In the latest twist in this tale of major works, the long-awaited appeal hearing in the Philips v Francis case was adjourned at a late hour, with the new date scheduled for October 2014.
Since early 2013 Brady Solicitors has been helping clients to navigate through the current flux in the law around major works and s.20 consultations, which has left many landlords and managing agents feeling unsure how to plan for repair, maintenance and improvement works to their blocks.
By way of reminder, the judge in the Philips v Francis case (December 2012) had ruled that major works costs could no longer be considered on a project-by-project basis but must instead be considered ‘in the whole’. For property managers this has meant that, without the ability to separate out both proactive and routine work into individual projects, the statutory limit of £250 per leaseholder has been reached all too quickly.
The landlord had been granted leave to appeal and this was scheduled for today, 14 May.
However, a last minute application to serve a witness statement has led to hearing being adjourned, meaning that we have at least another five months to wait before any kind of certainty can be established in planning for major works.
As ever, if we can help you with planning for major works or navigating through the consultation procedures, call the Brady Solicitors office on 0115 985 3450 or drop us an email.
with thanks to Jonathan Upton of Tanfield Chambers for the speedy update on this case.