Service Charge Disputes in Bath
3 published tribunal decisions from in and around Bath, with what each one actually decided. The figures Bath and North East Somerset Council publishes, rather than a national average.
- Local authority
- Bath and North East Somerset Council
- Service
- Service charge disputes
- County
- Somerset
- Published decisions
- 3 tribunal decisions
- From our Plymouth office
- Approx. 122 miles
Service Charge Cases Decided in and Around Bath
| Development | Case | What the tribunal decided, and why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The Empire, Grand Parade | CHI/00HA/LSC/2022/0078 21 December 2022 | Professional fees on an open ended investigation are as challengeable as builders' costs. Structural engineering fees of 24,164 pounds were cut to 7,704 because the investigation was not carried out to the required standard: the need had been identified in a 2019 report and three years later no repair specification existed. The tribunal found unacceptable delays and a failure to maintain effective control on the costs. Cap consultants' fees and set milestones. |
| 1 to 20 St Peter's Place, Lower Bristol Road | CHI/00HA/LVL/2019/0002 15 August 2019 | Add up your apportionments. The service charge percentages across 20 leases in a converted church totalled 96.535 per cent, and the managing agent had been quietly grossing up to 100 per cent for years on its own rationale. The shortfall triggered the statutory ground squarely and the fix was cheap and uncontested, but the leaseholders' obligation was only ever to pay the percentage in their own lease. |
| 6 Hope House, Lansdown Road | HAV/00HA/LSC/2024/0635 13 October 2025 | On a mixed estate you must be able to show which meter serves what and at which percentage. The tribunal determined the communal and estate office energy figures line by line, ordered that none of the respondents' costs count as relevant costs, and found they had not investigated or followed appropriate advice in a way that might have mitigated the costs. It rejected the developer's view that a determination for the applicants merely shifts the deficit to other leaseholders. |
What the Council Charges an Empty Flat in Bath
Bath and North East Somerset charges nothing extra for the first year, then 100 per cent for one to five years, 200 for five to ten and 300 beyond ten. The clause that catches people out on a block is that the premium applies regardless of any change in ownership: a flat sold with two years of emptiness behind it arrives with the clock already running, which is not what a buyer assumes. A second home has carried a 100 per cent premium since 1 April 2025. Exceptions have applied from 1 April 2025.
What We Do About Service Charge Disputes in Bath
Service charge disputes in Bath is part of a full management service, not a standalone product. The 3 decisions above and Bath and North East Somerset Council's own published figures are what we work from here:
- Answer a challenge with the reasoning the tribunal has actually applied nearby, rather than with a general statement about reasonableness.
- Tell a director what an empty flat will actually cost here, which is the first question asked after a probate flat sits empty.
Our fee for that is a fixed annual amount with no commission on contractor work, so the advice above costs the building nothing extra when it turns into a job.
How This Works, in General
The law here is the same in Bath as it is anywhere in England, and it is set out in full on our service-charge-financial-management page rather than repeated on this one. What changes locally is above: the authority, the figures, and what the tribunal has actually done with cases nearby.
Other Services in Bath
Service Charge Disputes Elsewhere
Everything else we do in the area is on the Bath page, and the full matrix is at services by area.