LON/00AW/LSC/2024/0341 — service charge decision
In LON/00AW/LSC/2024/0341, decided 12 March 2025, the First-tier Tribunal considered 11 disputed service charge items at 13 Holland Road, Holland Park, London W14 8HJ and reached a mixed result: 6 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 13 Holland Road, Holland Park, London W14 8HJ
Decision date: 12 March 2025
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: The Ringley Group.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning (2023-24) | £480 | £140 | Reduced | Landlord could not evidence the cost, Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)) |
| Cleaning (2024-25) | £360 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Administration charges (2023-24) | — | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease, Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Buildings insurance (2023-24) | £36 | £36 | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (2023-24) | £200 | £200 | Allowed in full | — |
| Legal & professional costs (2023-24) | — | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease, Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Legal & professional costs (2024-25) | — | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease, Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Management fees (2023-24) | £4,500 | £2,500 | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered, Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Management fees (2024-25) | — | £1,500 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2024-25) | £594 | £595 | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2024-25) | — | — | conceded | — |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“It was agreed between the parties that cleaning had taken place on two occasions… A reasonable cost for cleaning activities was therefore determined to be £70 per visit. The sum therefore payable was for two cleaning events… which equates to £140.”
“Counsel advised the Tribunal that there had been no evidence the cleaning had been done. Photographs the Respondent advised they would provide to prove cleaning had taken place had ultimately not been submitted within the bundle.”
“Tribunal therefore concurred with Counsel for the Applicants that the provisions of the lease did not specifically provide for recovery of company secretarial fees. There was no evidence of a Company Secretary ever being appointed.”
“Tribunal has relied upon this wording to justify this small expenditure, which it deemed to be appropriate protection for the Directors and officers of a property holding company. The sum of £36 was therefore deemed payable and reasonable.”
“After careful consideration and notwithstanding the difficulties presented in respect of lack of evidence, Tribunal determined a sum of £200 was both reasonable and payable.”
“The Tribunal concluded that for these reasons, the legal fees were not recoverable from any of the tenants through the service charge account.”
“Ms D'Amico failed to provide evidence, such as job description, time sheets or credible invoices for any Company Secretarial work.”
“The Respondent failed to provide any supporting information on the legal costs. The only submission in the bundle is an invoice with no detail of time expended or hourly fees charged. It is for this reason the Tribunal has not considered the reasonableness of such charges given the lack of evidence provided by the Respondent.”
“The contractor's invoice included at p.64 of the bundle was noted to be addressed to 'George Mews Freehold Limited' as opposed to 13 Holland Road Limited in respect of the subject building. There was no proof of dates when cleaning had been undertaken, details as to the extent of the cleaning, or evidence of a recorded cleaning log.”
“The matters in dispute had not been clearly and unambiguously presented in the application and Tribunal made enquiries of the parties at the outset of the hearing.”
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.