Cases - Mullaney v Maybourne Grange (Croydon) Management Co Ltd
Record details
- Name
- Mullaney v Maybourne Grange (Croydon) Management Co Ltd
- Date
- (1986); [2006]; [2006]
- Citation
- 277 EG 1350, ChD; EWCA Civ 1389; 49 EG 96
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Commercial property - landlord and tenant – service charge – mixed purpose property – sub-tenants – whether service charge was unreasonable for the purposes of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 – Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 38
- Summary
-
This case involved a building consisting of commercial premises on the lower floors and separate residential flats on the upper floors. The upper floors were let by the freeholder on a long-lease and the flats were separately sub-let.
The landlord replaced defective old wooden-framed windows in a tenant's flat with new double-glazed windows. The landlord undertook to repair and maintain and otherwise provide services and amenities to the structure and common parts of the block. The tenant covenanted to contribute to the costs of so doing and to such further or additional costs as the defendant incurred in 'providing and maintaining additional services or amenities'. The landlord claimed that installation of the new windows was a repair or alternatively that the expenditure was incurred in 'providing and maintaining additional services or amenities' to the block. It was held that the replacement of the old windows was not a repair but a long-term improvement and although the new windows had attributes that made them desirable, they could not be regarded in the ordinary sense as an 'amenity'.
A subtenant sought to challenge the amount of the maintenance charge levied by the freeholder on the ground that the amount was unreasonable within the meaning of the LTA 1985.
It was held that the purpose of s. 18-430 of the LTA 1985 was to protect a residential tenant against excessive or unreasonable service charges.
A 'tenant of a dwelling' within the meaning of s. 38 of LTA 1985 was not excluded from the protection afforded to residential tenants merely because, while he was the tenant of a dwelling which extended only to part of a building, he was also the tenant of other parts of the building. LTA 1985 speaks of the 'tenant of a dwelling' not the 'tenant of a dwelling and nothing else'.