LON/00AZ/LSC/2021/0190 — service charge decision
In LON/00AZ/LSC/2021/0190, decided 4 November 2021, the First-tier Tribunal considered 9 disputed service charge items at Flat 4 Eastdown Court, 1-11 Eastdown Park, London SE13 5HU and reached a mixed result: 9 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flat 4 Eastdown Court, 1-11 Eastdown Park, London SE13 5HU
Decision date: 4 November 2021
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Packfords Property Management.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other charges (2016-17) | £563 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Legal & professional costs (2016-17) | £900 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Other charges (2017-18) | £300 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Other charges (2018-19) | £300 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Other charges (2018-19) | £250 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Duplication of charges |
| Buildings insurance (2018-19) | £122 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Other charges (2019-20) | £300 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Legal & professional costs (2019-20) | £270 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Other charges (2020-21) | £637.56 | £620.56 | Reduced | Not payable under the lease |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Respondent has not put forward any basis on which the company's internal secretarial costs can be recovered under the terms of the lease. As a result, the Tribunal is not satisfied that these sums are recoverable and no charge should be made in respect of them.”
“for the same reasons as explained in respect of the company secretarial charges, the Tribunal is not satisfied that these charges are recoverable and no charge should be made for these as a service charge.”
“The Respondent has not put forward any basis on which the company's internal secretarial costs can be recovered under the terms of the lease.”
“no charge is reasonable and payable in respect of the £300 charged to the service charge account for company secretarial services”
“the invoice which is at page 94 appears to be identical to that at page 124 which was included in the previous year's accounts. This appears to be a case of double counting.”
“For the same reasons as those explained in relation to the company secretarial costs, the Tribunal is not satisfied that this charge is recoverable under the terms of the lease and so no charge should be made for it.”
“having raised challenges – without any clear basis – in respect of such items as cleaning and electricity charges – and having put the Respondent to the expense of providing relevant invoices relating to those charges, he has late in the day withdrawn those challenges without explanation.”
“Also, the invoices referred to in respect of the charge in 2017 appear to be invoices in respect of cleaning services – the error of the Applicant appears to have been perpetuated.”
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.