LON/00AL/LSC/2024/0239 — service charge decision
In LON/00AL/LSC/2024/0239, decided 8 January 2026, the First-tier Tribunal considered 4 disputed service charge items at River Gardens Development, Greenwich Wharf, London SE10 0YP and found largely for the leaseholder: 4 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: River Gardens Development, Greenwich Wharf, London SE10 0YP
Decision date: 8 January 2026
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Rendall and Rittner.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities (2022-2023) | £198,986.26 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Demand formally invalid, Not payable under the lease, Section 20B 18-month time limit |
| Management fees (2022) | — | — | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Management fees (2023) | — | — | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Other charges (2022-2023) | £1,208.79 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
Section 20C order: granted.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Tribunal finds that none of the HTD charges are recoverable as service charges pursuant to the respective leases.”
“the Tribunal considers that the management fee should be reduced by 20% for the relevant period, being 1 March 2022 to 31 December 2023.”
“the Tribunal considers that the management fee should be reduced by 20% for the relevant period, being 1 March 2022 to 31 December 2023.”
“it disallows the disconnection and warranty invoices on the grounds that they are outside the scope of the service charge or otherwise unreasonably incurred.”
“R&R have acknowledged that residents did not receive any notice of cancellation of such agreements [B/349](Q21).”
“Neither Sukh or myself, to the best of my knowledge, have been asked to prepare a heating draft business plan - I have no idea what this is and would not be comfortable preparing one when heating networks / distribution is not my expertise…”
“It should be noted that these demands do not include charges for heat bills, as these are collected separately to the service charge funds. Heat charges also do not form part of the service charge budgets.”
“R&R are RICS regulated and ought to have known that the invoices were contractually invalid and legally unenforceable.”
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.