Service charges
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Provisions that allow landlords to choose how to apportion service charges between tenants are void
Parties to leases commonly agree to allow the landlord – or its surveyor or managing agent – to certify service charge totals and, sometimes, to select the most appropriate method…
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What limitation periods apply to applications to determine residential service charge liabilities?
Section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 enables parties to residential leases to ask a tribunal to decide the amount, date and manner in which, and by whom…
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Landlords and tenants would be well-advised to address the recoverability of management charges in residential leases
The Court of Appeal decision in Francis v Phillips [2014] EWCA Civ 1395; [2014] PLSCS 300 will go down in legal textbooks as one of the leading cases on the…
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Promises to remedy defects in work will not entitle landlords to recover the full cost of the work. The defects should be remedied first
In Nogueira v Westminster City Council [2014] UKUT 327 (LC); [2014] PLSCS 272 the Upper Tribunal had to consider whether tenants were liable to pay the full cost of work,…
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Tenants should inspect supporting documents, while being consulted about the cost of future work, to avoid unwelcome surprises when the bill arrives.
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 lays down rules that apply to residential service charges. The legislation imposes requirements for reasonableness and the Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003…
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Time does not run under section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 if costs are billed to a previous owner, and not the current landlord
Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 prevents landlords from presenting tenants of dwellings with unexpected service charge demands for expenses for which they have made no provision.
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The tribunal will be the final arbiter if landlords allow third parties to decide how to apportion residential service charges between their tenants.
Parties to leases commonly agree to allow the landlord’s surveyor or managing agent to certify service charge totals. In some cases, the parties agree that they should select the most…
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A High Court decision offers practical guidance on the principles that apply to service charges on the termination of a lease.
Landlords often include provisions in service charge clauses to allow them to obtain payments on account to cover the cost of major work in future years.
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A Court of Appeal judgment has limited the remedies available to residential tenants seeking an explanation of their service charges.
Parliament has enacted legislation to regulate residential service charges in a variety of ways. Section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 enables tenants to require landlords to supply…
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There has been a marked change of approach to failures to comply with the consultation requirements following the Supreme Court’s decision in Daejan.
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires landlords to consult tenants before undertaking work above a certain value or entering into long-term agreements for the provision of goods or services…
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When does the statutory consultation period begin and end?
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires landlords to consult tenants before undertaking work above a certain value to be included in residential service charges.
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A requirement for the provision of audited service charge accounts was not a condition precedent to the recovery of interim payments under a lease
Where a lease provides for payment of interim service charges, it will generally also make provision for a balancing payment at the end of the service charge year to balance…