About Us
In the early 1990s, the tenants and leaseholders of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea decided to pursue their legal right to manage their own homes. Following two separate ballots in 1994 and 1995, the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) was established on 1st April 1996 and the responsibility for managing 9,760 properties passed from The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the Tenant Management Organisation.
The Council still owns the properties and retains responsibility for strategic housing policies and homeless people. The relationship between the TMO and the Council is governed by a Management Agreement, which covers all areas of the landlord business. Whilst the TMO still enjoys a close working relationship with the Council, it is a completely separate company.
In 2002 the TMO become the first tenant-led Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) and took over the responsibility for major capital works from the Council to access extra resources and funding to enable the TMO to bring the properties up to the Decent Homes Standard.
The TMO is managed by a Board of Directors comprising of eight elected tenant and leaseholder members, four appointed Councillor members and three independent appointed other members. The aims of the organisation are numerous, as set out by strategic objectives in a business plan each year.
The TMO is a company limited by guarantee with members whose main residence is in Council owned or leasehold accommodation. There are currently over 4,500 members of the TMO, and we actively encourage residents to become members. If you are interested in becoming a member, please visit the TMO Membership section of this website.
The Board meets on a regular basis to monitor how well the TMO is doing, agree plans for the future and decide on policies. Board members are also involved in committees, sub-committees, working groups and panels. Board members are elected for three years. They are not paid for their work and are not allowed to do paid professional work for the TMO.
A Chief Executive, appointed by the Board, has overall responsibility for the successful operation of the TMO, and for ensuring that the Board's decisions and policies are carried out.
At the time of the transfer of management responsibility to the TMO approximately 18% of the properties had been sold on long leases. Many of these had been bought under the Right to Buy legislation, first introduced in 1980, although for many years before the Royal Borough had been using its discretionary powers to sell property to its existing tenants. Many residents who purchased under the Right to Buy legislation have since sold on their properties and a large number of our leases are held by residents who have bought on the open market. These residents continue to be subject to the terms of the original lease.