33-35 Bryanston Square Ltd v Hercules Marine SA

The applicant pursued service charges going back to 2000. The respondent contended that a proportion of the service charges had been withheld due to breaches of covenant on the part of the applicant and that a number of the charges were now statute barred. There was no evidence before the LVT to support the contention that the applicant was in breach of covenant and, accordingly, the LVT rejected that aspect of the respondent’s case. In respect of the limitation period, the LVT canvassed the possibility both of a 12 year limitation period (for claims made under a deed) and 6 years (for service charges reserved as rent) and concluded that there was, infact, no limitation period in respect of a s.27A application.
Analysis
The question of limitation periods for applications to the LVT continues to remain a contentious and unclear one. The Lands Tribunal must be called upon to examine the situation before too long.