LON/00BJ/LSC/2024/0687 — service charge decision
In LON/00BJ/LSC/2024/0687, decided 22 October 2025, the First-tier Tribunal considered 11 disputed service charge items at 11 Avington House, 4 Holford Way, London SW15 5FB and reached a mixed result: 1 item was reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 11 Avington House, 4 Holford Way, London SW15 5FB
Decision date: 22 October 2025
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: FirstPort Property Services No.7 Ltd.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other charges (2021/22) | £108,693 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2021/22) | £1,610 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Utilities (2021/22) | £2,132 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2021/22) | £4,086 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2022/23) | £6,563.90 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2023/24) | £8,414 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Cleaning (2024/25) | £5,250 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2021/22) | £730 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Repairs & maintenance (2022/23) | £1,746 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Not payable under the lease |
| Repairs & maintenance (2023/24) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Reserve fund contributions (2023/24) | £24,919 | — | Allowed in full | — |
Section 20C order: refused.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The applicant does not dispute the hours worked by the security staff are reasonable. And he has not provided alternative estimates to show the hourly rates charged for their services are excessive. The tribunal agrees the applicant has not raised a prima facie case that security staff costs were not reasonable.”
“The applicant has not raised even a prima facie case that the cost were not reasonably incurred under s.19(1)(a) LTA 1985.”
“the light-activated system adopted by the respondent was one of a range of reasonable responses available to a manager … the tribunal finds that the use of light-operated sensors was a course of action which led to a reasonable outcome.”
“The tribunal finds the 2021/22 and 2022/23 cleaning costs were reasonably incurred for the purposes of s.19(1)(a) LTA 1985.”
“The tribunal finds the 2021/22 and 2022/23 cleaning costs were reasonably incurred for the purposes of s.19(1)(a) LTA 1985.”
“the 2023/24 and 2024/25 Avington House cleaning costs were not unreasonable for the purposes of s.19(2) LTA 1985.”
“This point was not conspicuously well argued on either side.”
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.