MAN/00FF/LSC/2022/0096 — service charge decision
In MAN/00FF/LSC/2022/0096, decided 30 May 2024, the First-tier Tribunal considered 9 disputed service charge items at Flats 2 & 4, Galtres Chambers, 2, 4 and 6 Coppergate, York and reached a mixed result: 3 items were reduced or disallowed. Full decision on GOV.UK below.
Property: Flats 2 & 4, Galtres Chambers, 2, 4 and 6 Coppergate, York
Decision date: 30 May 2024
Full decision: Read on GOV.UK
Managing agent named in the decision: CBRE Management (2014-2020) / Orbit Management (2021).
What was challenged and what the tribunal decided
| Item | Demanded | Allowed | Outcome | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management fees (2014-2017 and 2019) | — | — | Reduced | Fee excessive for service delivered |
| Management fees (2018) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2020) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Management fees (2021) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2014) | £181.19 | £181.19 | Allowed in full | — |
| Buildings insurance (2018) | £229 | £0 | Disallowed entirely | Landlord could not evidence the cost |
| Repairs & maintenance (2020) | £1,404 | £500 | Reduced | No Section 20 consultation |
| Other charges (2021) | — | £263 | Allowed in full | — |
| Other charges (2021) | — | — | Allowed in full | — |
Section 20C order: granted.
Key passages (verbatim)
“the tribunal adopts that level of fees (i.e. the CBRE fees for 2018) as being reasonable in the years prior to 2018, and in 2019. The reductions total £2,200.54.”
“the tribunal notes that the CBRE management fees in 2018 were broadly in line with the average annual cost of the later CBRE/Orbit and Orbit management fees for 2020 to 2023”
“The CBRE fees for 2020 do not appear excessive, being £16.30 lower than the figure the tribunal has adopted.”
“the tribunal considers the 2021 management fee for Orbit to be reasonably incurred. It is in fact lower than the fee in 2023, the year to which the comparator information related.”
“the tribunal considered the costs of £690 to have been reasonably incurred and the Applicants' share of £181.19 to be payable.”
“it had been found that no charge had been placed through this category... the tribunal accepts the Respondent's submission that there was no 'actual' charge and disallows the cost of £435, of which £229 had been allocated via service charge in relation to the Properties.”
“Given that a single invoice was issued by a single company for the amount in issue, and there is no documentary evidence available to the tribunal to support the Respondent's contention that there was a separate instruction in relation to each element, the tribunal finds that the costs related to qualifying works within the meaning of section 20 of the Act and that the statutory consultation requirements applied.”
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.