Nonyelu Okoye v Gray’s Inn Capital Limited
Decision date: 20 June 2025
Neutral citation: [2025] UKUT 195 (LC)
Overall AI summary confidence: medium
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: medium
This appeal concerned whether insurance service charges levied by the landlord for 2014–2023 included cover beyond the lease-defined "Insured Risks", such that tenants were overcharged. The Upper Tribunal upheld the First-tier Tribunal, finding summary policy documents showed no cover for business interruption or book debts and that a single £5m owners' liability item did not establish a prima facie case of over-insurance. The appeal was dismissed and the service-charge allowances were upheld.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
A tenant challenging an insurance service-charge must produce evidence giving rise to a prima facie case of unreasonable cost; merely alleging that a landlord's policy covers additional risks is insufficient unless the tenant shows those items could be omitted and that omission would materially reduce the premium. Tribunal findings can be upheld where summary policy documents in the tribunal bundle demonstrate the actual cover corresponds to the lease requirements.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The tribunal observed that reliance on summary cover sheets earlier might have led to refusal of permission to appeal, and that a generic insurer policy document does not necessarily determine the cover for a particular property where specific "Summary of Cover" sheets exist.
Warning
The chunk contains substantial repetition and duplicated passages which make it somewhat noisy. notes contain substantial repetition and duplicated passages; they may be somewhat noisy.