CHI/00LC/LSC/2022/0004 — service charge decision
In CHI/00LC/LSC/2022/0004, decided 24 October 2022, the First-tier Tribunal considered 3 disputed service charge items at Admiralty Gate, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent and found largely for the landlord: 0 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Admiralty Gate, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent
Decision date: 24 October 2022
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Omnicroft.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reserve fund contributions (2022) | £45,000 | £45,000 | Allowed in full | — |
| Major works (2022) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Legal & professional costs (2020) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“Whilst I would have preferred to have evidence in support of the Respondent's budget of £45,000 for external works, in dismissing the Applicants' objections to that sum the Tribunal determines that the Annual Service Charge Budget for 2022 is properly stated at a Grand Total of £65,386.00 of which each unit's contribution is £5,448.33.”
“I am unable to accept the first suggestion and the Applicants' own evidence from Accolaide confirms the need for scaffolding.”
“The Tribunal is therefore satisfied that consultation was not required for the consultancy costs incurred.”
“Regrettably Judge Dobson's confidence was misplaced as the Hearing Bundle submitted failed to provide the detail expected and necessary for the Tribunal to make its determination.”
“What is described in the index as a Scotts Schedule contained no more than a request for information by the Applicants together with the Respondent's reply.”
“I have been unable to locate within the bundle a surveyors report identifying £45,000 as the likely cost of the front elevation works, likewise there is no indication of the result of the 2020 tender exercise on which an estimate of the likely cost of the reduced 2021 specification could be based.”
“Whilst I would have preferred to have evidence in support of the Respondent's budget of £45,000 for external works, in dismissing the Applicants' objections to that sum the Tribunal determines that the Annual Service Charge Budget for 2022 is properly stated at a Grand Total of £65,386.00”
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.