Aviva Investors Ground Rent GP Ltd and another (Respondents) v Williams and others (Appellants)
Case ID: 2021/0059
Case summary
Issue
To what extent is a term in a residential lease which allows the landlord to revise the tenant’s share of the service charges invalidated by section 27A(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985?
If the effect is that any discretion to re-apportion the service charge is transferred from the landlord to the First-tier Tribunal does section 27A(6) enable the tenant as well as the landlord to invoke the Tribunal’s jurisdiction?
Facts
This appeal concerns several flats in Southsea, which form part of a mixed-use commercial and residential block. The Appellants are the individual leaseholders of 38 flats in the building. The Respondent are the Appellants' landlords and own the freehold of the block and wider estate. Each lease provides that the tenant is to pay a service charge comprised of a share of three types of cost of maintaining the building and wider estate - insurance, building services and estate services costs. The share of each type of costs is set at a fixed percentage or 'such part as the Landlord may otherwise reasonably determine' (the "Reapportionment Provisions")
For some years, the Respondent has been demanding service charges in different proportions from those percentages stated in the leases, in reliance on the Reapportionment Provisions. The Appellants challenged that practice. They argued that section 27A(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 meant that the Reapportionment Provisions are void. The First-tier Tribunal ("FTT") rejected the leaseholders' argument that the Reapportionment Provisions were rendered void. It considered that the landlords’ re-apportionments were reasonable and so should be enforced.
On appeal by the leaseholders the Upper Tribunal reversed the FTT's decision and held that section 27A(6) rendered the Reapportionment Provisions void. Therefore, neither the landlord nor the FTT had the power to vary the percentages set out in the leases unless the leaseholders agreed.
The Court of Appeal allowed the landlords' appeal on the basis that the effect of Section 27A(6) was to transfer the power to vary the percentages from the landlord to the FTT. It therefore restored the decision of the FTT which had considered the re-apportionment reasonable and so should be enforced. The leaseholders now appeal to the Supreme Court.
Judgment appealed
Parties
Appellant(s)
Philip John Williams and others
Respondent(s)
Aviva Investors Ground Rent GP Ltd, Aviva Investors Ground Rent Holdco Ltd
Intervener
The Property Institute
Appeal
Justices
Lord Reed, Lord Briggs, Lord Kitchin, Lord Sales, Lord Richards
Hearing start date
8 December 2022
Hearing finish date
8 December 2022
| Watch hearing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8 Dec 2022 | Morning session | Afternoon session |
Judgment details
Judgment date
8 February 2023
Neutral citation
[2023] UKSC 6
- Judgment (PDF)
- Press summary (HTML version)
- Judgment on The National Archives (HTML version)
- Judgment on BAILII (HTML version)
Please note this judgment was reuploaded on 10/02/23 to remove a description in paragraph 10 of part of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which was not expressly referenced in the judgment and is not in force.
| Watch Judgment summary | |
|---|---|
| 8 February 2023 | Judgment summary |