Tag Archive for 'service charges'

Service charges and reasonably incurred

By J on 24/09/2011. 0 Comments

Garside and another v RFYC Ltd and another [2011] UKUT 367 (LC)

By s.19(1)(a), Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, leaseholders are only liable to pay service charges to the extent that they are reasonably incurred.

The property in question has something of an unfortunate history. Following many years of neglect and poor management, the leaseholders successfully applied to the LVT for the appointment of a manager under Pt. 2, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. The manager then issued large service charge demands which caused some disquiet amongst some of the leaseholders and, in turn, the manager applied to the LVT to determine whether the sums contained in the demands were … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership. Tags: , , .

Three for the LVT mavens

By J on 05/09/2011. 1 Comment

I promised to write the second of these case reports a week ago. Mea culpa. Still, by delaying, I’ve managed to find two other cases to include. So, without further ado…

Ayres and others v Roberts and others

In All’s Well That Ends Well (Act.1, Scene 1), Shakespeare urges us to “love all, trust a few.” Wise words indeed, and very apt for the case of Ayres and others v Roberts and others CHY09726 (Central London CC; transcript via Westlaw), where HHJ Cowell has pointed out that the LVT is sending misleading and legally inaccurate information to litigants. How so? Well…

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All, Leasehold and shared ownership and Uncategorized. Tags: , , , .

Genuinely exciting

By J on 02/08/2011. 2 Comments

I’ve been away at a stag weekend for the last few days. I therefore recognise that it is possible that my sense of what is (and is not) exciting and fun may be slightly warped, as I try to re-adjust to polite society. I was, however, genuinely excited last night to see that the Greater London Authority has announced a review into service charges in leasehold property in London (see here).

The scoping paper is a very detailed (but accessible) document, so I won’t repeat it here. Suffice to say that, whether you’re a landlord or tenant (in London), this looks like something you’ll want to get involved with.… Read the full post

Posted in FLW article and Leasehold and shared ownership. Tags: , .

Service charge demands and prescribed information

By J on 18/07/2011. 0 Comments

By s.21B, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, a demand for the payment of service charges must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations, setting out the various rights and options open to leaseholders. In England, that provision has been in force since October 2007 and there is a prescribed format for the summary: SI 2007/1257. What happens though where a service charge demand is made after October 2007, but in respect of costs incurred before that date? That was the question for the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in Amourgam v Valepark Properties Ltd [2011] UKUT 261 (LC).

HHJ Huskinson has held that the demand must be accompanied by … Read the full post

Posted in FLW article, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership. Tags: , .

Service charges and legal costs: a very short point

By J on 10/07/2011. 0 Comments

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has recently handed down two cases on insurance premiums and service charges. I’m not going to deal in any detail with either of them, as both are entirely on their own facts. However, in one case Akorita v Marina Heights (St Leonards) Ltd [2011] UKUT 255 (LC), the Upper Tribunal did make a comment about the correct approach to s.20C, LTA 1985, that I do think is worth bringing to your attention.

In general terms, the LVT and Upper Tribunal have exceptionally limited powers to award costs. What is more important in most cases is where the lease gives the landlord the power to charge … Read the full post

Posted in FLW article, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership. Tags: , .

The degree of formality

By J on 05/07/2011. 1 Comment

… and, no, we’re not talking about meeting the in-laws; rather, we’ve *finally* got a High Court decision on the requirements of s.20B(2), Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. This, in short, requires landlords to either demand service charges within 18 months of incurring the same, or (again, within 18 months)to have notified the tenant that costs have been incurred and he will be required to pay them.

LB  Brent v Shulem B Association Ltd [2011] EWHC 1663 (Ch) is an appeal from the county court. Brent was the freehold owner of five blocks of flats in Willesden, London. Schulem was the leaseholder of fifteen flats in those blocks. Under … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership. Tags: , , .

Ground Rent notification

By J on 17/05/2011. 4 Comments

I’ve just noticed that the Government amended the wording for Ground Rent demands (s.166, 2002 Act) on April 26, 2011 (see here: http://www.info4local.gov.uk/documents/publications/1905195). The change is in para. 3 of the Notes for Leaseholders.

It used to read:

“Section 167 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 and regulations made under it prevent your landlord from forfeiting your lease for non-payment of rent, service charges or administration charges (or a combination of them) if the amount owed is £350 or less, or none of the unpaid amount has been outstanding for more than three years.”

 

It has been changed to read:

“Section 167 of the Commonhold and … Read the full post

Posted in FLW article, Housing law - All and Leasehold and shared ownership. Tags: , , .
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