BIR/00FY/LIS/2020/0042 — service charge decision
In BIR/00FY/LIS/2020/0042, decided 29 March 2022, the First-tier Tribunal considered 41 disputed service charge items at 6 and 7 Royal Court, Haydn Road, Nottingham and reached a mixed result: 9 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 6 and 7 Royal Court, Haydn Road, Nottingham
Decision date: 29 March 2022
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Blue Property Management UK Limited.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities (2009) | £1,479 | £1,479 | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2009) | £920 | £920 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2009) | £240 | £240 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2009) | £1,057 | £1,057 | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2010) | £940 | £940 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2010) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2010) | £1,229.26 | £1,229.26 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2010) | £193.88 | £193.88 | Allowed in full | — |
| Reserve fund contributions (2010) | £1,244.72 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Section 20B 18-month time limit |
| Cleaning (2011) | £960 | £960 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2011) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2011) | £539.90 | £539.90 | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2012) | £960 | £960 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2012) | £2,220.50 | £1,865.50 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2012) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Reserve fund contributions (2012) | £4,380.72 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Section 20B 18-month time limit |
| Cleaning (2013) | £960 | £480 | Reduced | — |
| Other charges (2013) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2013) | £2,720.44 | £2,050.44 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Cleaning (2014) | £960 | £960 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2014) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2014) | £1,322.50 | £1,322.50 | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2015) | £960 | £960 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2015) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2016) | £960 | £960 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2016) | £4,087 | £4,024.50 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Reserve fund contributions (2016) | £1,497.04 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Section 20B 18-month time limit |
| Cleaning (2017) | £960 | £960 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2017) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2017) | £2,332.50 | £2,332.50 | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2018) | £960 | £960 | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (2018) | £1,147.21 | £1,147.21 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2018) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2018) | £437.50 | £437.50 | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2019) | £1,215.42 | £1,215.42 | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (2019) | £1,019.26 | £1,019.26 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2019) | £480 | £480 | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2019) | £3,240 | £3,240 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2019) | £1,521.50 | £1,446.50 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2020) | £1,406 | £1,406 | Allowed in full | — |
| Administration charges (2019) | £590 | £411.80 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The lack of an invoice does not of itself render relevant costs unreasonably incurred, absent any other evidence that the charges might be unreasonable.”
“The Tribunal does not therefore find that the hourly rates charged by the Management Company for cleaning and ancillary services, to have been unreasonably incurred or unreasonable.”
“there is no evidence before the Tribunal to suggest that the charge for an annual review is unreasonably incurred”
“S20B costs conceded £1244.72/12 = 103.72”
“The Tribunal agrees with Mr Marlow, not least because, as before, there was no evidence before the Tribunal from which it could determine that the charges were either unreasonably incurred or unreasonable.”
“Labour (hourly rate) 175.00 Ditto Conceded in Scott schedule -£175.00; Labour (hourly rate) 180.00 Ditto Conceded in Scott schedule -£180.00”
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.