Challenging a service charge demand. The tests, the time limits and the documents to ask for.
A service charge is only payable if it’s reasonably incurred, the works are of a reasonable standard, the demand is valid and it’s within time. Each of those is a question you’re entitled to ask.
Guide by Damion Robinson MCIOB MCIEH. Law and figures checked 01/10/2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your case.
The four questions
- Is it recoverable under the lease? The lease is the contract. If it doesn’t allow the landlord to recover a cost, the landlord can’t, however sensible the spending was. Read the service charge schedule and the definition of the service charge percentage.
- Was it reasonably incurred? Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Costs are only recoverable to the extent they’re reasonably incurred and the works or services are of a reasonable standard. A landlord who chose the dearest contractor without reason, or paid for works that were never done properly, fails this test.
- Is the demand valid? A demand must contain the landlord’s name and address under section 47 of the 1987 Act, an address in England and Wales for service under section 48, and the summary of rights and obligations under section 21B of the 1985 Act. Without those, the sum isn’t due until they’re supplied.
- Is it in time? Section 20B. Costs incurred more than 18 months before the demand aren’t recoverable unless the landlord notified you in writing within the 18 months that costs had been incurred and you’d be asked to contribute.
Documents to ask for
Under section 21 you can ask for a written summary of the costs for the last accounting year, certified by an accountant where there are more than four flats. Under section 22, within six months of getting the summary, you can inspect and copy the accounts, receipts and other documents behind it. For a housing association landlord, the complaints process and the Housing Ombudsman sit alongside these rights and can be used to press for documents the landlord is slow with.
Ask in writing, quote the section, and diary the landlord’s deadline, which is one month for a section 21 request or six months from the end of the accounting period, whichever is later.
Building the challenge
Take the demand line by line. For each item, note whether the lease allows it, whether the amount looks reasonable against market rates, and whether you’ve seen the invoice. Group the disputed items. Then write to the landlord setting out what you dispute, why, and what you want: a credit, a document, or an explanation. That letter, and the landlord’s reply, are the first two documents in any tribunal bundle.
Paying under protest is often the sensible move where the sum is significant. The landlord can’t forfeit for a disputed service charge until a tribunal or court has decided it’s payable, but it can sue for the money in the meantime, and if you lose, the forfeiture route opens. Make the protest clear in writing and it doesn’t stop you challenging the charge afterwards.
What’s changing
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 rewrites this area, but its service charge parts aren’t in force yet. On 15 July 2026 the government confirmed it will bring in a standard demand form, annual reports and new limits on landlords recovering their legal costs through the service charge. The regulations are expected later in 2026 and the changes are due to bite during 2027. Until then sections 21 and 22 are the rights you have, and they’re worth using.
LS-08 Service charge challenge pack, £250
Fixed price, confirmed in writing before you commit. Council and tribunal fees at cost on top.
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