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When our leaseholder (who I mentioned a few pages back) was in this exact position, the freeholder's lawyers went direct to the County Court who pushed it to the FTT. I have two cases going through the FTT at the moment and both have been put on hold indefinitely. Not going to argue any further, I think my advice was fine from a layman's perspective.
ReekBlefs
Not correct. A breach of covenant occurs as soon as the relevant term of the lease is breached. Section 81 of the Housing Act 1996 only prevents landlords from seeking to forfeit a lease for non-payment of service charges unless the arrears are admitted by the tenant or 'finally determined by (or on appeal from) the appropriate tribunal or by a court'. The Act refers to 'the appropriate tribunal' because in England there is the FTT but in Wales they still have LVTs (Leasehold Valuation Tribunals) as this is a devolved matter.
Section 168 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 applies to other breaches of a lease other than a failure to pay service charges, but again only restricts a landlord's right to serve a section 146 notice as a prelude to forfeiting the lease.
Not correct. There is no requirement for a landlord to issue proceedings in the FTT before bringing a money claim in the County Court. Hence the reference in the HA96 to determination 'by a court'.
Solicitors can't issue a CCJ. CCJ stands for County Court Judgment. Only judges can make judgments and grant orders. What the solicitors can do is to issue proceedings in the County Court, and there is nothing to prevent landlords from issuing County Court proceedings to recover service charges. The FTT and County Court have concurrent jurisdiction in this area of the law, as is made clearly by section 27A(7) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which provides that 'The jurisdiction conferred on the appropriate tribunal in respect of any matter by virtue of this section is in addition to any jurisdiction of a court in respect of the matter.'
If a landlord does so, and the tenant disputes their liability to pay the service charges in question, then the County Court will often transfer the case to the FTT for a determination of liability, under the power to do so in section 176A of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, but the jurisdiction to transfer is discretionary and it is up to the court whether or not to make such an order.
The FTT is not shut down. It is not holding face-to-face hearings, but new applications to the FTT can be made by email and while hearings up to the end of May have been adjourned, existing matters can and are being dealt with remotely either by written submissions or video link. The latest guidance (19th March) from the FTT Property Chamber can be found here.