CHI/00HG/LSC/2023/0017 — service charge decision
In CHI/00HG/LSC/2023/0017, decided 10 May 2023, the First-tier Tribunal considered 4 disputed service charge items at Flat B, 54 Albert Road, Stoke, Plymouth PL2 1AE and found largely for the landlord: 0 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat B, 54 Albert Road, Stoke, Plymouth PL2 1AE
Decision date: 10 May 2023
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other charges (2021) | £5,284.19 | £5,284.19 | Allowed in full | — |
| Major works (2021) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Administration charges (2021) | £2.60 | £2.60 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2021) | £137.60 | £137.60 | Allowed in full | — |
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Tribunal finds all of the service charges to be payable. As there is no challenge to the amount of the service charges, the Tribunal determines those to be reasonable.”
“Plymouth City Council issued a schedule of required and recommended works to the exterior of the Building and an Improvement Notice and schedule of works to the roof, following which the Applicant undertook a process of consultation as required by section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act.”
“The demand includes charges for a Companies House fee of £13.00, the reason for which is unclear but where the Respondent's contribution is £2.60, and that sum is so minor as to not merit discussion.”
“It also includes £137.60 for an item described as 'Improvement Notice' where it is not apparent exactly what that means and how it falls within clause 5 of the Lease... the Respondent has raised no specific issue with the item.”
“The Lease is some way less than entirely satisfactory.”
“There is no such discernible such mechanism in the Lease. It is consequently wholly unclear how the costs and expenses incurred by the Applicant are to be precisely identified and evidenced, over what period of time, if any, any calculation of expenses and service charges should take place, when demands should be made and when any sums demanded are to be paid.”
“It is also less than completely clear that all of the sums listed in the demand had been "incurred" and that no sums were requested on account of and to facilitate expenditure.”
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.