CHI/29UL/LDC/2018/0012 — service charge decision
In CHI/29UL/LDC/2018/0012, decided 10 February 2025, the First-tier Tribunal considered 7 disputed service charge items at 8-9 Ground Floor, Oxford Street, Southampton, SO14 3DJ and reached a mixed result: 7 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 8-9 Ground Floor, Oxford Street, Southampton, SO14 3DJ
Decision date: 10 February 2025
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Park Klane Block Management Ltd.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major works (2021) | £3,357 | £2,148.48 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Administration charges (2016) | £120 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Administration charges (2017) | £352.80 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Administration charges (2018) | £36 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Administration charges (2019) | £162 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Administration charges (2020) | £72 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Administration charges (2022) | £1,087.40 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
Key passages (verbatim)
“the tribunal finds that the respondent is liable to pay 31/32% of £6,714, or £2,081.34/£2,148.48”
“none of the administration charges listed in para 10 above are payable”
“none of the administration charges listed in para 10 above are payable”
“none of the administration charges listed in para 10 above are payable”
“none of the administration charges listed in para 10 above are payable”
“none of the administration charges listed in para 10 above are payable”
“The cost of invoicing and collecting service charges and instructing others to collect unpaid service charges is ordinarily covered by the agent's basic annual management fee: see para 3.4 of the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code (3rd Ed). No extra charge is therefore likely to have been made to the applicant. And for largely the same reason, a charge of £30 or £36 would not be reasonable under Sch.11 to the 2002 Act, since the applicant has not incurred any cost.”
“Apart from the above, there are sundry other charges, described variously as 'Legal letter arrears' (£316.80), 'Letter before action' (£90.00), 'Instructed solicitors' (£90), 'Letter Before Action' (£90) and 'Legal fees' (£799.40'). Again, none of these is included in the bundle, and there are no fee notes from the agents or solicitors to support any charge for them.”
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.