How to challenge a service charge at the First-tier Tribunal

If you think a service charge is too high, poor value or not payable under your lease, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England, or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales, to decide what you owe, under section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Most applications cost £114 to apply and £227 if a hearing is needed, and you can apply before or after paying.

This guide is for leaseholders, including landlords who let a leasehold flat. What a service charge is and the rules that limit it are covered in our service charge entry, and how the tribunal itself works is covered in our First-tier Tribunal entry.

What you can challenge

The tribunal can decide whether a charge is payable at all, and how much. The usual grounds are that the lease does not allow the cost to be recovered, that the cost was not reasonably incurred or the work was not done to a reasonable standard under section 19, that the landlord did not follow Section 20 consultation for major works, or that the cost was demanded more than 18 months after it was incurred without a warning notice. You can also challenge administration charges, such as fees for consents or for chasing arrears.

You cannot challenge a charge you have already agreed or admitted, or a matter a court has already decided. Until 1 April 2027, fixed service charges also fall outside the tribunal’s reasonableness test. From that date they come within the statutory regime in England.

Check the demand and the summary of rights and obligations

Start with the paperwork. A service charge demand in England or Wales must include the landlord’s name and an address in England and Wales where notices can be served. It must also come with the summary of rights and obligations, a prescribed statement explaining your rights, including the right to apply to the tribunal. In England its wording is set by the 2007 regulations.

Until both are supplied, you can lawfully withhold payment. The landlord can cure the defect by serving a correct demand, and the charge then becomes payable, so a missing summary delays the bill rather than cancelling it. From 1 November 2027, demands in England must also follow a prescribed form.

Get the budget and the accounts first

Most leases let the landlord collect service charges in advance, based on an annual budget, then balance the account once the year’s actual costs are known. Advance charges must themselves be reasonable. Ask for the budget, compare each line with the previous year’s actual spending, and question any line that has jumped without explanation.

For the year-end accounts, you can ask in writing for a summary of the costs behind the charge under section 21. The landlord must provide it within one month of your request, or six months after the end of the accounting period if that is later. Where more than four flats pay into the charge, it must be certified by a qualified accountant. Within six months of receiving it, section 22 lets you inspect the invoices and receipts. Failing to provide this information is a criminal offence.

From 1 April 2027, leaseholders in England gain a statutory right to request service charge and management information, and from 1 November 2027 landlords must issue accounts and an annual report in a prescribed form. Our guide to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 covers those reforms.

Try to settle it before you apply

Raise the dispute in writing with the landlord or managing agent first, item by item, and ask for the invoices behind each figure. Use the managing agent’s complaints procedure and, if that fails, the redress scheme it belongs to. The Leasehold Advisory Service gives free initial advice, and mediation can settle a dispute faster and more cheaply than a hearing. If other leaseholders share your concern, one application can cover several flats, which spreads the fee and strengthens the evidence.

How to apply to the tribunal

Apply on the tribunal’s service charge application form on GOV.UK, naming the years and the items in dispute. Send a copy of your lease, the demands, and the accounts or budgets you are challenging. The application fee is £114, and you can apply for help with fees if you are on a low income or certain benefits. Wales has its own forms and fees for the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

What happens after you apply

The tribunal issues directions setting out what each side must provide and by when. In most service charge cases that includes a schedule listing each disputed item, your comments, the landlord’s reply and the amount you say is reasonable. The case is then decided on the papers or at a hearing before a panel, usually a judge sitting with a surveyor. If a hearing is needed, you pay a further fee of £227 when it is listed. Contested cases often take many months from application to decision.

Protect yourself on costs

Ask the tribunal for two orders in your application. A section 20C order stops the landlord adding its legal costs of the case to the service charge, and a paragraph 5A order stops it charging them to you as an administration charge. If you win, you can also ask for the landlord to reimburse your tribunal fees. From 1 April 2027, a landlord in England can no longer recover its legal costs through the service charge unless a court or tribunal orders it.

Should you stop paying while you dispute it?

Usually not. If you stop paying, the landlord can sue in the county court, and the court will often transfer the service charge questions to the tribunal anyway. A landlord cannot forfeit your lease for unpaid service charges unless you have agreed the amount or a court or tribunal has decided it, but arrears can still lead to court costs, and some leases let mortgage lenders pay the arrears and add them to your loan. Paying what is not disputed, and applying for the rest, keeps you in a stronger position.

If you let the flat

From working with self-managing landlords across the UK, we find that leaseholder-landlords win service charge disputes on records rather than argument. Keep every demand, budget, set of accounts and email exchange, along with photographs of the communal areas and any problems your tenant reports. August’s document storage keeps them against the property, and expenses tracking shows what you have paid in each year. Whatever the outcome, the service charge stays your cost as leaseholder, because the Tenant Fees Act 2019 stops you recharging it to your tenant.

After the decision

If the tribunal reduces a charge, the landlord must credit or refund the difference, and the decision binds future demands for the same items. Either side can ask for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), but only on a point of law, and the request goes first to the First-tier Tribunal, normally within 28 days of the written decision.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to challenge a service charge?

For most service charge applications, £114 to apply and £227 if the case goes to a hearing, with help with fees available on a low income. You can ask the tribunal to order the landlord to repay the fees if you succeed.

Can I challenge service charges from previous years?

Yes. You can apply about past years as well as the current budget, but you cannot challenge a charge you have agreed or admitted, and older years are harder to evidence. Gather the demands and accounts for every year you want to dispute.

Do I need a solicitor to go to the tribunal?

No. The tribunal is designed for people to bring their own cases, and many leaseholders do. Free initial advice is available from the Leasehold Advisory Service, and a solicitor or surveyor can help with complex or high-value disputes.

Can my tenant challenge the service charge?

No. The service charge is a matter between you as leaseholder and your landlord. Your tenant pays rent to you, and their remedies for disrepair are against you as their landlord.