Types of application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
Administration charges
These rights are set out in Section 158 and schedule 11 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.
An administration charge is a charge you pay to your landlord (as part of or as well as your rent) directly or indirectly for:
- your landlord considering applications or providing approval, for example, for permission to carry out alterations to the property
- your landlord providing information or documents that you need, for example, documents relating to the sale of the flat
- charges which arise from you breaking the conditions of the lease
- charges which arise from you not paying an amount that is due to your landlord. These charges may include the legal costs of serving notices, the cost of any correspondence, and interest charged on the unpaid amounts. Some leases can include your landlord’s costs relating to the tribunal. Before beginning tribunal proceedings, you should check your lease to see if this applies to you
An administration charge can be fixed by the lease or may vary. A ‘variable administration charge’ is one where the lease does not specify the amount of the charge or a formula for calculating the charge.
You (and your landlord) can apply to the tribunal to decide whether you have to pay an administration charge, whether the charge is reasonable, or whether a charge that is fixed by the lease can be varied.
Is the charge reasonable?
By law, you only have to pay a variable administration charge if it is reasonable. The tribunal can decide what is a reasonable amount to pay, if anything, given the circumstances of each case, and you only have to pay that amount.
For example, if the administration charge is to recover your landlord’s legal costs which arise as a result of you breaking the conditions of the lease, the tribunal may consider the following.
- Was your landlord’s action, in raising legal costs, appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances?
- Is the cost justified, in terms of the legal adviser’s fees and the hours they charged for?
If the charge is simply a fee for, for example, providing information or permission, is the charge reasonable in terms of the work the landlord had to carry out to provide this?
If the amount of an administration charge, or the formula for calculating the charge, is fixed by the lease, the tribunal can make an order that the lease is changed to amend the amount shown, to change or delete the formula, or in any other way they specify. The change will apply for the rest of the time left on the lease.
If the charge is based on a formula in the lease, this may relate the charge to a part or proportion of the rent, to the service charge, or to the current market value of the flat. In all three cases, the question of whether the charge is reasonable may depend on any increases in these amounts since the lease was granted.
Are you responsible for paying the charge?
As with service charges, the tribunal can decide:
- whether you are responsible for paying the charge
- who you should pay the administration charge to
- how much you should pay
- when you should pay an administration charge
- how you should pay an administration charge
Also, as with service charges, the application can relate to an administration charge you have paid or been asked to pay. However, you and your landlord cannot apply to the tribunal for a decision on an administration charge which:
- you have already agreed is reasonable or admitted responsibility for paying
- has been decided by a court
- has been referred to arbitration (with your agreement following the dispute)
- has been decided by arbitration as a result of an agreement following the dispute
Any clause in your lease or any other agreement which appears to commit you to taking part in arbitration before a dispute arises will not be valid and will not prevent you applying to the tribunal.
- Last updated:
- 11 May 2025
- Next review:
- 18 December 2026