Service charge certificates must follow lease provisions

Landlords need to ensure that any service charge certificates they issue comply with the terms of the lease.

Otherwise, they may not be binding as illustrated in an appeal hearing before the Lands Tribunal.

Sloane Properties Ltd carried out substantial building works at a block of flats in Kensington Park Gardens in London between 2000 and 2003. Instead of stating how much was payable by tenants in each service charge year, the landlord's accountants provided an estimate of the work carried out.

A tenant claimed that the service charge certificates were not binding on her as they were based on estimates rather than the actual costs incurred each year. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal ruled against her but her appeal was then upheld by the Lands Tribunal.

Ironically, the tenant had paid the service charges in full by the time of the appeal but the hearing went ahead anyway to determine who should pay for the costs of the dispute.