LON/00AU/LDC/2023/0160 — service charge decision
In LON/00AU/LDC/2023/0160, decided 20 January 2024, the First-tier Tribunal considered 3 disputed service charge items at 40 Morea Mews, London, N5 2EE and reached a mixed result: 2 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 40 Morea Mews, London, N5 2EE
Decision date: 20 January 2024
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Habitare.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administration charges (2022) | £150 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Demand formally invalid |
| Legal & professional costs (2022) | £349.80 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Demand formally invalid, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Major works (2022) | £126,308.76 | — | Allowed in full | — |
Section 20C order: granted. Section 20ZA dispensation: conditional.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Tribunal finds that the £150 agents' charge is too high and that a reasonable sum would be £60... the Tribunal finds that there was no breach of the lease in relation to this matter and that therefore none of the administration charges are payable.”
“none of the administration charges are payable”
“The Tribunal grants dispensation subject to the condition that that sum is paid with 28 days of the date of this decision.”
“Although the evidence is that Habitare use an electronic system known as "MyBlockMan" together with email alerts to communicate with lessees, in the Tribunal's judgment its use when serving formal demands under the lease does not comply with section 196. That is hardly surprising given that electronic written communications of this type were inconceivable when the Law of Property Act 1925 was enacted.”
“From the application, the precise nature of the dispensation sought was unclear to the Tribunal as the total value of the works claimed of £127,832.50 did not appear to correspond with quotations. The chair raised this with Counsel, who was without instructions.”
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.