88 homes. One building. A practical route to better oversight.
The proposed professional support

Why Mylako is being proposed as Richmond Gate’s managing agent

The RTM company would hold the management responsibility. A professional agent can deliver the day-to-day work under a contract overseen by leaseholder directors.

Support proposed by Mylako

Leaseholders lead. The agent supports.

The RTM project is being organised and led by Richmond Gate leaseholders. Mylako has offered to support start-up administration alongside the leaseholder directors and solicitor, contribute up to around £5,000 towards initial legal and professional costs, and accept a three-month notice period in the eventual management contract, subject to written agreement.

Leaseholder directors will make decisions for the RTM company. The solicitor will advise on eligibility and prepare the statutory notices. Mylako’s role in the application would be support; it would not lead or control the leaseholders’ process. Any appointment and proposed terms must be approved by the RTM company and recorded in writing.

Companies House lists Mylako Limited as an active company incorporated on 24 July 2006, with its registered office in London and a real-estate-management SIC classification. This supports describing it as a long-running London property-management company; it does not establish service quality or financial strength.

Proposed agent

Mylako Limited

Prospective property manager: Eli Rosenblatt MRICS
16 Upper Woburn Place
London WC1H 0AF

Website: mylako.com
Telephone: +44 20 7183 0321

Proposed only. The RTM company must complete due diligence and approve a written management agreement before appointment.

Why the current arrangement must change

Rebbeck Brothers currently manages the building for the freeholder.

Under the current model, Rebbeck Brothers takes its instructions through the freeholder’s management arrangement. Leaseholders pay service charges, but leaseholder directors do not appoint or govern the agent. That is the accountability gap RTM is intended to address.

When RTM is acquired, the management functions covered by the leases and the law transfer to the RTM company. The freeholder’s existing management contract for those services does not simply continue as before: the RTM company must decide how the services will be provided and set up its own arrangements. The building’s essential services must be planned to continue through the handover.

Why the agent’s authority has to change

For RTM to deliver leaseholder-led management, the agent must take instructions from the RTM company and work within a contract approved and overseen by its directors. Rebbeck Brothers cannot remain in the same freeholder-appointed role for management functions that have transferred to the RTM company.

The law does not require the RTM company to choose a different property-management firm. It could consider the existing provider and appoint it under a new agreement. What cannot carry on unchanged is the freeholder-led appointment and reporting line.

Why Mylako is being proposed

The project proposes Mylako as the RTM company’s professional managing agent. Mylako has offered start-up administration support alongside leaseholder directors and the solicitor, up to around £5,000 towards initial legal and professional costs, and a three-month notice period in the eventual management contract, subject to written agreement.

These offers make Mylako a practical proposal to consider; they do not make its appointment automatic. The leaseholder-led RTM company must check references, fees, insurance, capacity, service standards and contract terms, then make and record its own decision.

This is a governance change, not a personal allegation. The project is not claiming that Rebbeck Brothers has acted unlawfully. The reason for changing the current arrangement is that an agent accountable to the freeholder cannot provide direct leaseholder control. A new RTM contract would put instructions, priorities, reporting and performance review in the hands of the RTM company. Read the leaseholder questions and answers →
Why a London-based firm could work for Bournemouth

Accountability comes from clear standards and leaseholder oversight.

Mylako is London-based, while Richmond Gate is in Bournemouth. The proposed arrangement can work well if the RTM company sets clear service standards, keeps decisions with leaseholder directors, and requires regular local attendance. The managing agent is accountable to the company under its contract, and client-money handling is subject to RICS standards and the applicable protection scheme.

