Search Mobile

collapse

already registered?

Please sign in with your existing account details.

Email address

Password

need to register?

Register to access exclusive content, sign up to receive our updates and personalise your experience on brownejacobson.com.

Privacy statement - Terms and conditions

Forgotten your password?

collapseSign

Home

Insights

Resources

Blogs

Residential service charges and the duty to consult

residential service charges and the duty to consult

6 March 2013

The Supreme Court has granted a landlord dispensation from the service charge consultation requirements (the ‘Requirements’) contained in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

Under this Act, unless dispensation is granted, a residential landlord who fails to comply with the Requirements cannot recover more than £250 from each tenant. In this case, although the cost of the works was £280,000, the landlord could not have recovered more than £1,250 (five tenants paying £250).

The landlord’s failure was that it only provided the tenants with a priced specification for one of the two tenders it obtained. The Supreme Court dispensed with the Requirements and reduced the tenants’ liability by just £50,000. Its reasoning was that the landlord’s failure to comply caused no significant prejudice to the tenants (they just lost the chance to make a case for proceeding with the other tender).

This surprising decision seems to “drive a coach and horses” through the statutory service charge protection available to residential tenants.

related opinions

Home Office Central Registry for modern slavery statement goes live - first universities publish statements

The Home Office recently launched a central registry for modern slavery statements. A growing number of educational organisations, including a number of universities, have published statements on the registry.

View blog

Moratoriums

The new Part A1 moratorium was introduced partly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on businesses. The moratorium is not intended to be used to simply delay the inevitable insolvency of a company, but rather to allow breathing space for that company to restructure and/or achieve an effective rescue.

View blog

Equal pay at ASDA stores - appeal to the Supreme Court unsuccessful

35,000 workers working in ASDA’s retail business sought to compare themselves to workers at distribution depots for equal pay purposes. Find out more about this Employment Appeal Tribunal.

View blog

Allegations of abuse in schools, colleges and universities

The website “Everyone’s Invited” is a movement which is “committed to eradicating rape culture” and describes “rape culture” as “all the ways that different forms of aggressive and violent sexual behaviour are normalised, encouraged and even admired by society”. Find out more.

View blog

View all blogs