Service Charges and Assured Tenancies

Cardiff Community Housing Association Limited v Kahar [2016] UKUT 0279 (LC)

This is a case about service charges and an assured tenancy.

The tenant, Mrs Kahar, didn’t think that she should pay service charges because her tenancy agreement failed to describe what those services were. She was successful at the First-tier Tribunal but the housing association appealed.

The Upper Tribunal granted the Appeal. It pointed out that Mrs Kahar could have found out at any time what services were being provided. Further, she had agreed to be bound by the terms of the tenancy agreement and she had in the past paid her service charges.

Comment

This decision does not mean that landlords need not bother to spell out the services which they provide. All cases are fact sensitive and if Mrs Kahar had not previously paid her service charges the result may have been different.