Service Charge Disputes in North Devon
2 published tribunal decisions from in and around North Devon, with what each one actually decided. The figures North Devon Council publishes, rather than a national average.
- Local authority
- North Devon Council
- Service
- Service charge disputes
- County
- Devon
- Published decisions
- 2 tribunal decisions
Service Charge Cases Decided in and Around North Devon
| Development | Case | What the tribunal decided, and why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Ilfracombe Holiday Park, Marlborough Road | Lea v GP Ilfracombe Management Company [2023] UKUT 108 (LC) 30 May 2023 | Two hard lessons for a managing agent. A representative and a managing agent are persons against whom a costs order can be made even though they were not parties, so that exposure is real. But the reverse also holds: losing a service charge case comprehensively, even losing an entire 2.6 million pound budget, is not by itself unreasonable conduct. A management company seeking clarity on charges it knows will be contentious is behaving normally. |
| Lenwood Country Club, Lenwood Road | Johnson v County Bideford [2012] UKUT 457 (LC) 17 December 2012 | Omitting the landlord's name and address from a service charge demand makes it invalid and unenforceable, but it is a curable defect: serve compliant demands and the earlier ones are validated retrospectively, which also defeats an eighteen month time limit argument. On costs protection, note that an order does not automatically follow from a tenant win; what counts is the degree of success measured against the reduction achieved. |
What the Council Charges an Empty Flat in North Devon
North Devon took the decision at its meeting on 17 January 2024. The empty premium has run since 1 April 2024 at 100 per cent after one year, 200 after five and 300 after ten, and the second homes premium of 100 per cent from 1 April 2025. For a coastal district with the holiday-let stock North Devon has, the second homes charge reaches more of the flats in a block here than it would inland, and it is worth a director knowing which flats in the building are exposed to it before a major works bill goes out alongside it.
What We Do About Service Charge Disputes in North Devon
How that becomes a service here, working from what North Devon Council publishes:
- Budget and demand in a way that survives the questions these decisions show get asked, which is most of the work of avoiding them.
- Answer the empty-property question with North Devon Council's own premium rather than a general rule.
Fixed annual fee, no commission on contractor work.
How This Works, in General
The general law, for every area: Service Charge Financial Management; disputes: tribunal support.