An estoppel case review

• Landlords need evidence of communications that ‘cross the line’ rather than relying on the mere failure to object to a course of dealing.
• The effect of binding successors in title will be a matter that requires proper argument & consideration in future cases.

There have been a number of decisions in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in the last couple of years where the doctrine of estoppel by convention has been raised in the context of residential service charge disputes. In these cases, landlords have sought to raise estoppel by convention to avoid the strict terms of a lease. Readers will know that even minor failures to comply with the requirements of a lease can have disastrous consequences for a landlord; including rendering service charges irrecoverable altogether. Usually the variation of the terms of a lease will only be effective if done by deed, but estoppel by convention is an equitable remedy that