Nottingham landlord refunded nearly £3,000 by city council after court fight

Costs that Nottingham City Council tried to charge a longstanding landlord were described by a tribunal as "excessive"

A Nottingham landlord has been refunded nearly £3,000 following a tribunal fight over "excessive costs" he was charged by the city council. Mick Roberts, who has been a landlord for around 27 years and owns four flats in Nottingham, says he has found the city council's response "gobsmacking."

Well over a month after the tribunal decision, the city council had still not paid and the solicitor acting for Mr Roberts had to threaten the authority with further court action. The dispute arose after Mr Roberts extended the lease on his four flats earlier this year, with his properties in Top Valley and Bulwell.

The lease extension process saw the city council employ property surveyors and its in-house legal team to carry out the necessary work. After the lease extensions were granted, the city council sent Mr Roberts a bill of nearly £10,000 for their legal, surveying and valuation work.

Massers, the law firm representing Mr Roberts, agreed to take Nottingham City Council to a tribunal after concerns were raised about the expensive fees. Although a £1,300 offer was made to the council so that Mr Roberts would settle, this offer was rejected and a tribunal hearing took place, with the result being published on August 8.

In their decision, the tribunal members write: "Whilst we accept that enfranchisement work can be complex, these particular transactions could not have been simpler. We do not accept the [city council's] assertion that the work for each lease extension would take 12 and a half hours...

"Having had regard to our experience and knowledge of the steps required to carry out the lease extension and the simple nature of each lease transaction, we conclude that four hours would be a reasonable time to carry out each of these lease extensions." Overall, the city council wanted £1,825 in legal costs for each of the four flats, but the tribunal ruled that £1,053 was reasonable.

Despite the judgement in early August, five weeks initially passed without the council paying Mr Roberts the money he was owed. After Massers threatened to pursue further court action against the city council, £2,892 was eventually paid in late September.

Mr Roberts said: "Even when the council should have paid, they had to be threatened with court. They're gobsmacking. I've got four flats with them and there's some good people, but some seem to be so anti-landlord."

In terms of the valuation costs in particular, the tribunal's decision said: "The four inspections were carried out on the same date and took approximately 20 minutes each. The independent valuer was based in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

"From tribunal experience and knowledge, we determine that a valuation fee of £825 plus VAT for each property is excessive and therefore unreasonable." Nottingham City Council has been approached for comment.