LON/00AY/LSC/2024/0113 — service charge decision
In LON/00AY/LSC/2024/0113, decided 12 January 2025, the First-tier Tribunal considered 36 disputed service charge items at Flat 3B, 37 Rosendale Road, London SE21 8DY and reached a mixed result: 36 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 3B, 37 Rosendale Road, London SE21 8DY
Decision date: 12 January 2025
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Rothschild Estate Property Services (Mr Ola Akintola).
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings insurance (2011-12) | £200.96 | £104.74 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Gardening & grounds (2011-12) | £120 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Cleaning (2011-12) | £100 | £65 | Reduced | Apportionment error, Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Management fees (2011-12) | £500 | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error, Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Buildings insurance (2012-13) | — | £106.46 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Repairs & maintenance (2012-13) | £470.50 | £235.25 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2012-13) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2013-14) | — | £105.74 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Gardening & grounds (2013-14) | £102.50 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Cleaning (2013-14) | — | £50 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2013-14) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2014-15) | — | £66.88 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Repairs & maintenance (2014-15) | £198.70 | £99.35 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Cleaning (2014-15) | — | £50 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2014-15) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2015-16) | — | £66.99 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Gardening & grounds (2015-16) | £120 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Cleaning (2015-16) | — | £50 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2015-16) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2016-17) | — | £67.51 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Major works (2016-17) | £5,781 | £2,890.71 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Repairs & maintenance (2016-17) | £1,960.74 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Duplication of charges |
| Management fees (2016-17) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2017-18) | — | £59.02 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Major works (2017-18) | £2,890.16 | £1,445.08 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2017-18) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2018-19) | — | £61.56 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Repairs & maintenance (2018-19) | £1,960.74 | £980.37 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2018-19) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2019-20) | — | £73.32 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2019-20) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2020-21) | — | £76.99 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2020-21) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2021-22) | — | £98.31 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Repairs & maintenance (2021-22) | £180.50 | £90.25 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
| Management fees (2021-22) | — | £250 | Reduced | Apportionment error |
Key passages (verbatim)
“the Respondent's obligation under the Underlease, as we have determined, was to pay one quarter of the sum expended by the Applicant, being £104.74, or 1/12th of the total premium. We substitute this sum as payable, as against the sum of £200.96 claimed in the demand.”
“we were far from satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the articles removed could properly be attributed to any default on the part of the Respondent or his tenants”
“hold that the Respondent's liability should be limited to one quarter of the Applicant's own expenditure, being £65.00”
“The Respondent's liability is to pay to the Applicant one quarter of the expenses incurred in management fees, or £250 per annum.”
“we find the Respondent's liability to contribute to the building insurance premium totalling £1,277.52 to be £106.46”
“For painting and decorating the hallway, we find a reasonable sum payable to be £235.25, and substitute this for the sum demanded, of £470.50.”
“we are prepared to accept that the expenditure was incurred, while deploring the lack of a paper trail”
“Something of the Respondent's attitude to the proceedings can perhaps be discerned from his admission in the course of giving oral evidence that, while he had received the hearing bundle prepared by the Applicant's representatives, he had not bothered to open it.”
“The fact that he has paid (only) £75 in over a decade, and nothing by way of ground rent in that period reflects poorly upon him, and we find that his attitude to the proceedings was essentially to dispute absolutely everything claimed by his landlord, rather than to provide evidence helpful to this Tribunal in the assessments it must make.”
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.