Applying to the First-tier Tribunal. Section 27A, section 20C and what the pack has to contain.

Guide by Damion Robinson MCIOB MCIEH. Law and figures checked 01/10/2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your case.

What section 27A does

A leaseholder, or a landlord, can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination of whether a service charge is payable, by whom, to whom, how much, when and how. It covers charges already demanded and charges that would be payable if costs were incurred, so you can challenge a proposed scheme of works before the bill lands. The tribunal applies the tests in section 19 and the terms of the lease. It can’t rewrite the lease and it can’t decide the charge was fair in some general sense. Payability is the question.

Section 20C

Most leases let the landlord recover its legal costs of a dispute through the service charge. Section 20C lets you ask the tribunal to order that the landlord’s costs of the proceedings aren’t to be added to the service charge. Ask for it in the application. If you don’t, and you win, you can still end up paying the landlord’s lawyers through next year’s demand. There’s a matching power under paragraph 5A of Schedule 11 to the 2002 Act for administration charges.

The application

The form is Leasehold 3, the Property Chamber’s application for a determination of liability to pay and reasonableness of service charges. It asks for the parties, the property, the lease, the charges in dispute by year and amount, and the grounds. The fee is payable on application, with a further fee if there’s a hearing, and fee remission is available on low income. The tribunal then issues directions: a timetable for the landlord’s statement of case, your reply, the bundle and the hearing.

What the pack contains

• The application form, completed so the tribunal understands the dispute in one reading.
• A statement of case. Numbered paragraphs, each disputed item identified, the lease clause relied on, the reason the charge fails, and the figure you say is payable.
• A schedule of the disputed charges, usually a table, with the landlord’s figure and yours side by side.
• The lease, the demands, the section 20 notices, the correspondence, and any evidence on reasonableness such as alternative quotes or a surveyor’s view.
• The section 20C application.

Tribunals dislike bundles that are big and bad-tempered. They like ones that are indexed, paginated and get to the point. A statement of case that says “the roof works cost £180,000, the specification was for a full replacement when the surveyor’s own report recommended patch repair at £40,000, and no explanation has been given” does more than ten pages of history.

Hearing or paper

Smaller disputes are often decided on the papers. Larger ones get a hearing, usually with a legally qualified chair and a valuer or surveyor member. You can represent yourself, bring a friend, or use a lay representative. The landlord will often have a solicitor or counsel. That’s not the disadvantage it sounds like if your documents are in order, because the tribunal reads the bundle before anyone speaks.

Related guides

• Challenging a service charge demand. The tests, the time limits and the documents to ask for.
• Section 20 consultation. The three stages, the thresholds and what a defective notice looks like.
• Forming a Recognised Tenants’ Association. The rights it gives you and how to get recognised.

All guides  |  Questions and answers