MAN/00BR/LSC/2019/0064 — service charge decision
In MAN/00BR/LSC/2019/0064, decided 2 October 2020, the First-tier Tribunal considered 12 disputed service charge items at 59 Blackburn Street, Salford, Manchester and reached a mixed result: 7 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: 59 Blackburn Street, Salford, Manchester
Decision date: 2 October 2020
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: Contour Property Services Limited.
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management fees (2015-16) | £215.28 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2016-17) | £216.95 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2017-18) | £221.28 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2018-19) | £229.91 | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Administration charges (2015-16) | £34.74 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Administration charges (2016-17) | £55.13 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Administration charges (2017-18) | £105.09 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Administration charges (2018-19) | £65.36 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Buildings insurance (2015-16) | £101.54 | £60.15 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2016-17) | £143.67 | £75.15 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2017-18) | £173.95 | £97.41 | Reduced | Costs unreasonably incurred (s19(1)(a)), Apportionment error |
| Buildings insurance (2018-19) | £59.32 | £59.32 | Allowed in full | — |
Section 20C order: granted.
Key passages (verbatim)
“The Tribunal determines that these management fees are within the bracket of reasonable fees for an estate of this nature, although at the upper end of that scale.”
“The Tribunal determines that these management fees are within the bracket of reasonable fees for an estate of this nature, although at the upper end of that scale.”
“The Tribunal determines that these management fees are within the bracket of reasonable fees for an estate of this nature, although at the upper end of that scale.”
“The Tribunal determines that these management fees are within the bracket of reasonable fees for an estate of this nature, although at the upper end of that scale.”
“It is entirely unreasonable to charge both a fixed fee and a percentage based fee to cover the day to day management of this estate.”
“The Tribunal determines that the additional charges as set out in paragraph 31 above are unreasonable and they must be credited back to the Applicant's service charge account.”
“numerous requests for information by the Applicant that were, in our view, not properly dealt with by the Respondent.”
“The Tribunal takes the view that the insurance documents produced during the hearing by Mr Till and previously forwarded by him to assist in the preparation of the case, should have been disclosed to the Applicant before the hearing commenced. They should have been included in the hearing bundle. If that had been done a significant amount of hearing time would have been saved.”
“The Respondent could have made the same calculation, but it appears that it did not do so.”
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.