Leasehold glossary

What is the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)?

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) is the body in England that decides residential leasehold disputes, including whether a service charge is payable and how much, under Section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. It is deliberately low-cost and designed for leaseholders to use without a solicitor.

If you and your landlord or managing agent disagree about a service charge, you do not have to go to a full court. The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) is a specialist tribunal set up to resolve exactly these disputes. Its jurisdiction over service charges comes from Section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which lets it determine whether a service charge is payable and, if so, by whom, to whom, how much, when and how.

What it can decide

Under Section 27A the tribunal can rule on questions such as:

  • Whether a particular cost is reasonably incurred and the work of a reasonable standard.
  • Whether a charge is recoverable under the terms of your lease at all.
  • Whether the landlord followed Section 20 consultation for major works — and whether to grant dispensation if they did not.
  • The correct amount payable, whether or not you have already paid it.

Importantly, making a payment does not count as agreeing the charge — Section 27A(5) says you are not taken to have admitted anything just by paying, so you can pay under protest and still challenge.

Built for leaseholders

The tribunal is deliberately low-cost and accessible. It is designed so that an ordinary leaseholder can bring a case without a solicitor, and its procedure is more relaxed than a court's. Crucially, each side normally bears its own costs, so — unlike in court — you are not usually exposed to paying the landlord's legal bill if you lose.

Watch the costs trap: even though the tribunal itself does not usually order you to pay the landlord's costs, many leases let the landlord recover their legal costs through the service charge. That is why leaseholders often apply for a Section 20C order — to stop those costs being passed back to you and the other residents.

Wales, and appeals

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) covers England. In Wales the equivalent body is the Residential Property Tribunal (the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal). If you disagree with a decision, appeals go to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), though you normally need permission to appeal first.

The whole published record of these decisions is the foundation of how ServiceCharges.AI works: we read the tribunal's own rulings to see how charges like yours have been treated.

How this shows up in your service charges

Most disputes never need a hearing — a well-evidenced challenge often gets a charge reduced long before that. Our free AI audit reads your service charge demand, accounts and lease and shows you, line by line, how much could be challengeable under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, building the evidence base you would take to the tribunal if it came to it.

Start my free audit