[2025] UKUT 115 (LC)

The application to the FTT (“the Application”) was made by application notice dated 5^th December 2022. As I have said, the Application was made pursuant to Section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (“Section 27A”). The application notice was issued by Dr Hakobyan, but the remainder of the Applicants were identified as parties to the Application, on the basis that the Application was a joint application. As mentioned above, the Applicants then comprised the tenants of eight of the Flats.

By the Application, the Applicants sought a determination under Section 27A in relation to the service charges, as they were described, for the period between November 2019 and March 2023. There were no formal grounds of challenge attached to the application notice but, in that part of the application notice where the Applicants were required to list the items of service charge which were in issue and their value, the following text appeared (italics have been added to all quotations in this decision):

“On 30 Sept 2022 the Applicants indicated above were sent a final service charge account by Network Homes for April 1 2021 to March 31 2022.

The increase charged by Network Homes amounts to 42%, and this is on top of our estimated service charge for that year that Applicants have already paid.

All Applicants requested that Newtork [Network] Homes provided an application for such costs, in terms of budget apportionment, actual costs and S22 that Network Homes need to serve to the managing agents.

The budget apportionment figures sent to the Applicants don’t match and do not coincide with the service charge calculations.

The S22 was not provided (Flat 203 requested S22 for 2020 year in November 2021. It has been 13 months, and still nothing.)”

Immediately below this in the application notice, where the Applicants were required to describe the questions they wished the FTT to decide, the following text appeared:

“We believe that the amount that we pay for the service charge is unreasonable and unfair, considering the poor services (especially throughout the pandemic) and evidence (supporting documents not sent).

We would like to know how the service charges were spent and why it has increased so sharply last year. All flats have emailed Network Homes asking for clarification; since we were sent a final account we thought that getting the answers to these questions would be easy, but we are struggling to get even the simplest questions answered.

A meeting was also requested and refused multiple times.”

The respondent to the Application was identified as the Appellant.