LON/00AW/LSC/2023/0074 — service charge decision
In LON/00AW/LSC/2023/0074, decided 31 August 2023, the First-tier Tribunal considered 4 disputed service charge items at Flat 1, 12 Walpole Street, SW3 4QP and reached a mixed result: 3 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 1, 12 Walpole Street, SW3 4QP
Decision date: 31 August 2023
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: HML PM Ltd.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reserve fund contributions (2019-2023) | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Other charges (2019-2021) | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Demand formally invalid, Section 20B 18-month time limit |
| Other charges (2022-23) | £983 | £983 | Allowed in full | — |
| Administration charges (2019-2023) | — | — | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
Section 20C order: partial.
Key passages (verbatim)
“there is nothing in clause 1(2)(d) or anywhere else in the lease that allows the lessor to demand a service charge for the purpose of accumulating such a fund.”
“the first time that the Respondent received in proper form the demands was when she received the Applicant's statement of case … on 24 May 2023”
“the advance service charge demanded in respect of the period from December 2022 to June 2023 (£983) is properly demanded by the bundle demand, and is payable by the Respondent”
“No provision of the lease allows for charging an administration fee for late payment or debt collection.”
“It was an unusual feature of the case that the original statement of claim was based on a lease of a quite different property, apparently also managed by the HML.”
“We have no evidence or material from the property manager responsible for the indication of consent, nor, indeed, of the practices of the relevant team at HML at that time. There may simply have been an error.”
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.