The management company, owning the building, and owned by the tenants had power under its articles to establish a long term fund for repairs to the building, and set out to reserve andpound;400,000 for this purpose. It added service charges which the tenant now refused to pay. The court had held that the demands fell within section 18. The landlord said that the sums arose through his membership of the company and not as tenant.
Held: The court had paid insufficient regard to the distinction between charges made on company members as members, and charges levelled on tenants: ‘The two kinds of legal relationship can co-exist between the same parties, but they are different relationships incurred in different capacities and they give rise to different enforceable legal obligations. A defence to one of the claims is not necessarily available as a defence to the other legally separate claim. ‘
Mummery LJ, Wall LJ, Toulson LJ
[2008] EWCA Civ 1371, Times 25-Feb-2009
Bailii
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 18
England and Wales
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 31 October 2021; Ref: scu.278645
