CHI/00HB/LSC/2023/0111 — service charge decision
In CHI/00HB/LSC/2023/0111, decided 2 July 2024, the First-tier Tribunal considered 4 disputed service charge items at Cabot 24 Apartments, 3 Surrey Street, Bristol BS2 8PS and found largely for the leaseholder: 4 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Cabot 24 Apartments, 3 Surrey Street, Bristol BS2 8PS
Decision date: 2 July 2024
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Residential Management Group (RMG).
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities (2022) | £18,239 | £3,230 | Reduced | Section 20B 18-month time limit, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2022) | £3,582.48 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2022) | £90 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2022) | £4,052 | £1,013 | Reduced | Standard not reasonable (s19(1)(b)), Fee excessive for service delivered |
Section 20C order: granted.
Key passages (verbatim)
“the majority of the service charge costs in dispute (namely the £18,239 arrears of electricity charges which were demanded from the leaseholders on the 23rd of August 2023 … were in fact incurred more than 18 months before the demand was issued, and therefore under Section 20B … the leaseholders are not liable to pay them.”
“no part of the £3,582.48 'Security deposit' demanded by British Gas for non-payment of bills … is payable by the Applicants as part of their service charge.”
“no part of the … £90 'Reconnection charge', is payable by the Applicants as part of their service charge.”
“the 'Management fee' element of the service charge for the relevant year, 2022, is not payable in full because the service provided was not of a reasonable standard. It is ordered that only 25% of this fee is payable by the Applicants, i.e. £1,013 in total.”
“Mr Amodeo could not explain why no-one at RMG had noticed the situation with the electricity at Cabot24 Apartments prior to 2020/2021. He confirmed that RMG manage thousands of similar properties and he conceded that there had been justified criticism of their handling of the issue of electricity in this case”
“Because of the unsatisfactory and inexact nature of the material provided by the Respondent, the amount of the electricity charges for the period 23.02.22 – 31.12.22 (a period of just over 10 months) had to be calculated by taking the average monthly figure from the British Gas bills produced in respect of the period from February 9th 2022 - 23rd January 2023 (a period of just over 13 months).”
“Given the failings of RMG which led to the electricity being cut off in February 2022, and the misleading and incorrect information which was provided by RMG to the Applicants, the Tribunal finds that the management service that year was not of a reasonable standard”
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.