Hackney couple could end up paying more in service charges despite High Court victory

Gascoyne Estate. Image: Google

A Hackney couple who won a High Court challenge against the council over incorrect service charges could be facing higher costs as a result.

Husband and wife John and Adenike Williams came before a property tribunal after they refused to pay freeholder Hackney Council £6,400 for repairs and maintenance of their ex-council flat on Gascoyne Estate.

Mr Williams disputed the charge, arguing that he was being asked to pay for works to buildings across the entire estate, despite this not being in his lease agreement.

He added that the council should not be charging him for heating maintenance because they had previously told him it was his responsibility to cover the cost of this, which he had.

In December 2024, the tribunal found that the couple was liable for the charges, but in October this year they won a High Court appeal against the result.

The presiding judge, Martin Rodger KC, found Mr and Mrs Williams were liable to pay for the building’s communal heating system.

But while it may have been “administratively convenient”, he said, for the council to spread service costs across radiators in flats across four surrounding blocks on the estate, the lease did not allow for it.

Even though the council made this mistake, the KC cast doubt on whether the appeal would actually benefit the pair, whose challenge meant it was possible that they would have to pay a larger share of service costs among a smaller pool of tenants and residents.

This is the second time Mr and Mrs Williams have challenged Hackney Council in the High Court.

In 2015, the couple won a landmark case after the council was found to have unlawfully placed their eight children in foster care for more than two months.

The Town Hall shelled out £20,000 in damages for breaching their right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.