LON/00AF/LSC/2021/0384 — service charge decision
In LON/00AF/LSC/2021/0384, decided 21 September 2022, the First-tier Tribunal considered 10 disputed service charge items at 1, Sanctuary Court, 65, Croydon Road, Penge, London and reached a mixed result: 5 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 1, Sanctuary Court, 65, Croydon Road, Penge, London
Decision date: 21 September 2022
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: ABC Estates.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management fees (2018/19) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Reserve fund contributions (2018/19) | £1,416 | £833 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Reserve fund contributions (2019/20) | £1,416 | £833 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Reserve fund contributions (2020/21) | £1,666 | £917 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Management fees (2018/19) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2018/19) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Buildings insurance | — | — | Withdrawn | — |
| Utilities | — | — | Withdrawn | — |
| Legal & professional costs | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Administration charges | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The start-up fee charged by the managing agents and referable to the service charge was payable and reasonably incurred.”
“Reasonable demands of the Applicant would have been £833 in 2018/19 and 2019/20 and £917 in 2020/21.”
“Reasonable demands of the Applicant would have been £833 in 2018/19 and 2019/20 and £917 in 2020/21.”
“We accept that some uplift may be justified in the third year in recognition of building cost inflation, and so substitute for that year £5,500.”
“The service charge relating to the fee for the managing agents between 4 and 31 May 2018 is payable and reasonable in amount.”
“The element of the service charge relating to VAT on the managing agent's fees is payable (and reasonable in amount).”
“It was, no doubt, ill-advised and inappropriate of the managing agent to threaten the Applicant with the Land Registry fees (and far from obvious that the lease made provision for them to do so).”
“The latter, surprisingly, declined to pass the bundle on to Brady.”
“even if less clearly misleading than the passage referred to by the Upper Tribunal, the text provided by the Applicant is also capable of being misleading, which is unfortunate.”
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.