We are finding that some of our clients are shocked by the
recent radical changes to the system of court fees. The changes
have made larger claims much more expensive to commence. As a
result, landlords may lose the settlement leverage that used to be
exerted through the issue of a claim and genuine claims may be
stifled, due to the up-front cost.
From 6 April 2015, court fees to issue a claim have been set at
5% of the value of any claim over £10,000, up to a maximum
court fee of £10,000. Any claim worth over £200,000
will cost £10,000 to issue.
At the higher end of this spectrum, this represents an increase
of over 600% in court fees. Many property related claims,
particularly dilapidations claims are at this higher end and the
prospect of paying out a fee of £10,000 as part of a strategy
to get the other side to the settlement table will not be welcomed
by many of our investor clients. There is a danger that either the
up-front fee will be too high to get the
