LON/00AW/LBC/2023/0033 — service charge decision
In LON/00AW/LBC/2023/0033, decided 11 April 2024, the First-tier Tribunal considered 11 disputed service charge items at Flat 2, 70 Holland Park, London W11 3SL and reached a mixed result: 6 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 2, 70 Holland Park, London W11 3SL
Decision date: 11 April 2024
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Quadrant Property Management Limited (until 31 Dec 2023); Safe Property Management (from 1 Jan 2024).
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repairs & maintenance | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Other charges | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Other charges | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Other charges | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Other charges | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Other charges | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Other grounds |
Key passages (verbatim)
“the Respondent has failed to repair, maintain, renew, uphold and/or keep the Flat in good and substantial repair and condition, in breach of clauses 3(3) of the Lease.”
“the Respondent has failed to decorate the Flat, in breach of clause 3(4) of the Lease.”
“the Tribunal accordingly finds on the balance of probabilities that there has been a breach of Regulation 3 of the First Schedule.”
“the kitchen flooring is clearly missing large areas of the formerly installed vinyl floor covering... The bathroom floor is missing a series of tiles. The Tribunal finds on a balance of probabilities that the state of the flooring in those 2 rooms amounts to a breach of Regulation 11.”
“The Tribunal accordingly finds on a balance of probabilities that there has been a breach of Regulation 16 in respect of the want of internal cleaning of the windows within the Flat.”
“the available evidence fails to demonstrate that the nature and extent of that disrepair is such as to breach the covenant to keep in repair '...so as to afford all necessary support shelter and protection to the parts of the building other than the demised premises ...'”
“This appears to the Tribunal to be an allegation of a most trivial nature, particularly when measured against the more substantial breaches alleged and found to be established, where the rubbish in question appears to be small in volume, and readily capable of removal or clearing up.”
“While in his report Mr Hardingham stated in several places that he found the Flat to be 'inhabitable', in response to questions from the Tribunal he clarified that this word was, on each occasion it appeared, intended to be 'uninhabitable', which the Tribunal accepts, not least in that it makes substantially more sense in the wider context of his evidence”
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.