HAV/29UB/LSC/2025/0746 — service charge decision
In HAV/29UB/LSC/2025/0746, decided 17 June 2026, the First-tier Tribunal considered 2 disputed service charge items at Flat 37, Bluebell House, 29-51 Campion Close, Ashford, Kent and found largely for the leaseholder: 2 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 37, Bluebell House, 29-51 Campion Close, Ashford, Kent
Decision date: 17 June 2026
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Smith Woolley.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings insurance (2024-25) | £5,500 | £333.33 | Reduced | Insurance not market tested, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Buildings insurance (2025-26) | £7,000 | £333.33 | Reduced | Insurance not market tested, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
Section 20C order: granted.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Respondent was unable to demonstrate that, when viewed objectively, the process for sourcing insurance was a logical and reasonable one and in line with property management and market norms.”
“We decided that a premium of £4,000.00 per annum for both years under consideration would be reasonable.”
“the Respondent, and their managing agent, should have been alive to the lease provisions, particularly that it was their obligation to insure the building, not the landlord's and reverted accordingly to the letter of 22 December 2022.”
“The Applicant has acted wholly reasonably in bringing the Application and in doing so has highlighted failings on the part of the Respondent, and their managing agent, in terms of the administration of the lease obligation, in so far as they relate to the placing of the insurance of the building.”
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.