Challenging service charges
How to challenge your service charge
Explain your concerns to your landlord
It’s best to try to resolve any problems with your landlord first, before taking legal action.
Tribunals and courts expect both sides to have made genuine attempts to resolve their issues before taking legal action. If you have not done this it may affect the outcome of your case.
Set out your concerns to the landlord in writing as soon as possible. Keep a record of all communications, as they could be useful later if you need to take legal action.
It may be useful to send your landlord evidence to support your case, such as:
- alternative quotes for the work, if they show that costs were unusually high
- photographs
- records of unanswered complaints
You could also consider getting reports or advice from experts, such as a surveyor's report to look at the quality of work or whether work was needed, but this can be expensive and you may not be able to recover the cost from your landlord. It’s best to get legal advice before hiring an expert or relying on expert evidence.
Explain to the landlord what you think the issues are, and what result you would like. Give them a reasonable deadline to reply, such as a few weeks.
Check whether your landlord or management company has a complaints process that you can use.
Mediation
If you cannot agree a solution, you could try mediation to resolve the dispute. This is where you pay a trained professional (mediator) to help both sides work out an agreement. It can be a good option if both you and your landlord are prepared to take part in the process.
Mediation might be available through the tribunal once you have applied, or you can arrange it yourself by contacting a mediation service. You can find a mediation service on the Civil Mediation Council website.
Find out more: alternative dispute resolution including mediation
Legal action
If you’re unable to resolve the problem by contacting your landlord or mediation, you could:
- Last updated:
- 10 December 2025
- Next review:
- 10 December 2027
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