How do service charge challenges fare at the Eastern tribunal?
Across 266 First-tier Tribunal service charge decisions heard in the Eastern region (2019–2026), 40.4% of 1,498 challenged items were reduced or disallowed; the median reduction, where made, was 48%. (n=1,498, as of 4 July 2026)
Cases are assigned to a region by the First-tier Tribunal venue code in the case reference. These figures are recomputed nightly from the published decisions.
About these figures: Outcomes reflect disputes that reached the First-tier Tribunal, not portfolio-wide quality. Small samples are noisy; every figure links to the underlying decisions.
Outcomes by cost head in Eastern
| Cost head | Items (n) | Reduced or disallowed | Median reduction when reduced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardening & grounds | 48 | 54.2% | 51.9% |
| Other charges | 368 | 45.1% | 61.9% |
| Cleaning | 89 | 38.2% | 43.2% |
| Buildings insurance | 149 | 28.2% | 17.7% |
| Repairs & maintenance | 232 | 37.1% | 60.9% |
| Major works | 174 | 21.3% | 61.5% |
| Lifts | 30 | 36.7% | 62% |
| Management fees | 130 | 56.9% | 27.8% |
| Legal & professional costs | 64 | 57.8% | 50% |
| Reserve fund contributions | 48 | 35.4% | 48.1% |
| Administration charges | 50 | 76% | — |
| Utilities | 92 | 29.3% | 28.9% |
Methodology
These statistics are computed from the published decisions of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in service charge cases (case types LSC, LIS and LDC). Each decision is parsed into a structured record — the sums challenged, the sums allowed, the outcome per cost head, and the orders made — and the aggregates on this page are recomputed nightly in plain arithmetic from those records. No figure on this page is estimated, modelled or hand-typed; each carries its sample size. Current corpus: 2,383 decisions covering 12,898 individually disputed items, last updated 4 July 2026.
Read this before quoting: Outcomes reflect disputes that reached the First-tier Tribunal, not portfolio-wide quality. Small samples are noisy; every figure links to the underlying decisions.