How do service charge challenges fare at the London tribunal?
Across 1,187 First-tier Tribunal service charge decisions heard in the London region (2019–2026), 41.8% of 6,925 challenged items were reduced or disallowed; the median reduction, where made, was 50%. (n=6,925, 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 London
| Cost head | Items (n) | Reduced or disallowed | Median reduction when reduced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardening & grounds | 170 | 37.6% | 50% |
| Other charges | 1,735 | 40.6% | 50% |
| Cleaning | 392 | 42.9% | 50% |
| Staffing & concierge | 125 | 25.6% | 50% |
| Buildings insurance | 676 | 43.6% | 43.7% |
| Repairs & maintenance | 912 | 38% | 50% |
| Major works | 765 | 25.2% | 41.3% |
| Lifts | 153 | 19% | 77.9% |
| Management fees | 693 | 59.2% | 30.9% |
| Legal & professional costs | 434 | 52.3% | 45.8% |
| Reserve fund contributions | 263 | 42.6% | 50.5% |
| Administration charges | 275 | 67.3% | 63.3% |
| Utilities | 320 | 39.4% | 49.9% |
London by postcode area
Areas with fewer than 30 challenged items are not shown separately.
| Area | Decisions | Items (n) | Reduced or disallowed | Median reduction when reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ME | 9 | 54 | 61.1% | 53.1% |
| City of London (EC) | 13 | 75 | 41.3% | 24.4% |
| Kingston (KT) | 8 | 41 | 70.7% | 16.4% |
| North London (N) | 89 | 621 | 45.7% | 44.2% |
| Central London (WC) | 13 | 46 | 43.5% | 16.7% |
| East London (E) | 105 | 634 | 33% | 58.3% |
| Twickenham (TW) | 22 | 109 | 40.4% | 50% |
| BH | 11 | 70 | 71.4% | 97.6% |
| Romford (RM) | 22 | 143 | 55.9% | 42.9% |
| Croydon (CR) | 41 | 278 | 51.4% | 47.4% |
| Ilford (IG) | 8 | 49 | 46.9% | 32.9% |
| Dartford borders (DA) | 6 | 53 | 13.2% | 94.3% |
| South West London (SW) | 238 | 1,147 | 42.6% | 50% |
| CT | 7 | 87 | 18.4% | 25.9% |
| BS | 6 | 35 | 20% | 10% |
| BN | 26 | 82 | 46.3% | 34.1% |
| Bromley (BR) | 20 | 107 | 48.6% | 36% |
| Harrow (HA) | 26 | 130 | 56.9% | 52.8% |
| PL | 7 | 41 | 68.3% | 36% |
| TN | 13 | 45 | 24.4% | 22.2% |
| GU | 7 | 34 | 32.4% | 15% |
| Sutton (SM) | 24 | 212 | 43.4% | 43.8% |
| Uxbridge (UB) | 12 | 68 | 63.2% | 50% |
| West London (W) | 157 | 1,097 | 29.7% | 48.9% |
| South East London (SE) | 130 | 891 | 44.9% | 45% |
| Enfield borders (EN) | 9 | 47 | 68.1% | 37.7% |
| North West London (NW) | 105 | 559 | 48.1% | 50% |
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.