On Friday 31st October 2014, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in the case of Phillips v Francis [2012] EWHC 3650 (Ch D). The Court of Appeal upheld (in part) the Landlord’s appeal against the ruling of the High Court, Chancery Division.
What Does This Mean For Landlords/Managing Agents?
The duty to consult is limited to where it is proposed to undertake sets or batches of qualifying works which will lead to any one tenant paying over £250. The Court of Appeal decided that the High Court was wrong to adopt an approach of adding together all qualifying works carried out in any one service charge financial year and that the duty to consult applied if the total costs of those works resulted in any one individual tenant paying more than £250.
The Court of Appeal held that to apply that obligation to every item of maintenance and repair gave rise to serious practical and administrative problems and could not have been intended by Parliament!
For full details on this case, please click here.
If you require some advice on your own leasehold position, please contact Yashmin Mistry
