Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
We reported earlier that, in the case of Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson, the Court of Appeal had denied a landlord dispensation from observing service charge consultation requirements. He had failed to comply with all stages of the requirements by not providing the tenants with a summary of observations on the estimates and a notice of where they would be available for inspection. However, Chris George, of Shoosmiths, has reported that these findings have been reversed by the Supreme Court.
Read the full article here
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
Camden Council leaseholder tenants may not have been charged for service charge works carried out via district (housing) management committee’s since at least 2001.
Read the full article here
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
Russell-Cooke has highlighted a recent court case that could cause turmoil for those who manage residential service charge property
It is well known that landlords of residential properties are required to consult with lessees prior to committing to works where expenditure would result in any lessee paying more than £250 and the common understanding was that low cost, low key works did not require prior consultation. In an attempt to avoid what was sometimes perceived as being the tiresome, time consuming and costly exercise of consulting, landlords would sometimes split the cost into separate projects, each of which would be low enough not to trigger the consultation requirements. However, in the case of Phillips v Francis, it was decided that works should not be split, but treated collectively over the service charge year. However the small print of the decision needs to be examined……………
Read the full article here
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
The recent Court of Appeal case of Campbell v Daejan Properties Limited [2012] EWCA Civ 1503 has served as an important reminder to landlords that there is not a presumption that they should receive full recovery of their maintenance and repair costs from a tenant through the service charge.
Read the full article here
Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 in Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
It was reported in Inside Housing that rules relating to service charges were rewritten ahead of the publication of universal credit regulations this week, over fears that tenants and landlords would be unable to claim benefit for up to 13 charges. Draft regulations for the new universal credit, which replaces a host of income-related benefits from next October, were published in the summer listing just three categories of eligible charges. The new draft includes four categories of payments, including payments for the up-keep of communal areas, to maintain a good standard of accommodation, for communal services and for ‘accommodation-specific charges’. The DWP will publish guidance in the next few weeks setting out exactly what charges will be eligible.
Read the full article here
Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Service Charge
In a report by Property Week, the Service Charge Operating Report (SCOR) for Retail 2012,based on the service charge cost data from 100 shopping centres with a total lettable area of circa 50m sq ft and yearly expenditure of just under £300m, shows that only 4% of shopping centre landlords show evidence of how service charge accounts are prepared, despite this being a key recommendation of the RICS code of practice. The report also revealed that only 54% of landlords are having annual reconciliation statements signed off by an accountant or surveyor. Finally, the report showed that shopping centre retail tenants are, on average, paying between £4.34 and £6.68 per square foot of space they rent but the reason for this wide cost gap remains unexplained.
Read the full article here
Sunday, November 25th, 2012 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
Landlords and tenants need to be aware of the many legal provisions that govern residential service charges, since mistakes can prove costly. Although we have highlighted many of these pitfalls in the past, this article by Natasha Rees of Forsters LLP gives a very useful summary.
Read the full article here
Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Service Charge
Ralph Bullivant of Hill Dickinson notes another instance where landlords will need to be even more vigilant than normal on the quarter day with a view to taking prompt enforcement action against those tenants who have failed to pay their rent, especially if there is a suggestion that they may be in financial difficulties and possibly heading for administration. In The High Court decision, Leisure (Norwich) II Ltd -v- Luminar Lava Ignite Ltd, it was held that, when rent is payable in advance and falls due for payment prior to the commencement of the administration, it is not payable as an expense of the administration and the landlord must stand in line with all the other creditors.
Read the full article here
Friday, October 5th, 2012 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Residential, Service Charge
In Ragge & Co’s Property Update, it is pointed out that, if the parties to a protected lease cannot agree the terms of the renewal, they will be decided by the court and the burden of persuading the court to change the terms of the existing tenancy rests on the party proposing the change. In addition, the High Court has held that a lease with an all-inclusive rent should be renewed on terms which provide for a separate variable service charge.
Read the full article here
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 in Commercial, Landlord, Managing Agent, News, Service Charge
The City of London is entitled to force changes on its tenants at the historic Smithfield Market that will see them pay “exclusive” rent and a separate service charge rather than make one “all-inclusive” payment as they had done previously, the High Court has said.
Read the full article by Out-Law.com here
