Tenants ordered to pay 80% of landlord fees for lease extension
The tenants of a flat who challenged the cost of granting a lease extension have been told they must pay 80% of their landlord’s fees.
Paul and Lesley Wisbey had won an earlier legal argument to reduce a £1,725+VAT bill from Sinclair Garden Investments for the cost of arranging a new lease and a valuation. The couple challenged the costs incurred and pointed to a number of issues, including the fact that the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) had previously made a decision to reduce costs for a lease extension in the same development to £845+VAT.
The FTT made a number of points, including that Sinclair Gardens should have arranged a fixed fee with their solicitors as a number of lease extensions at the flats were being undertaken at the same time.
The judge in Sinclair Gardens Investments (Kensington) Ltd v Wisbey agreed a fixed fee should have been arranged, but disagreed with the FTT’s other rulings and ordered the tenants to pay 80% of the fee – a figure of £1,320+VAT.
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