You are the freeholder, intermediate leaseholder, or leaseholder of a flat, house, commercial or mixed use development, and need an expert witness to produce a preliminary or final report, and / or give evidence in Court or Tribunal, in relation to the reasonableness of service charge.
Expert Witness – service charge. Preliminary or final report.
We are able to provide a preliminary report to assess the reasonableness of service charge, a final report, or a preliminary report, followed by a final report.
Expert Witness – reasonableness of service charge. Preliminary or final report – process.
We will normally inspect the property, undertake research, take account of Landlord and Tenant Acts, whether the service provided is reasonably required, and within the range of reasonableness, condition, leases, deeds of variation, licences for alterations / additions, advice and guidance provided by RICS, property management codes of practice, the RICS Clients’ Money Protection Scheme, and other documents of relevance. Depending on the dispute, these might include, witness statements, condition surveys, service charge accounts, demands, statements, budgets, planned maintenance programmes, section 20 Notices, contracts, invoices, environmental surveys, planning applications and approvals, correspondence and other evidence.
Expert Witness – reasonableness of service charge. Cost benefit analysis.
We may, or may not have been involved in prior negotiations over the reasonableness of service charge. If we have, and negotiations have not progressed so we can recommend settlement, we provide a Cost Benefit Analyses to assess the sense of proceeding with a hearing in Court or Tribunal.
Expert Witness – reasonableness of service charge. Giving expert evidence.
We are able to give expert evidence to the Court or Tribunal in accordance with the rules, protocols and directions of the Court, or Tribunal, including:
- Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules and accompanying practice direction;
- Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims;
- Practice direction on pre-action conduct and code of practice for experts;
- Tribunal procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) rules;
- Tribunal procedure (Upper Tribunal) rules; and
- RICS practice statement surveyors acting as expert witnesses.
If a decision is taken to proceed to Court or Tribunal, we prepare and give expert evidence at the hearing, after which the Court or Tribunal will issue their determination.
Expert Witness – reasonableness of service charge. Examples of recent work.
We have recently:
Reasonableness of service charge: Assessed the reasonableness of service charge for two residential blocks, and gave evidence to a First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
Our services: We are able to produce preliminary and final expert witness reports, and give expert evidence in Court or Tribunal, in relation to the reasonableness of service charge, taking account of Landlord and Tenant Acts, guidance provided by RICS, property management codes of practice, and the RICS Clients’ Money Protection Scheme, all in accordance with Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules and accompanying practice direction; Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims; Practice direction on pre-action conduct and code of practice for experts; Tribunal procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) rules; Tribunal procedure (Upper Tribunal) rules; and RICS practice statement surveyors acting as expert witnesses. We are Chartered Surveyors, Regulated by RICS, with Registered Valuers that are able to provide Expert Witness Evidence for the reasonableness of service charge. We are also able to provide further information about Expert Witness – Reasonableness of Service Charge.
