BIR/00CS/LIS/2021/0013 — service charge decision
In BIR/00CS/LIS/2021/0013, decided 6 October 2021, the First-tier Tribunal considered 5 disputed service charge items at 31A & 31B Lower High Street, Wednesbury and found largely for the landlord: 3 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 31A & 31B Lower High Street, Wednesbury
Decision date: 6 October 2021
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Pennycuick Collins.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other charges (2019-20) | £3,099.31 | £906.21 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2019-20) | £2,704.36 | £511.26 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Administration charges (2019-20) | £520 | £520 | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2019-20) | — | £0 | Disallowed entirely | — |
| Ground-rent-adjacent charges (2019-20) | £100 | £100 | Allowed in full | — |
Key passages (verbatim)
“the following sums are payable by Mr Andrew John Davies to Mr Sarwan Dass Samrai... (i) Service charges: £906.21”
“the following sums are payable by Mr James Marshall Stringer to Mr Sarwan Dass Samrai... (i) Service charges: £511.26”
“the administration fees and recalculated sums for the service charge are reasonable”
“no charge had been made in that year for either management or accountancy fees, resulting in a credit of service charge of £2,193.10”
“the rent for the year commencing 29 September 2019 had been properly demanded and was payable by each of the Respondents”
“despite acknowledging that they were responsible to pay the other sums detailed in the service charge, they failed to make any payments towards them.”
“once the Respondents had accepted the Applicant's offers to purchase the Properties, at the end of June 2021, and with the management fees no longer being a pertinent issue, following the finalisation of the 2020 accounts, Judge Gandham considered that the parties could have settled the matter prior to the hearing, or at least stayed the matter pending completion of the sales.”
This summary is assembled from the structured record of the published decision; amounts appear only where the tribunal stated them. Always rely on the full decision itself.