12 Days of Christmas – Day 10

On Day 10, we look at the Upper Tribunal's decision in Lehner v Lant Street. The tribunal considered the leaseholder protections provided by Schedule 8 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (the BSA 2022).

BACKGROUND

Mr Lehner, a long leaseholder of a flat in a five-storey block, was asked to contribute to the cost of remedying building safety defects in his building. In particular, the cladding need to be removed and replaced and additional fire stopping installed.

At the First-tier Tribunal, it was determined that Mr Lehner was liable to pay the GBP1,244.85 in service charge that had been demanded by his landlord.

DECISION

On appeal, the UT reversed this decision on the basis that:

1. The original service charge demand did not include the name and address of the correct landlord. Therefore, pursuant to section 47 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, the sum demanded was not properly "due".
2. Mr Lehner had a "qualifying lease" and so benefitted from the protections provided by Schedule 8 of the BSA 2022. Qualifying leaseholders are not required to pay service charge in respect of any cladding remediation works.

The UT tackled the complexity of the BSA 2022 and, in an appendix to the judgment, provided a helpful list of questions to be used when determining whether service charge is or is not payable. The questions, which form a 7-step analysis, have been adopted by practitioners and are invaluable to those wanting to understand if service charges are payable in relation to work where the leaseholder protections provided by the BSA 2022 might apply.

If you have managed to read this far, here is your reward of a festive joke to get you in the Christmas spirit: What goes "Oh, Oh, Oh"? Santa walking backwards!