The freeholder owned a development containing a number of flats, 17 of which were the subject of a head lease in favour of a housing association, and underlet on separate shared ownership leases for terms greater than 21 years. Five of the shared ownership tenants had staircased their share in the property to 100% but the others had not. The respondent right to manage company, established with a view to acquiring the right to manage the block of flats pursuant to the Commonhold and Leasehold reform Act 2002, gave notice of its claim to do so. The freeholder objected to the notice, contending that the notice of invitation to participate ought to have been given to the housing association, since the tenants with shared ownership leases who had interests of less than 100% were not “qualifying tenants” since they did not hold a “long lease” within the meaning of section 76(2) of the Act. That contention was rejected by the First-tier Tribunal, which decision was upheld on appeal, although the Upper Tribunal ruled that the notices were invalid on different grounds. Subsequently, the right to manage company gave notices of intention to participate both to every tenant with a shared ownership lease and to the housing association. Notwithstanding the earlier decision of the Upper Tribunal, the freeholder again sought to contend that the tenants with shared ownership leases who had not staircased to 100% were not qualifying tenants, with the result that in respect of those flats notice should have been given to the housing association. The First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal dismissed the freeholder’s challenge, but the Upper Tribunal granted permission to appeal on the long lease issue.

On the appeal—