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Is my service charge reasonable?
Clearly, if you are a leaseholder/tenant it is important to you that you do not pay over the odds for your service charges. Likewise, if you are a landlord, you need to be confident that you can recover your expenditure on your property.
“Thank you Mike for your diligence and ready accessibility; we really appreciated that.” MA
If you are a residential long leaseholder, there is a great deal of legislation in place designed to provide additional protection, regulating the reasonableness of service charges including insurance charges.
If you are a commercial tenant, the lease will define the costs you must pay in your service charges. It is therefore important to consider the wording of your lease carefully as this is generally the starting point when trying to resolve a dispute.
If the terms of the lease are unclear, things can quickly become difficult, particularly when the parties have each been working on the basis of their own interpretation. This was the situation in the widely reported case of First Property Services Ltd v Ahmet, where a poorly drafted lease resulted in an expensive outcome for the leaseholders on the wrong end of serious drafting errors.
“I would like to thank you for your expertise and speed [in the recent matter]. We are relieved that it did not have to go any further.” HT
Service Charge Dispute Solicitors
We are highly experienced in advising and representing commercial and residential leaseholders and landlords in service charge disputes, including advising on the correct interpretation of the terms of your lease.
We will establish:
- whether the lease permits recovery of particular charges;
- whether there are technical grounds for challenging service charges;
- whether the charges could be reduced because the service costs are unreasonable in amount or unreasonably incurred.
We can advise and assist you in negotiations through to representing you in an application to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) or the County Court.
“I am thrilled to inform you Mike that the money was received by the deadline. May I convey my very many thanks for everything you have all done to bring this unfortunate situation to a close.” AS
