) that they could be “redeveloped independently” of the rest of the building.
The appeals will be heard across two days (29 and 30 April 2026) and can be viewed live at the following link: (1) The Courtyard RTM Co Ltd & Ors (Appellants) v Rockwell (FC103) Ltd & Anr (Respondents)
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