Phillips & Ors v Francis & Anor [2012] EWHC 3650 (Ch) (21 December 2012)

Phillips & Ors v Francis & Anor [2012] EWHC 3650 (Ch) (21 December 2012)

The judge was wrong in law to permit recovery of management charges for general management under paragraph 6; only professional agent fees are recoverable under paragraph 6, and the 5% management charge under paragraph 8 applies to all properly recoverable items. The judge also erred in applying a test of...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2012] EWHC 3650 (Ch)
Parties
Appellant: Dennis Phillips; Appellant: Royna Goddard; Respondent: Martin Francis; Respondent: Rebekah Katherine Francis
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
21 December 2012
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Judgment on Appeal
Outcome
appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Service Charges, Lease Interpretation, Qualifying Works, Consultation Requirements
Property Law Landlord and Tenant Service Charges Lease Interpretation Qualifying Works Consultation Requirements

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Parties

Dennis Phillips

Appellant

Royna Goddard

Appellant

Martin Francis

Respondent

Rebekah Katherine Francis

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Judgment on Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether management charges under the leases are limited to 5% or can be recovered under both paragraphs 6 and 8 of Schedule 3
  2. 2 Whether all qualifying works should be aggregated for the purposes of consultation requirements under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

Ratio Decidendi

The judge was wrong in law to permit recovery of management charges for general management under paragraph 6; only professional agent fees are recoverable under paragraph 6, and the 5% management charge under paragraph 8 applies to all properly recoverable items. The judge also erred in applying a test of aggregation and triviality threshold for qualifying works; all qualifying works must be included in the calculation for consultation requirements, and the statutory limit applies to the annual proportion of qualifying works.

Court Disposition

appeal allowed

Orders

  • Permission to appeal granted on both management charge and qualifying works issues
  • Judge's order set aside in relevant respects