Leaseholders service charges tribunal

By exercising their legal rights to avoid becoming homeless

United Kingdom council leaseholders, defending themselves from excessive overcharging of leaseholders service charges are exercising their leaseholders rights, at the leasehold valuation tribunal. After being bludgeoned with unreasonable service charges, they face bankruptcy, forfeiture of lease, the reluctant selling of lifelong homes, sometimes at the insistence of a lvt leasehold valuation tribunal direction, that failed to scrutinise the woefully inadequate leasehold accounts.

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it's time that an accountant be allowed to sit on the tribunal panel if justice is to prevail

After receiving bills for £20,000 plus

               links to actual events that took place

Typical overcharging see video links below

• The diary of events that lead to a local authority agreeing to deal with leaseholders
• the window costs errors submitted to leaseholders
• the leaseholders service charges estimate errors
• The true outcome of a leasehold valuation tribunal case

leaseholders of "BLOCKS" portrayed in links to videos above asserted their leaseholders rights, took successful legal action at the lvt leasehold valuation tribunal. Final service charges were reduced to less than half the original demand.

UNFORTUNATELY there will be no public record of this A DEAL WAS DONE why and how cannot be disclosed.

That go against them they tend to win tribunal cases where lesses made the mistake of not having quality legal representation and attended a tribunal by themselves in very small numbers. You must get organised claim your rights just like some Norfolk Council leaseholders who received £60,000 refund

If Norwich city Council in response to complaints by leaseholders, ordered contractors to cut prices then so must others. Because the tendering of these contracts tend to follow the same procurement route, where there is excessive charging on leasehold service charges a leasehold valuation tribunal hearing is often the last hope for leasehold rights to be determined

What the media are reporting

misleading residential leaseholders it has issued with massive service charge bills



accounting errors discovered by Leaseholders in Southwark

it's up to leaseholders to be constantly questioning every aspect of how service charge bills were calculated.
Especially if it is known or suspected that your local council is (or was) jointly procuring contracts via an alliance with another borough that is being investigated.

The Royal institution of chartered surveyors  BCIS building cost information service "price books" available to the public, give valuable guidance on costs, to present to a leasehold valuation tribunal.

The prices do not include very large scale bulk buying discounts obtained by local councils. That have been increased by formation of alliances with other boroughs. (reducing prices still further) If Your local Council procured major works contracts via such an alliance, it should admit to huge job lot discounts, problems arise when some Borough Councils show a total lack of transparency.

"small neighbourhood housing association" offers leaseholders reductions on "the open market" so why are leasehold service charges for works procured via massive bulk buying powers, "which is the case for many Councils across the country", Very much higher than what you as an individual could procure at a reduced price with no reduction in quality of work or materials used.

How leaseholders of an estate in London were offered discounts 

You need legal help to defend your rights, it's too complicated to tackle by yourself, don't give, in there are firms who can give legal help at a tribunal a firm of property law advocates is required at any leasehold valuation tribunal.

There is a sheer bloody minded determination, from many councils to extract from every leaseholder as much as possible in service charges, to fill a serious funding gap in leasehold accounts. But there is no clause in any lease i have seen that says it is reasonable to fill a funding gap entirely from charges to the leaseholders,

are the service charges properly recoverable from leaseholders

The specialised services of accountants with knowledge of leasehold charges, looking over the lease and service charges on your behalf, is something you should consider.  The audit commission should be asked to investigate valid concerns with leasehold service charges accounts that don't add up, leaseholders have legal rights.

See here tricks of the trade the tricks outlined here are happening to other leaseholders. I cannot say which tricks applied to my lvt leasehold valuation tribunal case, where major works and service charges were vigorously challenged to maintain my leasehold rights.