In Anchor Hanover Group v Cox [2023] UKUT 14 (LC) the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has ruled that a landlord was entitled to include the costs of lift repairs and maintenance as part of the service charges demanded from its assured tenants.
The Upper Tribunal held that the implied repairing obligations on a landlord contained in section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 do not extend to cover a lift in the common parts of a building and therefore the costs could be recovered through the service charge.
The crucial questions for determination were whether a lift was part of the structure and exterior of the building or one of the installations in the building covered by section 11 of the 1985 Act. The First-tier Tribunal had concluded that it was and therefore the repairs and maintenance costs could not be funded through the service charge. The Upper Tribunal disagreed, finding that whilst the lift was both a common facility and essential to the residents, one could not identify this as either part of the structure or exterior of the building, or as one of the installations specified by the Act.
Accordingly, notwithstanding commentary on the Shelter and Citizens Advice websites to the opposite effect, the Upper Tribunal concluded that lift maintenance costs fell outside section 11 and therefore the landlord was entitled to include them within the service charge.
This case will be of particular interest to registered providers of social housing and offers useful guidance of potentially wider application as to which maintenance costs can be included within the service charges demanded from assured tenants.