How a Residential Property Tribunal case actually runs.
From the first form to the written decision — and any appeal — with no jargon and no surprises. Use this as your working timeline.
- 01
Identify the right application and forum
Each case type has its own form on GOV.UK. Get this wrong and you can lose months: Leasehold 1 for service / administration charges, Leasehold 9 for enfranchisement terms in dispute, Leasehold 10 for landlord cost challenges, RTM forms for Right to Manage, and Mobile Homes forms for park homes. Check first whether the Property Chamber is even the right forum — possession, eviction and money judgments are for the County Court; building safety remediation often runs in parallel under the Building Safety Act 2022.
- 02
File, pay the fee and trigger the clock
Standard application fees sit at £100 with hearing fees around £200, though fees vary by application type. Full or partial remission is available on low income or qualifying benefits using form EX160. Filing locks in your start date and stops further unilateral action by the landlord in many service charge cases. Service of the application on the other side is the applicant's responsibility unless directions say otherwise.
- 03
Receive and comply with directions
The tribunal issues directions — usually within 2 to 6 weeks of filing. Directions tell you what to file, when, in what format, and to whom. They are orders, not suggestions: failing to comply is the single most common reason cases go badly, and it can trigger Rule 13 costs against you. Standard directions include the Scott Schedule (service charge cases), agreed statement of facts, witness statements, expert reports and the hearing bundle deadline.
- 04
Build the bundle
Bundles must be indexed, paginated, with a clear chronology, in PDF (often hyperlinked) following the tribunal's current bundle guidance. Most leaseholder cases are won or lost in the bundle: clear evidence, in order, with a working chronology beats volume every time. Submit electronically via the FTT e-filing system and to the other party simultaneously. Keep a 'master copy' that matches your speaking notes pagination.
- 05
Witness statements, Scott Schedules and expert reports
Witness statements should be in numbered paragraphs, signed with a statement of truth in the prescribed wording, and reference exhibits by tab and page. In service charge cases the Scott Schedule (item, amount challenged, basis of challenge, landlord response, tribunal use only) is the single most important document. Expert reports (valuation, surveying, M&E) must comply with the Property Chamber's standard directions on the expert's duty to the tribunal and contain an experts' declaration.
- 06
Pre-hearing review and the hearing itself
Most cases have a paper review or short case management hearing before the substantive listing. The hearing panel is typically a legally qualified judge plus a valuer or surveyor member. Hearings are held in person at London or regional venues, or by video. Each side presents — usually applicant first — followed by cross-examination, questions from the panel and closing submissions. Most service charge hearings last 1 to 3 days; enfranchisement and major-works hearings can run longer.
- 07
Decision, costs orders and enforcement
A written decision typically follows within 6 to 10 weeks. Decisions are public and published. Apply for s.20C and Schedule 11 paragraph 5A orders in your statement of case and again at the hearing — most tribunals will not make these on the court's own motion. Enforcement of monetary outcomes is via the County Court if needed, by registration of the FTT decision.
- 08
Appeals to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)
Permission to appeal must be sought within 28 days of the decision. Permission is granted only where there is a real prospect of success or another compelling reason. The Upper Tribunal hears appeals on points of law or significant valuation issues, and its decisions bind the FTT. Appeals are expensive and slow — most cases that get past directions should be tried to win, not to appeal.
Typical timeline
From application to decision, most cases run between 6 and 12 months, depending on complexity, expert evidence and listing pressure at the London venues. Routine service charge cases can be quicker (4–7 months) if the landlord engages constructively. Enfranchisement and major-works cases tend to sit at the longer end (9–14 months) because of expert evidence and longer hearing slots.
What good preparation actually looks like
- A working chronology from before the dispute started to the present — the panel's first orientation document.
- An issues list of 5–12 numbered points the tribunal must decide.
- Tight Scott Schedules linking each challenged item to its source documents.
- Statements that read in the tribunal's voice — chronological, factual, exhibited, with a statement of truth.
- Pre-marked hearing bundle with tab covers, page numbers, working hyperlinks and a fresh OCR pass.
Common procedural traps
- Missing the bundle filing deadline by even a day — assume the tribunal will not accept late material.
- Filing a witness statement without a statement of truth — the panel may give it no weight.
- Ignoring an unless order — leads to strike-out, which is procedurally fatal.
- Forgetting to apply for s.20C / paragraph 5A — landlord's costs come straight back through the service charge.
- Treating a directions hearing as informal — it is a hearing and what you concede there sticks.
Run your case through the AI dashboard first
Before you spend a day building a bundle, get a structured view: jurisdiction, legal tests, evidence gaps, risks and next steps.