Section 27a & Cost Recovery

Expert Advice to Ensure Reasonable Recovery

Section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985) allows both landlords and leaseholders to apply to the Tribunal for a determination as to whether a service charge is reasonable and payable. Specifically, applications to the Tribunal seek to establish the person by whom it is payable, the person to whom it is payable, the amount which is payable, the date at or by which it is payable, and the manner in which it is payable.

With the Building Safety Act introducing new parameters for what is deemed eligible and relevant under the service charge, landlords and managing agents will need to be clear on what action can be taken to establish the reasonableness of measures and associated costs.

The JB Leitch team have considerable experience and an enviable track record of success in successful Tribunal applications under section 27A, particularly in relation to establishing the inclusion of building safety systems and measures as valid and reasonable costs within the service charge. Coupled with an in depth knowledge of the new building safety regime and how this impacts landlords and managing agents on an operational day-today basis, we can provide the guidance and advice needed to ensure that applications are legitimate, well structured and successful.

Read some of our recent case successes below:

• JB Leitch were recently successful in a case relating to an application under Section 27A Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, to determine estimated service charges in relation to the costs of major works. The case focused on an Application to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) for proposed major works, specifically the replacement of the floors and supporting structures to balconies which were said to pose a fire risk to the health and safety of the occupiers within a development comprising 43 blocks of flats in 103 acres of ground. Read more…
• JB Leitch succeeded in a notable determination of the liability to pay service charges under section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 at the First tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in a case concerning a listed, five storey Victorian building in central London. The property has 3 separate entrances with eleven flats served by a lift which had suffered from frequent breakdowns and had been out of service for three years. Read more…