ABSTRACT
Disputes are professionally frustrating, administratively time- consuming, and financially wasteful. While the immediate goal will be to settle the dispute, the management surveyor should search diligently to find the cause, and add it to the list of points to be avoided when setting up the next agreement. In the case of a dispute over service charge and in the absence of any expressed provisions in the lease as to procedure for resolution, there are three broad options available. The parties agree to refer the matter to a third party, to act as either an expert or an arbitrator. Where the tenant has failed to pay monies due, as the result of a dispute, the landlord can sue the tenant for the outstanding costs and the tenant can defend its action in court. Either or both parties can apply to the court for a declaration on the validity of the service charge demanded.
