CHI/22HY/LSC/2020/0058 — service charge decision
In CHI/22HY/LSC/2020/0058, decided 10 November 2020, the First-tier Tribunal considered 10 disputed service charge items at Flat 8, Alexander House, Sidbury Heights, Sidbury Circular Road, Tidworth and reached a mixed result: 10 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 8, Alexander House, Sidbury Heights, Sidbury Circular Road, Tidworth
Decision date: 10 November 2020
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: First Management Limited (trading as Hurst Managements).
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings insurance (2010) | £220.03 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2011) | £220.04 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2012) | £418.40 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2014) | £348.89 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2015) | £401.13 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2016) | £382.73 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2017) | £395.63 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2018) | £419.34 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2019) | £376.28 | — | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2020) | £389.72 | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
Section 20C order: granted.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Tribunal does not consider that it can make any reliable assessment in respect of prior years.”
“The Tribunal does not consider that it can make any reliable assessment in respect of prior years.”
“The Tribunal does not consider that it can make any reliable assessment in respect of prior years.”
“The Tribunal does not consider that it can make any reliable assessment in respect of prior years.”
“The Tribunal does not consider that it can make any reliable assessment in respect of prior years.”
“The Tribunal does not consider that it can make any reliable assessment in respect of prior years.”
“Critically, the Respondent seems to have been wholly reactive as to the choice of insurer. It was only in 2015 when the then insurer declined to continue insurance that a new insurer was found by a process that Mr Kelly does not describe”
“Mr Kelly does not explain how the market was tested, how the insurers who were approached in 2014 and 2016 were selected, what thought was given to approaching other insurers and what if anything was done in that regard?”
“The Tribunal notes that the Respondent did not produce the instructions given to either broker or the detail of the claims record produced. Nor is any information provided by the Respondent or the brokers as to which insurers they approached.”
“Reading the evidence of Mr Kelly, the Tribunal noted that his comments on the first set of quotations obtained by the Applicant criticised the quotations on a variety of grounds, not all of which were of any real weight.”
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.