How do service charge challenges fare at the Northern tribunal?
Across 299 First-tier Tribunal service charge decisions heard in the Northern region (2019–2026), 32.8% of 1,339 challenged items were reduced or disallowed; the median reduction, where made, was 39.3%. (n=1,339, 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 Northern
| Cost head | Items (n) | Reduced or disallowed | Median reduction when reduced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardening & grounds | 47 | 40.4% | 55.4% |
| Other charges | 329 | 28.3% | 28.8% |
| Cleaning | 50 | 30% | 72.8% |
| Staffing & concierge | 36 | 16.7% | 24.4% |
| Buildings insurance | 135 | 36.3% | 46.2% |
| Repairs & maintenance | 139 | 39.6% | 50% |
| Major works | 171 | 12.9% | 10% |
| Management fees | 153 | 43.8% | 25% |
| Legal & professional costs | 82 | 45.1% | 35.9% |
| Reserve fund contributions | 48 | 29.2% | 30.3% |
| Administration charges | 54 | 68.5% | 40.3% |
| Utilities | 65 | 36.9% | 33.3% |
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.