Residential service charge demands and s 20 consultation (Phillips v Francis)

Table of contents

• Practical implications
• Court details
• Facts
• Judgment

Article summary

The High Court has held that the concept of ‘qualifying works’ in s 20ZA(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 does not require the identification of one or more sets of qualifying works. As the relevant service charge contributions are payable on an annual basis, the recoverable limit of £250 per leaseholder by way of service charge collection applies to the proportion of the qualifying works carried out in that year. There is no 'triviality threshold' in relation to qualifying works: all qualifying works in a year have to be entered into the calculation unless the landlord is prepared to carry any excess cost himself.