HAV/00HE/LSC/2025/0749 — service charge decision
In HAV/00HE/LSC/2025/0749, decided 29 September 2026, the First-tier Tribunal considered 15 disputed service charge items at Flats at The Yard, Lostwithiel, Cornwall and reached a mixed result: 2 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flats at The Yard, Lostwithiel, Cornwall
Decision date: 29 September 2026
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Belmont Property Management.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardening & grounds (2017-2019) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (all years) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (all years) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (2017-2019) | £301.10 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (all years) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Buildings insurance (2017-2019) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2017-2019) | — | £750 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2018-2019) | £1,155.20 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (all years) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (all years) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Reserve fund contributions (all years) | — | — | Withdrawn | — |
| Cleaning (2021-22) | £723 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2021-22) | £362.88 | — | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Cleaning (2021-22) | £613.32 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2021-22) | £1,050.68 | — | Withdrawn | — |
Section 20C order: partial.
Key passages (verbatim)
“To the extent that they are otherwise payable, the sums charged for gardening are payable and reasonable in amount.”
“To the extent that they are otherwise payable, service charges in relation to fire safety/health and safety assessments and cleaning of stairwells were payable and reasonably incurred.”
“To the extent that they are otherwise payable, the service charges referable to window cleaning are payable and reasonably incurred.”
“the service charge referable to the outside water tap is payable and reasonable in amount.”
“the service charge referable to communal electricity is payable and reasonable in amount.”
“There is no effective challenge to the service charge referable to insurance premiums (if they are otherwise payable).”
“it is most unfortunate that the lease is seriously defective in creating two distinct and contradictory systems for the service charge. It is particularly striking that this is so in what are very modern leases.”
“We accept that the performance of the managing agents in relation to the transparency of the service charge accounts is open to reasonable criticism. The Tribunal had found it not straightforward to understand how and why charges were made, including over time, and we are not surprised that the Applicants were similarly challenged.”
“Mr Foy candidly stated that the discrepancies in 2017/2018 were a result of what he described as bad budgeting.”
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.