CHI/00HB/LSC/2020/0108 — service charge decision
In CHI/00HB/LSC/2020/0108, decided 26 July 2021, the First-tier Tribunal considered 15 disputed service charge items at Cask Store, East Tucker Street, Bristol and reached a mixed result: 6 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Cask Store, East Tucker Street, Bristol
Decision date: 26 July 2021
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Savills (UK) Ltd.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other charges (2017) | £182.70 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Section 20B 18-month time limit |
| Repairs & maintenance (2018) | £2,426.03 | — | Reduced | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Reserve fund contributions (2018) | £5,000 | — | conceded | Not payable under the lease |
| Legal & professional costs (2018) | £3,900 | £3,900 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2018) | £8,998.48 | — | Reduced | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Repairs & maintenance (2019) | £12,183.90 | — | Reduced | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Other charges (2019) | £1,284 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Duplication of charges |
| Legal & professional costs (2019) | £4,500 | £4,500 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2019) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (2019) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2019) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (2019) | — | — | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Repairs & maintenance (2020) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2019) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2020) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Tribunal accordingly determines that the 2017 Car Park Service Charge for 2017 is not payable by virtue of section 20B of the 1985 Act.”
“The Respondents accept that two of the invoices totaling £381.83 were wrongly charged. The main dispute relates to a charge of £1,683 for remedial work on the communal heating system.”
“the Landlord has conceded in the present case that any sums retained can be returned at the request of the Applicants.”
“There is no evidence that the sum is unreasonable or was unreasonably incurred and the Tribunal therefore allows this as a legitimate service charge cost.”
“in so far as these costs are attributable to matters of maintenance and repair of the items set out in Part 3 of Schedule 9 to the Lease they are recoverable by way of Service Charge... in so far as a cost was incurred before a lease was granted it should not be recoverable from the leaseholder in question.”
“The Tribunal finds that costs of repairs to the boilers are a recoverable service charge cost, save in so far as the costs would have been recoverable under any applicable warranty, as to which the Tribunal does not have sufficient evidence to decide.”
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.