CAM/26UF/LVL/2025/0001 & others — service charge decision
In CAM/26UF/LVL/2025/0001 & others, decided 4 July 2025, the First-tier Tribunal considered 23 disputed service charge items at Old Bank Chambers, Station Place, Letchworth Garden City and reached a mixed result: 22 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Old Bank Chambers, Station Place, Letchworth Garden City
Decision date: 4 July 2025
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Fresh Property Management Ltd (former); managing agents changed in 2020.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management fees (2015) | £1,894 | £1,800 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Cleaning (2015) | £410 | £410 | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2016) | £2,160 | £1,800 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Management fees (2017) | £2,232 | £1,800 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Management fees (2018) | £2,280 | £1,800 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Other charges (2019) | £4,213 | £1,800 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2019) | £2,280 | £1,800 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Management fees (2020) | £2,284 | £1,800 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Cleaning (2021) | £1,346 | £720 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2021) | £270 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2021) | £2,701 | £2,160 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Cleaning (2022) | £975 | £720 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2022) | £2,819 | £2,160 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Other charges (2023) | £390 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2023) | £3,100 | £2,160 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Repairs & maintenance (2024) | £1,500 | £800 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2024) | £500 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2024) | £3,410 | £2,160 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Repairs & maintenance (2025) | £1,500 | £800 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2025) | £500 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2025) | £1,500 | £500 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2025) | £216 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Management fees (2025) | £3,649 | £2,160 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
Section 20C order: conditional.
Key passages (verbatim)
“we consider that costs up to those proposed by Mr Kilcoyne were reasonably incurred for each year… Accordingly, the management fee for this year is reduced slightly, to £1,800.”
“We consider the cleaning cost for this year (and each year save for 2021, explained below) reasonably incurred for the reasons given by Mr Kilcoyne; monthly cleaning appears reasonable.”
“For the reasons explained above, we reduce the management fees of £2,160 to £1,800.”
“For the reasons explained above, we reduce the management fees of £2,232 to £1,800.”
“For the reasons explained above, we reduce the management fees of £2,280 to £1,800.”
“In our assessment, the total cost reasonably incurred in connection with these two items is £1,800 including VAT.”
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.