Danger ignoring service charge consultation requirements
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sets out detailed requirements and preconditions, which must be observed by landlords when they seek to recover the cost of works to a property from residential tenants by way of service charge. In an article by Paris Smith LLP, it is noted that in the case of Daejan Investments Limited v Benson, the statutory consultation requirements were not observed in their entirety by the landlord and the Court of Appeal concluded that the consequences for the landlord being unable to recover the service charge fully was significant and wasn’t a relevant factor when deciding whether or not to waive the consultation requirements. In consequence, the liability of the five residential tenants was restricted to £250 each (substantially less than they would have been liable for had the landlord complied with provisions of the 1985 legislation).
Read the full article here