Potential advantages

  • A fresh, documented contractor review. Leaseholder directors can review every existing contractor, compare prices and scope, and check current public-liability and other relevant insurance before work is authorised.
  • Pay for evidenced work. A clear approval process can require work orders, completion evidence and invoices to match. No contractor—local or otherwise—should be paid for work that has not been completed and checked.
  • Transparent procurement. Written quote comparisons, declared conflicts of interest and clear rules on commissions help prevent backhanders, undisclosed benefits, favouritism and poor value.
  • Professional coordination. An experienced agent can coordinate the solicitor, building records, budgets, contractors and statutory obligations, with leaseholder directors setting priorities and reviewing results.
  • Professional credentials and money controls. The prospective property manager is MRICS, and Mylako’s RICS client-money obligations and CMP membership provide defined standards and a route to claim protection within the scheme’s limits and rules.
  • Start-up support. Mylako has offered administration support and up to around £5,000 towards initial legal and professional costs, subject to written terms.
  • A manageable exit route. The proposed three-month notice period, if agreed in the contract, gives the RTM company a practical way to change agent if the service is not meeting expectations.

What the contract should make clear

  • Local service: scheduled inspections, site attendance when needed, named contacts, response times and a clear escalation route. Local contractors can still be used where they meet the agreed standards and offer good value.
  • Leaseholder control: directors approve budgets, significant works and payment limits; receive regular reports; and can inspect records and invoices. The three-month notice term should include fees, handover support and access to records.

These are practical terms for the RTM company to agree before appointment. They turn the London location into a service plan residents can measure.

Client money safeguards

Specific protections, with clear limits.

Mylako’s RICS Client Money Protection certificate names Mylako Limited, RICS Firm Number 041818, and is valid until 30 March 2027. It states that valid claims are subject to a £50,000 per-claim limit, an annual aggregate limit of up to £10.3 million, and a separate £10 million annual aggregate pool for qualifying letting-agent and property-manager activity.

RICS says its Client Money Protection Scheme is a scheme of last resort. A claim is subject to the scheme rules, limits and exclusions, and claimants should first seek recovery through available routes, including the firm and its insurers. This is a government-approved protection scheme for qualifying residential agency work in England; it is not a government guarantee or an insurance policy covering every loss.

RICS handling requirements

How client money must be controlled

  • Client funds must be held in a client money account at a properly authorised bank or building society, under the firm’s control and separate from office money.
  • The account title must include the words “client” and the firm’s name. The bank must acknowledge that it will not combine the account with other firm accounts or set off the firm’s debts against it.
  • Records must show receipts and payments for each client. Reconciliations compare the bank statement, cashbook and client ledger; ordinarily these are completed monthly, reviewed by a principal or senior staff member, and differences investigated.
  • Client money may be used only for the relevant client’s matters, with withdrawals authorised under agreed instructions and procedures.

These are RICS professional-standard requirements. They reduce risk and improve accountability; they do not make the risk of fraud or loss impossible.

Evidence for leaseholders

What this means for Richmond Gate

The certificate provides evidence of Mylako’s RICS CMP membership and the scheme’s stated limits on its issue date. It does not itself show which bank account would hold Richmond Gate funds, confirm that the account has been opened, or guarantee that a future claim will qualify.

Before appointment, the RTM company should receive Mylako’s published client-money procedures, written confirmation of the proposed client account and its title, the reconciliation and approval process, and the current CMP certificate. The contract should also set clear payment authority limits and reporting arrangements.

The certificate expires on 30 March 2027. If the appointment or handling of funds continues after that date, the directors should obtain the renewed certificate and confirm that scheme membership remains current.

View Mylako’s RICS Client Money Protection certificate (PDF)

Important distinction: RICS regulation and membership of the RICS Client Money Protection Scheme do not mean Mylako is authorised by the FCA. The RICS standard requires client money to be held at a bank or building society authorised by the relevant banking regulator. CMP protection is separate and remains subject to the scheme’s eligibility rules, limits and exclusions.
What we are aiming for

The service charge may not go down. More needs to get done.

RTM does not automatically reduce service charges. Richmond Gate’s aim is stronger oversight: clearer priorities, follow-up on repairs, reliable records, value-for-money scrutiny and regular reporting on work completed.

Become a director or support RTM