HAV/43UJ/LSC/2025/0711 — service charge decision
In HAV/43UJ/LSC/2025/0711, decided 28 January 2026, the First-tier Tribunal considered 15 disputed service charge items at Flat 4, 42 Frimley Road, Camberley, Surrey and reached a mixed result: 8 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 4, 42 Frimley Road, Camberley, Surrey
Decision date: 28 January 2026
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Hurst Management Ltd.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repairs & maintenance (2023-24) | £4,962 | £4,962 | Allowed in full | — |
| Administration charges (2023-24) | £496.20 | £496.20 | Allowed in full | — |
| Administration charges (2023-24) | £620.25 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Repairs & maintenance (2023-24) | £6,792 | £6,792 | Allowed in full | — |
| Administration charges (2023-24) | £652.50 | £652.50 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2021-22) | £5,646 | £5,081.40 | Reduced | Poor standard of work, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2021-22) | £705.75 | £564.60 | Reduced | Poor standard of work, Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Repairs & maintenance (2023-24) | £283.20 | £283.20 | Allowed in full | — |
| Gardening & grounds (2021-22) | £516 | £438.60 | Reduced | Poor standard of work |
| Gardening & grounds (2022-23) | £462 | £392.70 | Reduced | Poor standard of work |
| Gardening & grounds (2023-24) | £558 | £474.30 | Reduced | Poor standard of work |
| Management fees (2023-24) | £387 | £387 | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2023-24) | £2,382 | £2,262.90 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered, Poor standard of work |
| Administration charges (2023-24) | £1,773.45 | £1,632.30 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered, Poor standard of work |
| Buildings insurance (2023-24) | £3,846.28 | £3,846.28 | Allowed in full | — |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Applicants specifically declined to challenge any element of the repair costs or the insurance excess.”
“It would not be appropriate to limit Hirst Management's 10% insurance claims handling fee or its annual management charges.”
“the Tribunal agrees there is no evidence the agents in fact charged a 12.5% works supervision fee. Had they charged for supervising the works, the Tribunal would have disallowed the supervision fees in full under s.19(1)(b) LTA 1985.”
“The Tribunal determines under s.27A LTA 1985 that the Applicants are liable to pay these service charges in the 2023-24 service charge year.”
“together with a contribution of £130.50 to the administration fees of £652.50”
“The Tribunal therefore allows £5,081.40 for the external decorations in 2022 … Less 10% to reflect the unreasonable standard of works carried out (£564.60).”
“Mr Kelly concedes there was no specification of works and that the March 2023 quotation was simply worked up by the contractors. In the light of the experience with works dealt with by three previous contractors, this was unreasonable.”
“Once the March 2023 quotation was received, the agents took no further steps to establish the source of the water ingress. This was despite the very specific allegations about the cause of the leaks in the Applicants' email of 30 April 2023 [p.327].”
“The photographs of the completed works and the invoice of show the covers to the upstands were finished in felt, not lead. Even a cursory comparison of the quotation and the invoice would have shown that this potentially costly element of the works was omitted.”
“The Tribunal further finds the services provided by Hirst Management were not of a reasonable standard, because they failed to supervise the works properly. In effect, the managing agents failed to investigate the cause of the damp ingress or to specify works that would have remedied the balcony defects.”
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.