LON/00AY/LSC/2021/0369 & others — service charge decision
In LON/00AY/LSC/2021/0369 & others, decided 21 February 2024, the First-tier Tribunal considered 4 disputed service charge items at Flat 298 Drake House, 14 St George Wharf, London, SW8 2LS and reached a mixed result: 2 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 298 Drake House, 14 St George Wharf, London, SW8 2LS
Decision date: 21 February 2024
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Rendall & Rittner (R&R).
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other charges (2018-2022) | — | — | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Legal & professional costs (2020) | £9,725 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Demand formally invalid, Not payable under the lease |
| Management fees (2018-2022) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Lifts (2018-2022) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“we determine that there should be a reduction of £40 from the Development costs payable by Mr Burke for each of the service charge years in issue in this application on the basis that the outcome of the re-apportionments resulted in this unreasonable outcome.”
“the cost is not, therefore currently payable by Mr Burke as an administration charge. Nor is the cost of the report payable by Mr Burke by way of service charge for the years in issue in this application, because it has not been demanded as such.”
“We determine that R&R's costs are payable by Mr Burke, in full, for each of the service charge years in dispute.”
“given the clear evidence regarding obsolescence and difficulties in sourcing parts it was entirely reasonable for Fairhold to accept the consultant's advice to replace the lifts without carrying out a repair/replacement cost benefit analysis.”
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.