Service Charge: Tenant Required To "Pay Now And Argue Later"​

Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings Ltd v Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd [2023] UKSC 2

A tenant was required to "pay [the service charge] now and argue later" by the Supreme Court when interpreting wording commonly found in commercial lease service charge provisions.

Background: Blacks occupied premises at Whitechapel and Liverpool owned by S&H. For the years 2017 – 2018 S&H certified service charges at around £400,000.

Blacks were unhappy with the sum sought – it was almost 8 times higher than the previous year – and decided to challenge the amount claimed under S&H's certificate, refusing to pay the service charge until the issue had been resolved. S&H sued Blacks for the outstanding service charge balance.