Holding & Management (Solitaire) Limited v Leaseholders of Sovereign View
[2023] UKUT 174 (LC)
Radcliffe Investment Properties Limited v Nigel Keith Meeson & Anor
22 August 2023
[2023] UKUT 209 (LC)
Upper Tribunal
A landlord didn't do a fire safety check, so a costly fire watch was needed. A court said the landlord, not the tenants, should pay because the cost was avoidable if the check had been done.
Key Facts
- •Park Rise, a converted office building in Manchester, had a waking watch implemented due to fire safety concerns.
- •The total cost of the waking watch was £57,894.
- •The landlord, Radcliffe Investment Properties Ltd, failed to conduct a proper fire risk assessment after acquiring the building.
- •The First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) ruled that the leaseholders were only liable for the first 7 days of the waking watch (£5,859), attributing the remaining cost to the landlord's negligence.
- •The landlord appealed the FTT's decision.
Legal Principles
Reasonableness of service charge costs is assessed based on specific facts, not rigid rules.
Avon Ground Rents Ltd v Cowley [2019] EWCA Civ 1827
The reason for incurring a cost is relevant to the reasonableness of incurring that cost.
Continental Property Ventures Ltd v White [2007] L&TR 4
A landlord's breach of duty, even a criminal one, can render service charge costs unreasonable.
Daejan Properties Ltd v Griffin [2014] UKUT 206 (LC)
Landlord's obligation under the leases to provide services and leaseholders' obligation to contribute towards reasonably and properly incurred costs.
Lease agreement, Part 1 of Schedule 7
Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order 2005 imposes a duty on building owners to conduct suitable and sufficient fire risk assessments and keep them updated.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The FTT was entitled to find the costs unreasonable due to the landlord's failure to conduct a timely fire risk assessment, leading to avoidable waking watch costs. The landlord's breach of duty under the Fire Safety Order was a key factor.
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