Flat 15, Henry House, Coin Street, London, SE1 8YE
Condition: Not described in this decision; the dispute concerned only the service charge element, not the physical condition of the property.
Evidence considered
- Landlord's schedule of service charges including £29,000 lift replacement fund and £4,860 administration costs, totalling £66,260 for 2024, apportioned across flats to £19.31/week each
- Lift refurbishment invoice/cost of £609,680 (2021) used to calculate depreciation over a 20-year estimated lifespan
- Rent Officer's Handbook guidance on service charge definitions and lift depreciation periods (25-30 years general guideline, landlord argued 20 years due to heavy use)
- DWP Universal Credit guidance (2019) listing communal lifts and telephones as eligible service charges
- No tenant submitted evidence or attended the hearing
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
This is a Rent Act 1977 fair rent registration (not an assured tenancy market rent case). The landlord objected only to the service charge element set by the Rent Officer, seeking £19.31/week instead of £9.00/week, largely to cover lift depreciation and administration costs. The Tribunal accepted the landlord's evidence on lift replacement cost (£609,680 in 2021) and a 20-year depreciation period, finding the £19.31/week service charge figure reasonable. The uncapped rent was not disputed, but as all rents fell below the capped maximum fair rent under the Rent Acts (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999, the capped figure (recalculated using current RPI) applied, producing a fair rent of £167.50 per week (£725.83 pcm equivalent), inclusive of the £19.31/week services charge.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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