Service charges

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Most recent Service charges content

Practice notes

Claim form—the contents

This Practice Note considers the current position and provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the CPR....

15th Jan

Precedents

Letter of claim—contractual debt claim—in compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims

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Practice notes

Commercial service charges—disputes and procedures

This Practice Note explains the procedure for handling commercial service charge disputes including by reference to the mandatory obligations and best...

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Practice notes

Residential—statutory limitations on recovery of service charges and administration charges

Statute limits the amount that may be recovered from tenants of dwellings by way either of service or administration charges. In both cases the...

15th Jan

Practice notes

Quick guide to where to issue common property dispute applications

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Service charges in commercial property—summary of the third edition of the service charge code [Archived]

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Practice notes

Residential service charges—disputes and procedures

This Practice Note explains the procedure for handling some of the most common residential service charge disputes under the Landlord and Tenant Act...

Produced in partnership with Victoria Jones 15th Jan

Practice notes

Commercial service charges—what expenses can the landlord recover?

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Communal heating network—landlord obligations

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Q&As

Is a landlord obliged to carry out works once he has served a notice for the purposes of section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and if so, by when? Will this obligation be inherited by a new landlord if the freehold is sold in the interim?

The law requires that leaseholders paying variable service charges must be consulted before a landlord carries out qualifying works or enters into a...

Produced in partnership with Georgia Whiting of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

If a service charge demand is not accompanied by a Summary of Rights and Obligations (under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985) and the leaseholder withholds payment, is the landlord prohibited from pursuing forfeiture action against the leaseholder if there are arrears? Or can the landlord pursue such action once they have rectified the matter by serving a Summary of Rights and Obligations?

Under section 21B(3) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985), a tenant may withhold payment of a service charge if the demand is not...

Produced in partnership with Carl Fain of Tanfield Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

A is purchasing a freehold property which is subject to a long residential lease of the first floor. A will occupy the ground floor, which currently has no lease. The first floor lease is fairly old and basic, and simply provides that the tenant is to pay a 50% contribution to the Landlord's insurance and structural maintenance costs throughout the term of the lease. Would there be any recovery issues for my client? Presumably this would still be classed as a service charge, and the s 20 procedures would need to be abided by and so on?

Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s 18 (LTA 1985) defines a service charge as 'an amount payable by a tenant of a [dwelling] as part of or in addition to...

Produced in partnership with Morayo Fagborun Bennet of Hardwicke Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

Do commercial service charge demands have to comply with the same provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 & 1985 as residential service charge demands? Do they have to state the name and address of the landlord, the address for which the charges relate and the period to which the arrears relate? Must it be accompanied with a summary of tenant’s rights and obligations?

Service charges allow the landlord of a property to recover from the tenant the costs of operating and servicing the building.The Landlord and Tenant...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

A right to manage (RTM) landlord fails to carry out works which have been paid for by the tenants through the service charge. How can an individual tenant challenge the RTM landlord? Has there been any judicial consideration of what would be a reasonable period within which the works should be carried out?

The right to manage (RTM) allows some leasehold property owners to take over management of the building, even without the agreement of the landlord,...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

If a service charge demand names the freeholder as two individuals when actually only one of them owns the freehold, would this invalidate the demand?

For residential leases, where the interest of the landlord under a lease or tenancy which consists of or includes a dwelling is assigned, the new...

Produced in partnership with Desmond Kilcoyne 8th Jan

Q&As

Can you levy a demand for service charge incurred in the interim period before the purchase of the head lease by serving a demand on the headlessee, so that in turn it can recover from the flat lessees?

The payment and recovery of service charges is primarily determined by the relevant provisions of the applicable lease, subject to some statutory...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a landlord has carried out a section 20 consultation in respect of major works but a genuinely unforeseen issue needs to be addressed during the works: Can the landlord incur these extra costs and re-charge as service charge? Or Will the landlord have to apply for retrospective dispensation if no provision was made for these additional works/associated costs during the consultation procedure?

Where a landlord is proposing major works—which are ‘qualifying works’ for the purposes of section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA...

Produced in partnership with Desmond Kilcoyne 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a tenant pays service charge quarterly (and the service charge includes the tenant’s proportion of the insurance premium), but the landlord is required to pay the insurance premium in a single payment, can the landlord recover the whole of the tenant’s proportion of the premium in the first quarterly service charge instalment or must it be spread across the quarterly payment dates?

As a very general rule, the services provided by a landlord (or a management body) to leaseholders over the course of a service charge year are...

Produced in partnership with Desmond Kilcoyne 8th Jan

Q&As

Can the leaseholder of a residential block with long leases who has incurred legal fees demand these as administration charges from tenants or can they only be demanded as part of and when service charge is due?

A residential lease, if properly drafted, will usually contain provisions enabling the landlord to recover from the tenant legal costs incurred in...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

If a commercial lease contains a provision to pay service charge but service charge has never been demanded, is there a limit as to what period a landlord can request backdated service charge for?

In the case of commercial premises, the protection afforded to residential tenants by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) will not apply. As...

Produced in partnership with Georgia Whiting of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan