Kamlesh Parmar v 127 Ladbroke Grove Limited
Decision date: 5 August 2022
Neutral citation: [2022] UKUT 213 (LC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
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: high
This appeal concerned whether service charges for 2014–2018 were payable where lease-required certified accounts were not issued and whether written notification within the 18‑month limit in section 20B(2) had been given. The Upper Tribunal set aside the First‑tier Tribunal's finding that B(2) had been satisfied, concluded no proper certification had been supplied so no final service charges for 2014–2018 were ascertained or payable, and left intact that interim sums recovered by a county court judgment were not repayable.
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 valid contractual demand or certified year‑end account is a precondition to ascertaining final service charges under the lease; if no valid contractual demand is served within 18 months of costs being incurred, the landlord must identify specific written notification within the 18‑month period under section 20B(2). A tribunal must identify the particular document(s) relied on to satisfy B(2) and cannot make an unsupported implicit finding that unspecified documents suffice.
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 judgment noted that section 20B limits liability for recovering costs but does not treat costs as never having been incurred, and that the statutory time‑limit regime and the lease's contractual accounting/balancing process operate separately — statutory limitation does not by itself create a right to reimbursement of interim payments absent the contractual balancing procedure and tribunal jurisdiction to order repayment.